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    10 views9 pages

    Tlali, Soweto Hijack

    Uploaded by

    Gianmarco Rizzo

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    of 9
    - was the morning after we were teleased "irom gaol The Tuesday morning of the 2th of September While Tait alone looking at the piece of paper which was handed ome sust before! Went through the peson gates of Meadow Tands Pohce Statign Werwere informed hy the lawyer who had come ta defend ts — inincy-tuo of s-that the ease asi &s was remanded to a later date There wasn knack a the from door and I stared. My heart pounded hard, afd 1 realised inst it would take mea longtime to ddjost myself 10.4 normal exostences to li ing without fear T opened the door and a kind smiling neighbour walked n holding m her hand ish of steaming hot soured. brown mabele ponidge poindge which she knew Med very much Maso my dear, Pon very happy to see you We dig not know that vou were detained “We were, nat aware thst poopie had been arrestee, we on carat hour it on Suturday And we did not Know that you were one af those Saforunate * minetyctwo Anyway thanks God yousre back and out a that horrible place! How do vou feel? We tere shogked hear that Brchap Tutus Sinks vas one of those beaten up. And the goad fady a1 down smigand looking at me. She winced when {turned fing shpped off the gown from my beds 19 Show her the mruiseson ny back, umipand FRaht forearm. She opened her eyes wider und wandered why she had nol eaticed my Black left eyeli over which | had smeared some of my cold cream {On Lard! 1 God oes not answer! she exclaimed, Why, how did happen? She sa there amupe,Histerong tothe story of the night at the Zengele WW .CA ih Dube when the buses which were fo have transported the Soweto mournersto attend the feral of Nr Steve Biko in King Williamstown were stopped and “hiacked Ir was already dark when 1 walked in followed ‘by ty heband caivying 3 toe bags — Soyou'were both attending the funeral? No" He was merely seeing me off. He {ook me 9 Dube by van" His sotention was really to nee that Thad boarded the bus sally an then return — Ofcourse you would not leavethe house lone. Phen? = Later, people were asked to pay aten tion and rexpond to thei samet Which were called ovt from a ist by some Young men on the stage. There were ery many people. the hal wae full 10 apacty, BOL they were very orderly you know. No. singing oF jumping round or anyttung ike that They mere just situng and chatting quietly. They talled ‘out the names according ta the order of repstration -— those who had registered early were called out first and $0"00. As they walked up to the side hurance, they were ushered out into the Waiting buses. It must have been sfter tight when they started caling out the assengers, was while the third bus Was being loaded that we noticed some delay” T remembered some who were ‘iting near us becoming iaspationt and ___ Rockville Soweto Hijack! a Story of our times by Miriam Tlali Taking why W was taking longer to Hi the third bus Apparently. something ‘outside was responsible for the delay What happened. shooting? ‘A woman siting near the window over~ ‘ooking hesidestoepand the courtvard tried to open the curtain. presumobiy 0 fet some fresh aie. suddenly drew shut the heavy linen drapery and shouted:"A pink face. soldier unch 8 gun looked Seaight into my face’ Someone further fivay asked: "What do thes want nere now? T looked around and. saw that Everybody was word. Another asked ‘Cant they stay sway (eom us? They practically ive with usin Soweto! Vel nother asked. "What has happened to thet “Apartheid”? They re wlvave with bs wherever we are? Then? Then these was some sculing of fect near the bigmain door Those standing fn'the entfance porch and slong the ‘arrow passage where the people were Sented, Surged wards, 98 moving away. "from some. approaching om iielrehe amilae sms were scurrying i all dieations. disap Dearing into the shasows of the houses Sn thether side ofthe tarred road be= Yond the open space. They were scarp Ening away from the arfay of bullets which was following them. gurshots fatting from all siges as I sicad there breathing deeply. Tenelt down cubbing my eyesand (rsing t0 mumble my last prayer, | knew ‘hat the moment had ome and i would soon be over With mme_A shat would soan tear chrough my brady and end all the agony. ‘Daan vraut Someone nearby shout cd in Attikauns The voice was thal of white man and ? looked through the hot tears and sa hima pointing with one arm ynmy diction. the ther arm wat gripping s gun The Gave Sstept through my head and made me feel Bs iT was swivelling in a metty-go-roUnd. the burning shisy sputum flasing iv 30 fnaleys stream into the grave} pavernent A shor Uistance away, a figure moved 0 wards me with agun pointed at me. | raised my hand not keouing why and looked io something resembling the face af black ‘A flying cylindrical object soared above our heads towards the stage where the youths who were reading out the names were standing... .