Out With The Old: Exploring the Myth of the ‘New’ South Africa
Sisonke Msimang In the past few weeks there has been much consternation about the de facto existence of the dompas in the Western Cape community of Worcester. The dreaded dompas was a humiliating fact of life in apartheid South Africa; my father had one and his memories of it are vivid and painful. The […]
Degrees of Betrayal
Jacob Dlamini’s Askari: A Review Informers and collaborators date back to at least the New Testament with Judas Iscariot kissing and betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. The stigma that comes with the term “askaris”, a Swahili word, transcends culture, language and place. The shame of being branded a traitor can be passed […]