I’m no supporter of the Taliban regime at all, but the news that South Africa will play Afghanistan in the World Cup caught my attention. It reminded me of my Afghan translator and fixer in the village of Khuja Bahauddin in northern Afghanistan only weeks after 9/11. I’ve never forgotten him and his love of cricket.
Memories of cricket and war in Afghanistan Read More »
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 »
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay I recently watched the fascinating movie Oppenheimer about Robert Oppenheimer, “the father of the atomic bomb” and his direction of the Manhattan Project. It reminded me that I wrote this opinion piece for The Daily Maverick on 2 August 2022 about the first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on
Photos supplied In remote parts of Lesotho, feuds caused by jealousy over the musical success of accordion-playing Famo musicians have become hopelessly entwined in the battles between rival zama zama miners competing for the remains of scarce gold in the mined-out rock stopes of South Africa’s mines. The brutality has become all-pervasive. The pale heads
Photo by Pixabay: Photo/soldier-holding-rifle-78783 With this year marking the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War, Hamilton Wende reminisces on a piece he wrote that was originally published in the Citizen in April 2003. This original article is a first-hand account of Wende’s experience in Kuwait during the Iraq War. This year marks the 20th anniversary of
20th anniversary: A look back at the Iraq War – Hamilton Wende Read More »
A demonstrator holds a placard depicting a caricature of Russian President Putin as they listen to speeches during a peace rally against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Pretoria, South Africa, 11 March 2022. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Kim Ludbrook) Speaking to Russians living in South Africa reminded me of the fear that rules Russia. They may
The fear of Putin stalks the Russian émigré community – even in South Africa Read More »
It was well after midnight on a summer’s night in 1983. I was 22 and taking a well-earned break from training for the Comrades Marathon. The movie The Last Waltz was playing in the almost empty hall at the Bozzoli Sports Pavillion at Wits University. It was the tail end of some university gathering and
I Was the Victim of a Hate Crime Read More »
Image by Carola68 Pixabay.com My university maths tutor was an island of sanity, integrity and courage in the frightening, dangerous days of apartheid and he remains such an island in these sadly now treacherous times that we find ourselves in today. It was his eyes I remember best, carefully watching us through his glasses as