* any Hostal “Teor-pas® someone shout] £3, "Phey'se shot fe teargas™ A Ting vlindrical cbjeet soared above “aut Sead towards. the stage where the Youths who were reading ow the names dere sanding flanked ow al ides By whatiog "people “there "was" pane People jumping around in all ‘rec tions, ith Neavy concentration on the fntrances and ext pois There ws now no doubt about the presence of pus {sit had filled ull the spacer the hal | gasped for breath, choking bot fumes Spreading into ry chest eves. nostri and throat, "Break the windows some- ne screamed, and many scrambled in the direction of the windows "Youths were leaping wildly over sidgg)ng womens The heavy baksite chur which ty husband rammed over the window pane seemed mnafectve. By then the row which nad conplomerateg inthe main entrance bad lesenes, | looked Crolugh my urring eyes and all Tine w twas that come what may, 1 had to get Some fresh air Only the powertl surge irom behind mc enabled meta work ny Way” through the gasping. coughin ‘women who were kneeling on the hoor Teas tramaported bythe movingsttear wth my feet hardly touching. the wooden Noor ‘Outside there was, shooting, and smoke thickened the misty mip U lit looked like sorog. Dark figutes an dressed 19 camouflage vnilorm He Stumbled over the body of 4 man and kick ed tt, turning it slowly over so that it lay prostrate with the face turned towards the Sky, and the acms spread out. The potice- man looked at me ‘Get im there, Quick” he ordered And struggled 10 get on my feet with greateffort He urged me on by hitting me hard across my buttocks with the butt of the gun The Bag slung aver my snolder dangled heavily below my diaphragm as | moved, halfcrawiing on all four limbs Towards the wide apen door of the kwela keweia. Pheld on to the step below the door with all my strength, with the zim of propelling myself oa tout. Before fcovld do that I was sentcatapulting an my stomach ‘over the dusty steel floor ef the police van by 2 push from behind While Isat on the bonk Wondering what would happen next 2 gil of ubout twelve was hurled into the Yan. {rom outside, and she quickly Scrambled {rom the Naor into my open arms. She set next to me, holding on 10 me find crying ‘Are they sat going asking Pann kiew f anstered Some of the fumes from the burning tear-gas had now worn off and | tried to thinks They are the law, Thought, holding ‘an hopelessly ta saine ray of hope. and the [aw must or atleast should protect Us Kill us? She kere STAFFRIDER, MARCH (97H Keept_ for The sound of one] divection of the houses 10 our left. Tsay Ghote echoing in the | ‘warning shot’ because a bullet whistled at yard now looked deserted and all was ‘The girl next to me shivered, cupping her ears with her hands, and hid her face on my lap.* quiet. The van took a block and lower down in thestreel, itstoad shil in the middle of the road. Hoth the Griver and the poticeman on the outede Sep alighted hurriedly, wielding guns, and Fam into the yards. The bile girl and I were ‘gain leftalonein the van. We stoad up and moved towards the open door and looked ut. She turned her tenr stained face up to ‘mine and asked: ‘Should we pot jurmpoult Unesitated and we stood there. fam fami: lar with hewhgle of Dube township, but at that moment T looked into a neighbour- hood’ I could not recognise. Everything seomed 10 be uneeal and confusing. | tned to think clearly. There were the strange unfamibar Rouses on both sides. Some had Tights shining through slits in the heavsly cUrtained large windows and others were dark. How long would it take me to cover the distance from the van to the houses before a gunshot stopped me? ‘No’. I said emphatically. holding her back, “there ould be more policemen hiding in the shadows “As if to conlim my Tears, warning shot raltled across the street inthe STAFFRIDER MARCH 1978 ec ur round the Rockville ithita high window-panc in one of the dark houses “There was movernest in. the shadows below and a policeman dashed towards the movement shouting. “Stop, stop!” Then there were sounds of cager footsteps audible as. we retreated away from the door on to the bunk witha thud ‘A sharp pain on my backside reminded me ff the blow from the gun butt, nd I tuned nd adjusted my’ siting position in such @ ‘manner that | would not suffer greater dis Eomfon. ‘The giei next 10 me shivered. cupping her ears with her hands. and hid her face on my lap, "3. You. the pcople of Soweto What do you think yap are? Just who da you think you are The loud voice ofthe black camouflage uniformed “policeman-cum-soldier was shouting, audible and elcar, above the eries ang screams of agony in the "kwela-kivela Ti was Rot, ane the weight of one of the policemen esting aver my back facing the Boor of the van was unbearable. stood at fn angle moaning from the paias in (ny rr, rump and spine which were aggravat ed by the heavy weight of the young police ‘man. rubbing incessantly against my whole back with his backside ashe strained his ‘muscles administering fierce blows with his baton indiserwminately to his ght and left fon the backs, faces, limbs of the cowering. People, We siete packed like sardines, He Was shouting and cursing as the crauching bewildered passengers codged the blows and dug ther faces ito each other's bodies, men and boys crossing their arms above their heads to dodge the blows. The women whined and sereamed loudly ‘Who do You think you are? Yoo, the people of Soweta? We can hardly rest Ro ay off, na leave because of vou! Hist who do you thine you are anyway The loud voice of the ‘inguisitor rose shouting above the screams and wails of the women. Itrose above the roaring noise fof the engine and frcuon of the tyres laguinst the tarred road. as the van sped along —alonga road to [-could-not-gvess- where It banged and jogged along, its body swaying from