WeeklySA_AdminMILITANT:He had a fair share of challenges under apartheid; constant harassment, torture, detention
Suzette Mafuna
IN CANADA
In a BBC radio interview on his Book, “A People on the Boil,” Harry uses the term “cruel” several times in reference to the pungent measures used by the system to cower dissent “by any means necessary”.
He describes police action on protesting residents as “cruel”. He had earlier been assured by black policemen that no harm would befall the protesting crowds. Then, to his horror, excruciatingly painful cries and shouts of women and children erupted immediately as the same policemen attacked following the assurance.
He alludes to such cruelty as what gave him reason and the passion to participate fully in taking on the role of media spokesperson on behalf of the voiceless. He was driven by an uncontrollable rage which precipitated a determined urge to write – through his books and media articles – about the immense suffering of his people.
In his writings and overseas recordings, Harry’s story of June 16 is different from any reportage from any other journalist or media sources locally or internationally.
For Mashabela, June 16 was not a one-day wonder or isolated incident, but a culmination of historical, irrational and overall betrayal of black people by a white system that applied the most appalling and inhumane systems to demean and devalue a group of fellow South Africans.
A BBC journalist who interviewed Mashabela introduced him as somewhat stiff, old-fashioned with a military disposition, adding that he was passionate in his anger. Well, I wouldn’t call him stiff, just guarded and self-preserved. He never seemed too eager to entertain any small talk with strangers or engage in frivolous matters of a social nature or in gossip.
Of course, Harry was passionate and angry about a rotten and evil system but as far as looks go, he always seemed like an agitated old teacher who had to be in control and never let up, no matter what it took.
And perhaps what the journalist was referring to was Harry’s militant demeanour which he seemed to adopt with any discussion that pertained to matters related to apartheid and the suffering of his people. The militancy was in the voice which told of his rural upbringing where his hard-working dad’s would be given just one cow a month by his farmer employer, in lieu of his monthly wages. It was there in his tone as he recalled the eight pound wages a month (about R158 today) at his first job, only to realise that a young white girl, fresh from school and new in any job was earning double his wages and being trained in line for an advanced position in the company and a higher wage than his.
His voice took on a deep and whispered tremor as he described to the BBC interviewer, some of the key moments when the reality of apartheid shook his sheltered village notion of what apartheid meant to black people and opened his eyes to the tragedy that his people in their own country endured.
He quoted an incident when, on noting some imminent trouble nearby, he had turned politely to a black policeman standing next to him and asked him politely with reverence to his position, hopefully, but directly “are you really going to kill our children?’’
The policeman’s bold “no” was interrupted by a booming sound of gun shots and a cloud of billowing black smoke that seemed to smother the environment and brought home to Mashabela a new realisation that he could no longer be a spectator but had a responsibility as a somewhat privileged black journalist and humanitarian to make his own contributions towards the emancipation of his people.
His story about his upbringing seemed to confirm why Harry remained so focused on whatever task he set out to do and also spoke to his stubborn nature even as a 14-year-old boy who herded his father’s livestock.
Curious why a pal whom he met over an initiation process had stopped herding his family’s cattle and sheep, he learned that the pal was attending school. He had never been to school because the only mission school was eight miles away from the village.
And, while the idea of going to school had never occurred to him before, he immediately went to tell his father that he wanted to go to school.
“When do you want to go school,” the father asked. “In the morning,” he shot back., “But who is going to take the cattle to the dip, if you go to school in the morning,” his father asked.
“I will start at the dip with the cattle and then I go to school,” he insisted.
Though his parents had never been to school, his father supported him wholeheartedly and even accompanied him all the way to his new missionary-run secondary school. He noted the disappointment in his mom who had never left the village and didn’t want him to leave, accusing him of being “useless”. She couldn’t understand why her son preferred school when his peers in the village were all working to support their families.
Mashabela had his fair share of personal challenges and in politics. From detentions, constant hounding and harassment by the special branch, culminating in a vicious assault which broke his neck and left him semi-paralysed.
While poring over some of the books he published, his recall of events of political turmoil is uncanny. He remembered names, dates, settings, locations, the names of the dead, he remembered the religious hymn which Tsietsi Mashinini had led the students to sing en masse, leading to the crucial march.
He remembered the lyrics word for word. He remembered a sign with a defiant “NO SBs, ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK”. He remembered Winnie Mandela’s military chant and simply describes the lyrics thus, “She did not mince her words”.
I now wish to share an observation which offended, dismayed and disappointed as I was skimming through whatever had been written about Mashabela, particularly while searching through the book reviews. One is by some big shot, high-flying Asian dude whose major complaint is that Harry had failed to explain some foreign and meaningless words and terms which occupied a major part of the book and lacked clarity. This, despite a succinct foreword by the esteemed, Es’kia Mphahlele.
It took all of 30 years for yet another academic scholar to eventually publish “Pan-Africanism: Political Philosophy and Socio Economics” in 2015, as if he had been trying to find an African source to extract information for the African content of the book. The book contains some direct Harry Mashabela over five pages.
Each Mashabela quote occupies at least a third of a page, and I believe that is unethical, he might just as well asked Harry to be co-author. It occurred to me that the author depended wholly and exclusively on Harry’s writings to complete his book and to justify the “African” component in Pan-Africanism. As would be the case, local reviewers of Harry’s book have a better grasp of the story line and events mainly because they understand all the nuances and subtleties of local speaking
“My name is Nicholas Mashabela, the nephew of Harry Bjalane Mashabela. My uncle Harry became a beacon of hope and inspiration to us. He was one of the first black journalist in South Africa. He and Alf Khumalo worked for Drum magazine: in mid 60s they welcomed USA president Kennedy to South Africa.
His book A PEOPLE ON THE BOIL remains the only source of information regarding SOWETO UPRISING. Unfortunately for my uncle, he was a critic of Apartheid and ANC government. That is why he is not being celebrated. History will never forget him, because history is not biased.
The final review is by scholar, blogger and book reviewer, Thato Rossouw: The Diary of The Literature Man For The Love Of Literature! It was posted on January 24 2016, and updated on February 4 2016.
In his review, Rossouw writes: “A chapter to look out for is chapter 12, in which Mr Mashabela writes about Steve Biko, The Black Consciousness Movement – the many groups that came because of it – and the role they played in the development of the consciousness and mindset of the youth in the 70’s. He discusses the loss of this charismatic and zealous leader and the banning of the BCM and how these events affected the spirit of all African people during the struggle for a better education.
“He also describes the rise of another prominent youth-led organisation – Cosas, the role it played during the struggles of the 80s. He also mentions other organisations that played an equally important role in the fight for the realisation of a more “democratic education” but didn’t get as much media attention the others. These include Project Matriculation (PROTEC), Khanya College, Funda Centre, and the Council for Black Education and Research.
“This book is a chronicle of the fighting spirit of the African child, a testament to the maxim “united we stand and divided we fall,” and proof that the young people, if they put in the effort and work together towards a common goal, have the power to change the course of history.
“Even though events such as the #FeesMustFall, #TransformWits/UCT/Rhodes et al, and the #RhodesMustFall campaigns – which are led by young people throughout the country – shocked many, this book shows that our history as a country is filled with events and movement in which young people took control and changed the course of history. It is a must-read for every young person,” Rossouw summed up.
Finally, I suppose we should be proud that Mashabela’s work has been roundly recognised and appreciated throughout the world and that he probably would not mind that some chunks from his book have been incorporated wholly into some foreign scholarly research papers.
And, as has been often said, “copying is the best compliment”.
