The stories are appalling – I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard women telling me how their ex-boyfriend or husband smashed furniture or windows, beat them up or have even broken bones.
Men who cannot love women Read More »
This is a time of loneliness and deep uncertainty. For the first time in a generation, we are thrust into the very core of our human vulnerability. For now, we live as people did for thousands of years before us, smitten dumb by the power of nature, unable to protect ourselves from its invincibility.
22 January was the anniversary of the battle of Isandlwana. I wrote this article in 2014, it may be of interest to you.
The battle of Isandlwana in 1879 – in which a force of 20,000 Zulus annihilated a British contingent of 1,800 men – became a symbol to black South Africans that white domination was not inevitable. The stories are still being told today.
Isandlwana: The defeat that stunned Victorian Britain Read More »
This week marks the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War and the official coalition military operations in the days and short weeks that followed. The war, as conceived by the planners in the Pentagon along with their allies the British, the Spanish and a number of other smaller European countries, was over quickly. By May 1 of that year, President George Bush was calling it ‘Mission Accomplished’, declaring the end of major combat operations.
Death and Deceit In Iraq Read More »
5 January – EWN: The inquest into the deaths of former apartheid activists known as the Cradock Four has been reopened following new evidence.
Matthew Goniwe, Sparrow Mkonto, Fort Calata and Sicelo Mhlauli were abducted and killed in 1985 while on their way home to Cradock in the Eastern Cape.
Adriaan Vlok – the old man and the dark shadow of the past Read More »
On 18 December, it will be exactly 100 years since radio was first heard in South Africa. While digital is advancing rapidly, radio remains a powerful source of news, information and entertainment across the continent.
Dancing like static through the airwaves, memories of radio’s golden age will never die Read More »
The bright, perplexed eye of my hedgehog reminded me of something profound… was a reminder of a consciousness greater than that of our human shortcomings. It was 3am. The highway heading north through the desert was jammed with traffic: The headlights of armoured troop carriers, Humvees, fuel and supply tracks. The entire US invasion force
Photo Credit: Canva The blackness of night surrounded me. Stars glowed faintly overhead. The rank smell of unharvested poppies filled the air. I was weighed down with a camera and heavy backpack with batteries, food, water, some spare socks, and a long cloth for sleeping under. I was also wearing heavy Kevlar plates in my
A cleaning lady helped me cross the barrier from physical recovery to mental restoration Read More »
Photo Credit: Thomas Serer on Unsplash. I have covered the Oscar Pistorius saga ever since that terrible Valentine’s Day in 2013 when he shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp. His fall from the heights of human endeavour, crowned with great success is a morality tale for all humanity – the dangers of hubris and of losing
Our Need For Truth And Forgiveness Read More »
Photo Credit: Thomas Serer on Unsplash. As we celebrate our truly fabulous World Cup victory, it is worth remembering the context in which it was made possible. It’s worth remembering the journey of Steve Tshwete and so many others like him. As we celebrate our truly fabulous World Cup victory, it is worth remembering the
The tangled thread that joins Steve Tshwete to Siya Kolisi and World Cup victory Read More »