one'side 10 another You. The people af Soweto! Who do you think you ase? Thalt-turned my head to catch a dimpse fof the persistent questioner. Between the swaying quivering bodies of the many People hehind me, it was possible (© get Brie! eye-shats of him. He was chviously enjoying his privileged position. The hell- Ish journey was providing an excellent ‘opportunity for him. He was once and for all going 10 give the people of Soweto 3 00d telling-atf and without mincing his Words. [ could get short glances of him because hishead was high, near the roof of the vehicle. I wondered whether he was ol standing on crouching human bodies. His Camouliage cap was pulled well over his forehead 40 that the tem concealed most ‘of his face. Only the thick shiny lips show- Inga set of pure-white teeth and the strong lower jaw were visible His pink tongue epi rubbing over the ipsashespakeand i maintained fresh coat of sllva over them He fied hs stare tothe sweating face of a full-grown man. The policeman held in hishand a revolver withitsmouth pointing Iie the rare trniied. bunking face Tsun shoot yo noe, ow ad there's nothing you or anyone can do 10 me" tamed and faced away. I laced my front assae used to be ordered when we were in ur aubcstandards.IMinched away from the overwhelming need 1o steam at the top of my vole Ned fo mnd my own business snd pretend not tobe part af the homie sesne I closed my eyes aad ale Tempted afew words of prayer Twantedto pray that al that | was witnessing around Ihe should prove to be a reamrea night= mare rom which somesympathetic person ould soon rouse me. wes in vain 1 Teallsed hat all that was happening was no Sream but a shocking realty Haw, haw have! Thehecklersyoung colleague next tome fon my lef roared sath laughter in thick grave wore, He was standing with one of fis stecloled shoes over my ff foot. and {he tarsus hones fet clase fo bteskang. Shiy the weight of the Bator-fashing young policeman behind re and the sect dole ofthe one next ¢o me were removed. | sould be prepansd to journey ito de hel wwe were undoubtedly bound for with no toss st ail would wa for the nevtable seithout even raising singe. Thoughts Sood therein agosy, sweating ander ing I rested my tited abdomen over the body of the child below me and could only Nope that she would not suffocate to death She only peeped once, looked st me and swhispered Ma (mothir), please tell them yoo were with me Tell hein you were (rom one and that lam your end, Please Rodded to her pleadiag disjointed phrases bur Thnew that no one would believe hat | tras Yrom work at that hour of night The Ghd: dived under the sing-bag. hangin ‘eat wat Sabearable Carflly wened an tyeball in the direction of the policeman shtnoos forming my head for fear offen tng him and inviting blows 1 wondered why he was not lashing our ike his other colleagues 1 eobldtey to peak to him, entseat him to ft hits hesh sta sal racon ‘hrr all he atleast secmed ta he lapping someone infront of bim only, Ne met Se merely prevending to be doing what The Sihers are deine. tcanso\ee myset Jost 2'smali fraction: beg hn, the thnk ‘ng trying to work myseto a point where T'vould be brave enough 10 speak to him. The pain was more thant could bear. | sweated profusely, lapping myeye- Itshes hard to ake the seat Sine ears tell €own, My heart heat poweriully Uke hammer” twifled my volee s0 at Not Sereant.. Macemed fo me thatthe louder Sine howled the harder they hit you. The Jels ecalls Iam he women and ars hud me sungested that T wished | ould pase out Ai least T wouldnt seally Stand here at hat gweward angles ovet the Froaning. Geeply-breathing human forms tunder me, with my Backbone about 10 0 break inta twa or more pieces, and my foot ahout to be crushed into pulp. I ined to think how it had come about that {should be where I was. standing Uke that, aver so many peaple facingthe tear end af the 199, And tcould not piece my thoughistoget her ‘Oh, the piereing para in my lett foot If anly I could make him move the steel thing justa bit, I cucned my eyeballs left again 0 steal a small glance at him Perhaps if I saw his face | would be able 10 judge whether it would be ‘safe evento hee him: Iwas apprehensive. What was being one by these people seemed tome fo be unreal Human belngs could not posstly 0 this soother human beings. especially ‘fie same Mesh. colour and blood. 1 any ‘ane had related io me all hat was happen ng to us then, | would have called hey oF her a liar Such things cannot possibly happen to people not even in Soweto! They could happen sn hell, es. bul not anguhere on this earth. What wrong had wwe dome anvway" He seemed to be twisting someone's rm and slapping hin ar her 1 stale another peek and wav the tearsstained face of 4 Tecnage aie sn hetweer his heaving ams He siruck at the girl's already bleeding hand. I winced and looked away Perhaps PT begged tins to bit up his foot a biti ‘would distract him from concentrating on the poor gi. I thagght. My God! Whose daughter ‘as st, Tasked mysell. Ie could have heen my very own, (thought. all the erves in my abdomen curling up imo-a painful knot. Teovkd not heaethe sight The or gil tirned her eves ome, anda them Wasa look no maker could mistake. Iwas 2 challenge am appeal fro child, 2 Te male, gaits mother, What could 1d0 any Way" [tured my head and laoked squarely Into the man’s (ace. Although his eap as also pulled quite iow, he was much taller than | was He towered