By Nicole Friend
As our journey in Cape Town comes to a close, it is important to reflect on the history we have learned about its past apartheid struggles, and use it to address questions and concerns that still linger in the city today. We should not live in the past, but we must learn from the past, in order to make educated choices in the future. The creatives we have met during our time here, such as artists, actors, and poets, have reinforced the important of using history to make more educated choices and become proactive for South Africa in the future. Each creative has a different story to tell through a different medium. It is my hope that through this artistic form of expression, more people become informed about the apartheid in South Africa in a peaceful and productive setting.
Kurt Egelhof, a theatre entrepreneur and actor performed his autobiographical story through his play, “Four Generations.” He uses his talent to tell a story that includes authentic emotion, four generations of men, and his own family values. In using resistance theatre techniques to tell a story about the Old South Africa, Mr.Egelhof raises awareness about the issues he faced as a young boy in South Africa, and what he does today to cope with his past. I was most impressed with Mr.Eagelhof’s authenticity as he shared the struggle his father faced as a coloured man in South Africa. It is through this genuine emotion that I began to fully understand the pain blacks and coloured men faced trying to support themselves and put food on their families tables during apartheid. Kurt Egelhof is a successful actor and well-respected in the industry, and it is important to not forget the rich history his own family experienced that has fostered much of his creativity today.
Another artist who led us through a creative experience in Cape Town was Lionel Davis. Mr. Davis spent seven years in prison on Robben Island. His work today focuses on the issues he had with whites during apartheid, and the discrimination his faced while impriosned on the island. Although he did lecture us on his background and struggles during apartheid, he didn’t dwell on them, and instead found an interactive way for us to understand what the future of South Africa needs the most in order to rid much of the status problems that still exist today. I was impressed by his positive outlook, and his determination to help students find their own ways of understanding the history of apartheid. One lesson Mr. Davis learned over the years is “to agree to disagree” when discussing politics. While he is optimistic for change, he knows that the superiority whites have in the community will not dissappear over night. He also recognized Nelson Mandela as a man who wanted to break the barriers, and looked up to him as a role model with great bravery and intelligence. After creating posters with Mr. Davis about how we feel South Africa is today, and the direction it is heading, I felt that there was true hope for change in the future. The community engagement Lionel Davis enforces in his creative work provides comfort that there will be positive change in the future.
James Matthews, a a poet and former polticial prisoner read us exerpts from his poetry collection that helped the class understand his mindset during and after his time in a prison cell. “I’m weird,” said the 86 year old man upon beginning his talk. He then further explained that his writing, which began as short stories, became more focused on political poetry, and has evolved over the years into what he believes is the true role of the writer. Mr. Matthews said that his role as a creative and writer is to reveal something or a source, and to expose the corruption in society. As we began reading his poetry outloud from his book, “Pass Me A Meatball Jones,” I found comfort in how much I related to his work. Although much of his poems were developed in prison and often came from his imagination, the issues he faced were things students my age could compare to our own struggles. I was surprised to find these emotinal commonalties between a man who struggled in prison, and college students who for the most part have lived in a much more comfortable space with much better treatment than Mr.Matthews did in prison. It proved to me that regardless of race, religion, gender, and other stereotypes, if we look hard enough, we all share the desire for change in South Africa.
South Africa has come a long way since apartheid. However, the issues of white superiority, black oppression, and coloured disadvantages still exist today. It is creatives such as Egelhof, Davis, and Matthews who can provide insight on history, and use their expertise to motivate others to learn about racial divide and the struggle during apartheid. As we continue our journey in South Africa it is important to keep researching how creatives and apartheid survivors handle the issues of the past.