above me and t {could see hiseves under Ihe brim. Hecoule hot have heen much sider than sy own Son: 1 equld swear to that, | thought. He clenched his teeth and was about to ke ‘again when | begged ‘My aon, please ‘Shut up you! fm not your sont Stand hat wa" He shouted. stiking me with the back of his open hand and T could leet his fnger- lips touching my eyeball. He pushed me ‘with hiselhaw 40 that for same moments | Tay aver the crouched bodies in front of me and below me. They groaned and wriggled Tike worms as my ody rested wholly ane heavily on thers. He looked at me furiously and ered You! You are the very people who ave making theve childsen do what they are doing! You ace the ones! rose stowly and painfully. [held back the Mush of ears whieh came Nonding into my eyes and looked in his direcuon again Because of the force with which he nad jerked me away from Rim, his body up to | the knees had became visible. And what saw shocked me so that I was momentarily dumbfounded The poor er! had been Strgghing with the sicong arms of the pol- iceman. He was trying o poll gown the np in the front of the past offeans the gel was ‘Wearing. Fora short while, they were lock st in (ossle and when bi hand broke Your Foot s resnng Joose, his fst went fying towards the girl's | ‘Cowards™ one of the youths mumbled face, hiting her an the eve sa that herevelid Started swelling smmediately. 1 looked at him, buc my eves were attracted 10 the open fy of his trousers. His naked male organ Was proteuding ned. and at ght anges torhis body" he police van guigled to a jerky halt infront of a. big gate, and 1” breathed a sigh of relief eeguse x appeared that we had at Iast reached aye destination 1 aid aot Know on which part of this troubled world le was but wehad arrived We had come to the end of what nad been Uke a0 endless harardous journey Although was not yet eleven. had heen ike ages since we were seated calmly Inthe heautul spacious MCA. hallin Dude, Inoking farward to a ame when we would join the Biko family. in King: Sillhamstown, mouraing with then there sad loss of their heloved telation ~ 3 truly Worthy sos af this sv “The gruesome period af heating, cursing land wore scemed to have ceased and We Wondered what would come next. We were almost humanely ordered out of the ve hele, 1 had realised that the number of people who were lnaded into the "kxela Kovels’ was great — bur not to the extent what was now evident before me. “Twosby-twor the elderly-iooking black policeman wielding baton in his hand falled abt. pointing towards the entcance Sut nf which a strong clecinig hight shot broad heim which pisreed the dark sur roundings Two-hitwo: ‘jengamapilis'® (Like gis he pobceman resiterated the order. and wwe jumped our in as quick a manner as we could manage ‘Where are we? The bile rl nex! 1o me asked. whisper Ing and looking about forsens of anything she could recognise Which police station is this it Soweto or what? Pabn th now 1 replied softly, shaking my head and adjusting the strap of the sling-bag. [look ed before me in dishelicl How eau thst Skwela-kwela’ take in so many people? looked around to see whether there wer fther vehicles nearby but realised tha ours Wwasthe aaly one Leried to count the pairs Stop gazing about Mose" Uainpped counting and faced ahead of ime, lumping on one foot. We slowly filed Into the’ charge office he large ‘oom ime which we were herded was {vill 13 Capacity. leaving only a small space nen inthe ling wooden count rang about two mettes betes Us ahd Sur former “asailants. They seemed to have been jomed by many more armed carouilage policemen bath Slack and White They leaned agains walle staring 3¢ tis under the caps. relaxed and some si Img obvious tai sth wat they ha iccomplished. Pxcept for a few stalwart youthaand men wha kept directing accus ingandchalleng ngscortlal stares them we had been’ thoroughly quclied dabbing tus wet brow. “Aa ne ba te mtitse papa’ (They had weong the ‘parndge Slarch — out of us). Just Uke vou do toa new cloth which is hard and stiff and re- fuses to le down fat Our spinis had been dampened, perhaps, but they were still in four aching bodies, Unlike our hero (Steve Biko} whom we were mourning. we were suill alice. Thanks God. | fet worn ang haggard allover leould only hope that the bones in my left loot were sill whole Except for the swelling ands lwonge of pain where my stocking clung «oa ctatal blood ii felt alnght. T had expected to see a splinter of Bune sticking out The upper hd Of my left eve was heaty and sore’ 1 kept wondering what sight I presented to those Wha were looking at me. This mst have heen the feehng of everyone whe had heen heaten All around were mosements of anins towaeds parts which Bad hecn hurt Hands were holding pieces of tissues, hand kerchiefs torn pieces ol clothing. wiping wounds on even, arehesds. skulls, necks cars. sverwunere where the haiman bos San he situck There washlood everysshere ‘an aur clothes shoes, some dripping on to the Nant There ere gasps of horror irom the girls and women when 2 teenage irl was dragged ino the space between us and the paliceme: Tsat down oa the Moor to ease my back and stallen sore ant, One f the adult men Wha sere with us in the ae must have howced my agony decane if spite of the Tonks of disgust from nur hlack guards. ne removed his prev feed overcoat. spread it mite floor and pressed dawn mv showlder ently urging meta ke down on thecoat, It WWavonly nen heensed my shng-bagunder tw head that | stay aware of The diz2iness Sod theoh an my temples T loaked at the partiallv-eonceated foees ofthe black policemen expecting reproach, and thea thanked him. The whites, who hau mage fio atlempt to cover thelr cownnenances merely stared atusand said nothing. 'must have tanked likea sight forsorecves fe them to be nditferent to what must have been tke in act of chivatey by one payen cP to another’ Thad never Neen sn prison hrefore, Theowghout all my life, 1 haul ted by all means tev avaid any confrontation With the police. Fora so-called second class fizen who had lived all my Ufe in the Sty ff Johannesbucg t had reaily heen fowtun Ste enough to have achieved that umque fistinenion ina place where 1 was almost impossible not tn bes criminal, Thad abe fd almost all the laws of this Republic All the many unjust laws {had often Felt that | {was under no moral obligation to honour Yer these Tae I stopped thinking about myself ang Indulgpng ina lot of sel-puty. Peas uneasy. ‘There was the poor gil ving thertly near ime: I kept wondering whether she was sti Ireathing or not 1 kept my eves fixed on her chest I dared aot teach aut and touch her After a while, I realised that she nae hreathing She drew deep rtegular gushes ‘of air through her open blood-stained mouth, her bloody tongue and teeth shaw tng throagh her thick ips. She kept hereves Shut helow the swollen bruised foreshead, Tiooked at the smiling contented black pohcemen and asked myself whether dey Were the same ones who were with us nthe SIAPFRIDER, MARCIE ITA “iewelackwela’” They avoided our eyes They cannot face us in the bright Hghts of the charge office, [thovght. [felt certain that they wauld never live to face anyone squarely in the face again. Somehow 1 pitied them What had we done to de- Eetve that kind of treatment anyway, what wrong bad we done? I agreement and” uncertainty on the other side of the counter Derwcen the black sergeant-in-charge and the white offical What je the charge? The white policeman had asked the ser. geant and we all listened attentively. 1 Struggled to my feet aided by some af the people nearby We sere now gosng to be formally charged, ond if i¢ was.ar all poss- ile far us toreturn to our homes and nurse four wounds in the eave of aut loved ones land not in that squalid abominable place We would not hesitate 10 leave = Disturbance “The black sergeant replied. And welook- ed at each other. Some whispered ‘whom Sid we disturb” There was shulling of feet mang us. some shaking their head, “Those wha want 19 pay admission of guilt can do so and pay. Then they will Fe tece to go ‘The black police official added chs with all the authonty the law permitted him How much? Someone ia our midst asked: Ten Rand. Those who want to pay can give ther names and addresser to my Ssistant here. The men must produce their passes: Ihe women need Ho There was mumbling and movement as pockets were searched and purses opened Fhose of us who had lost all ther belong: ings stood stil, others with their arms ald- £6, Some of us who had same money to Spare, offered to pay (or the others. I Was Sad when we realised that even if as not the desire of anyone of us to go free whilst others would remain, many were still aot omg co beablero leave. Most of us did not know each other but we had suffered to- gether. and our plight had propagated fatent spint of unity — something. the people of Soweto have bad to learn Through their long history of endurance, {ter after forther secret’ consultations between the officals, we were telerred to another section of the police station. We moved towards that other Bloek and the Title gel whowas with me inthe van mowed closer to me again. She said softly. "This is Meadowlands. They are leading us to the cli, Many of our school-mates were de- Tained here. I know’. We moved on, some ff us still clotching the RIO notes in our hhands. We had filled in the forms but noth: ing was said about handing in the money "The thick, heawiy-bolted wooden door was opened and we fled in and stood ina Semi-citele, facing another long counter With a pink-tnced burly offical leaving Spuinat st, his shirt-sleeves rolled up to his bloeps How much are you? tn was 4 parenthetical question and we here seemed to be some dis Rockville stared at im without sayinganything Did he really expec us to have an answer to tha, we wondered. He must have een able {0 fead the boredom in ou worn ex pressions How much are you? He repeated, sailing and starting to count. eyeing us like a number of fishes aught ina net, and nodding his btonde het ta every count, hs eyes gliding over out heads. and indifferent t0-our long Sutfering” Some. of the black policemen moved fn carrying the wounded pA who Ind fainted. He looked at her and asked ‘What's weong with her? Nobody answered him He resumed his counting. Hiryse lingered on the ble gl beside me and he pointed at her. P*You should not have taken her. Shes {00 small man He sad to his black subordinates. He askes the child How old are you? Tacive And he shook his head —"Ringhs. They can goin. Open the gates. The easy Tack on the Wek weOught irom gate behind us crackled and a black $uard stoad openingtne daar with one arm fd standing aside, We were led into the big prson yard and the cells. The menfolk were directed in the opposite direction. To the teenage school pitts with us it seemed to be familiar ground: We followed the guard vwithout uttering # word pile of arkegrey, soiled “donkey blankets was brought in by another guscd fd dumped in the centre of what we reer fed to as Cell amongst ourselves. las 19 be our ving-quarters for that whole week nd: hal of us The other half were housed inthe sdentiesl cell next-door. We spread the ones" blankets on the shiny cement Noor reluctantly but at that moment all we nected was 10 be let alone and to have Somewhere toes ‘The heavy prison door clanged mec Jews ehind “Gr and the ‘ollow sound cehoed ihrovgh the high almost empty Tovse of detention ¢ were awakened by the haunting invsic. of freedom "songs The "captive chldren had arisen from the hard concrete gaol foot tndauated, defiant and as reslient as ever ‘Thar songs of hope, assurance and deter: rmination resounded through the sombre prison surcoundings. The} nursed heir Wounds sng sang of the heroes of Africa Their youne vigorow bodies appeared to fave drawn more enthusiasm ftom their ‘ery weakened state. They tose ip the early morning belore the sus ays filed the spa ous prison yard. Av soon as the heavy iron doors were openeé they emerged and Stamped the rough concrete loor wath thei feet They wore going to fight on workout flinching in ste of the hippos, the tea fhe. bullet the detentions, the bann {ngs and the shackles" antl Azania is treet The floor inside the cell where we were Iying seemed to quaver asthe bate young feat thundered on the cement oor outside They declared “Trina silulatsho, Singeke sibulalwe Ngama-Bunu —Sillutsha"¢We are the youth, ‘We shall never he destrayed By the Bocis — We are the youth!) Histened, suppressing the strong urge to {go aut into ihe yard. With the exception of the ones who had sustained bad unjuries and were still groaning with pain, Cell 2 ‘Was nearly vacant “tempting to tne woud mean using most of the enuscles in my body which were now very sore. Any effort to move would also inevitably disturb the two on either Side of me. On my left wasa school who had introduced herselfas Mpho from Phe- feni, and on my right was a woman of my own age, Mabel. She owned a house in Dube and she knew many of the residents of Moroka who were my naghbours After twisting and turing in aa effort 19 find the most agreeable postions in which to lie, Mpho and I had decded that we Would face thesaime way simultaneously 60 that we would cause each other as ltde discomfort as possible. Mabel could only lie on hee back as the whole anterior por- tion of her hody from the chest down to het knees was very badly bruised, She was also feeling very Teversh ‘With the assistance of some ofthe people around, we finally got up. I squeezed my swollen toes into the let shoe and hobbled fut into the confined sunny space and the music. Thedeafening thumpingand ulula ing were now in earnest asthe eager Voices chanted the Xhosa war song to which they added their own words. The loud singing and stampeding were reduced by the clang of the majestic gate ‘The matran opened the door 10 ihe long: term prisoners who were carrying the wten- sits containing the breakfast. Then the music stopped and we satisfied our curios ity about the pason fod. Some tasted the different items of the menu solt por ridge, tea or coffee (cold), tale bread, The majonty tefused even to touch it Wed rather starve’ they remarked, ‘what if they should give us polson” There was laughter aD around Thad mentioned easlier that when we eutered Cell 2 on the previous night, it was ‘neatly’ empty. There was, in the far ends & arey bundle rolled up tightly. The bundle ‘wa in fact Lydia, ie sole occupant, « git who had apparently been involved in what she claimed had been a frame-up in arod- bery case and 2 subsequent shooting with the potice, She had been remanded in custody. Lydia bad been there for nearly four months when we arrived. From herwe learnt a lot about ie in that prison No, even if the threadbare ‘donkey’ blankets ‘were soiled and sometimes blood-stained, she had not seen any bedbugs or ice. No, there was never hot water in the taps and basins in the shower-roor. No, you were ‘not supplied with any soap, you had to provide yourown. Yeu the prison food was always the same “bot sometimes luke. ‘warm tasteless mealie-pep portidge in the ‘morning with s cold beverage which tastes Tike tea at other times and Eke coffee on other days. Yes, the sugar content was STAFFRIDER, MARCH 1978 15 always insufficient in the tea you ‘wanted additional sugar you could ask the Tong-ierm prisoners #0 give you some, or you could Send one of the guards 10 buy You some No, milk cartons were never Allowed inside. It anyone brought. you milk, t wae always poured into fins. No, She never eats prison {008 — has {00d brought from home daly by relations who also do her washing at home and supply her with clean clothes, or lunch, there was always hot mealie meal pap (stif) in albminium pots and the Watery brown soup with some vegetablesin also stale bread Ves. cald ea! in a Un Was provided with every meal. Yes. the {ood is broughcin whether youeat it of nat For supper, there was he thick brown bean Soup and mealie-meal pap (stiff) Yes. we ‘could all contribute some money and ask Some af the puards to go ané buy us some food ‘outside’ Ves. they are very evuel and hard tohegra with, but theyare alco human and black, and they sometimes sympathise sto which some femarked: “OF course they also want a free Avana, They are in chains. (Laughter) No, there s no meat even on Sundays, but there is sometimes samp. fo reply to my twelve-year-old com- panion, Tydia said... Ves, Sophie, the Fae gt's cousin who had been detained since the August unrest of 76 was sil there Jnut she was in soltary confinement in Cell Tnext-door Yes, some of the boys rom Rocksalle who had been arrested alter the “Bne riots were stil there. Yes, even f they fare not allowed visitors, the guards some- times sympathise and allow them to peep ‘through the daors. Yes, they all looked well land healthy. but they were all homesick No, they were not allowed to read any newspapers. not even the "Wond: fe all took turns and_went To do. our washing-up. Those who had completed their ablutions, at tended to the contributions and made des sions as to what to buy for ovr meals, Those who had “los” all their possessions and purses would also be provided for ‘Afterall we are all one family, we sll aareed We were all happy (o sec that the girl who had been dragged into the charge ‘office.on the previous night was sow fully conscious. She had been cared for bY Flora, the gt with the pink night-dress Tat once admired Flora's courage, more- so Because of her vrllingness to help. She seemed \o be born for nursing others. Twas fot surprised to leare later that she was (a fact a nurse employed in De Motlana’s surgery. She floated around in the une {familiar surroundings of the prison on her are feet. like they were her consulting rooms. She was indeed @ Florence Night ingle Flora was very resourceful and she did 2 lot of improvising. She had stented esrly doing 2 Tot of Tits! aid" work. She ignored her awn cuts and bruises and attended to others. Those who were fortunate enough Rockville to be able to hold on to their handbags, ere only too willing (0 offer ointments such as vaseline, and glycerine. Some even had pain killing tablets and powders. These wweredistrbuted to those who needed them 1 was long after beeakfast. The regular warder accompanied by one of his associates” walked into the yard wielding the nevable Horch Ov enormeus keys. We mere al surimoned into our tespectve eels tbe round Iter the Counting. the beeper asked Bo yo have any complains? He had invited 2 barrage of auestions and requests (Ofcourse we have! Whats urong? = Cant you se! And ve looked a him eather wide-eyed Somechicking ther longucs in disgust One rowed angel Wnt do you mean what, What aboot cur bays” fags? © Vebags. What about chen; Where are the Another one muttered We went oor injures atended to, we sant donor! — Wes see to that, The warderrclortee rater taken sback You wih sc to what, when asked yet anotner The Goar slammed be “freedom” tunes?’ bine him ae be fellowed hi Com pardon, cutting out unceremeniausly smihng ond leaving. without offering salistaciory “The scoundrel. He's a brute! Lydia remarked walks in here at might when we are asleep and fondles vs Everyone looked at hey surprised, others laughing and shaking their beads in de spar. Someone asked PNAC night, when youare alone, hen what do you do? ‘What shall we do? We chase him away and threaten to eepor him ‘The son was hot outside where some sat Jn the shade against the wall plaiung each bother and teaching each other new Tree- dom’ tunes. Most preferred to cither sit leaning against the walls inside. oF Iving down. One of the keepers brought in 2 nomber of about 11? inch thick rec: {angular strips of coarse woollen matting ‘These we welcomed very much 28 We af ranged them on the col smoath cement floor, and they served as mattresses. ““itas anyone got a razor blade” Flora asked, peeping at the door from the next cell What are you going to do with a razor bade, cut somebody's throat? No, replied the energetic gl, smiling She was already busy. For those who had wounds in ther skulls she would clean Upthe affected purts which were caked with ust, clotted. Blood and hair Then she woulé: shave off the surrounding “hair Those who had spare docks passed them over 10 her ta make slings to support broken or swollen arms ‘Where's that woman? The cellsmates chatted aay leisurely. — Who, the matron? Do they reter fo her asthe matron? Isn't | matrona dignified professional nurse. 3 most senior nurse in a AOspital oF Something? — Well she's also a senior, a prison senior Replied the one next to her sarcastically Til be damned if 1 must come and be 3 wateh-dog for the Hoers! Where do they get all the scum from? asked another. T wonder who supplies them with all these... Matanzima, Mangope. who? They couldnt be from Soweto? — Imagine having a prison warder for a neighbour? (ater, the smiling ‘polite’ woman warder walked in accompanied by a tall policeman wn plain clathes, wearing an all-weather overcoat and holding in his hand 3 note book and pencil, The woman announced ‘Any of vou who would ike to inform relatives. at home that you are being kept here may send this man, ‘The impression we got was that for once ‘The sun was hot outside where some sat plaiting each other and teaching each othernew thar was 2 deviation from normal proces tie, Many gave names and addreses with Sut hesitating, and the man wrote them down fast. Many agreed that he looked inteligent and wfferent. We thanked Kim, hind just before he turned to go someone Temembered and asked "What about our Dugaages? Lugaazes? = Yettntr bags. We kt them in the hal YW. A. Dube Some remaineginihe hhuser when we jumped out. Can’ you help us? Whatt game 10 Dappen 10 them? Something should be done bout ¢hem Perhaps they posted policemen to look alter them. Til go and see Please do help vs, and thanks The woman remained behind explained re just been 1018 by the sergeantine charge that those of you wha would ke {a have medical attention wil be taken to a doctor this evening. Aer they had left and locked us inthe yard caving tne two cells open, most Of. moved freely in and out of the cells end xeressed oe suff muscles Later, Mabel and STAFFRIDER, MARCH 197% ‘Some only hide their heads under the blankets and forget their buttocks outside! Haw, haw, haw? and 1 and several others went into Cell 2 and ‘relaxed’ on the stools we had made From bundles of rolled gaol blankers. We engaged in some lalking while others re mained outside in the yard Manel, cuddled between Mpho and ray self in "aur corner asked Why did you nat send the policeman, how will your husband know where you, —T don't know where he is. We were to gether in the hall. How do 1 know thelhier he foo, has been detained, at nother prison? And why did you not fove your adgress? Twas reluctant. 1do not lke poheemen frequenting my home. Everybody wil panic We have already had 100 many ists From these people We both laughed. Thad the feeling that Mabel was not neing Nosest and { did not want to pry. We listened to the ea rete around us aN that policeman, he seems (o under sama. to sympathise That's why | thoughe that hel at least do something bout our feather bags and parcels Our valuables, monies, provisions! — They" ext Uke hungry pee All those cakes, ehiekers, Iris ete = My purse. all that money. avy Beautiful smonale rug? — My" expensive pair of platform shoes and sandals! Ours remained at that poor woman's hose hare, She must have had most of her furniture smashed ‘What about her beautiful cut-glass sets nd rockery which were in that big ds play cabinet? — What happened, did they break i? asked. They looked at me surpnsed = Wheve were your Didr't iney rae you out af ane of the houses? ~ No, Twas the first to be shoved into the Kwela-kwela' They found me ina daz- ed state outside the YWCA. ball ‘What happened Did they break her 5 play cabinet? Teeame down uke a rain cloud! They were turning everything upside-down ooking for hiding people all over. And there were many of usin that woman's hovse. Shame She had opened her house to us, and she only got trouble We listened. sometimes laughing and a other times not. They were always revert- ing to the hellish journey in the "kwels keel Didn't you hear that “braggard) of soldiex “telling his colleagues. fancy, these Soweta people, they all ke on top of each other” I picked up the blankets land there they were, pretending 10 be fast asleep, sill fully-dtad, in thei deess fs and trourers. All ten of them in one bed. imagine. When they find the owner of the house sleeping on his or her bed, they don't ask, They ust cimbinan top. of whoever they find and pull. the blankets over their heads, stil their STAFFRIDER, MARCH 197% shoes and everything Some only hide their heads under the blankets and for gel their big buriocks outside! Raw, Baw, haw!" And they laughed, making fun an beating us And these ctoldten already know their icties As soon 4¢ something happens, they come searching and turning nearmy) houses upside-down, Yes. We know them, When you dash into a house and find them doing dish ‘washing. you remove your school uri- form fast and grab and wear whatever garment you find. Then you join those fn the house and do whatever mouse work you can. Just keep yoursell busy When they come asking questions, they can ace youhave been iaithe house and nol at a mesting oF protest march There sas laughter — Didn't you Rear him, che braggard, say ing Tifiad another one sittag on & hair. When I obd him to get out and ga nto the van, he claimed twas his house Fancy. how can the owner ofa house sit gna chair filly.dresced in his best Sunday suit, sitting, with his necktie, everything ona chairinstead of elaung in bed ut fen at night? And when Jasked hien why he was sting there ina prtch Black hovse, he tells me that that his business!” And his colleague standing near us added "And I bet you ask Niet to produce a permit forthat house of his, he won't know where t0 look for Then | remembered Flora moving in her pink nightie and bare lee! aad askec “Now how did Flora manage to save her raghtie and lose her shoes, she also lost her bag. did she not? They al laughed, looking at me curious: ly. One explasned: Don't you know? Flora dashed into a rouse Sha rouna the pink nighue Ing there She quickly” undressed and shipped the nightie on, Her bags, shes ang cverythiag remained in that house She's ‘one of those who were dragged ut of bed. She doesn't even know ‘whose nightie that is a.as so funny. We all taughed loudly. These ehildren know the soldiers and police. They are busy with them day in End day ov! nowadays, and they are pring them a run for their fat pay cheques Can't you see what they do when they get into. these “kwelarkwelas They Work their way underneath, You wont ‘even see their heads Did you perhaps have the time to see what was happening where fas? That Soldier or policeman who was sitting ext to me pulled me down and made me sit near him, He kept asking me many questions. What's your name? Where do you live? Don't you want to come and pay mea visit at the Protes Barracks? T

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