Ahmed Kathrada - Committed to the Practice of Liberation
The Pedagogy of Action
For the last fourteen years I have taken students to South Africa from the University of Michigan on a program called the Pedagogy of Action. This is a program which is based on an oral methodology I developed to teach low literate populations HIV prevention. It lasts approximately fifteen minutes. The idea is to have local communities develop it into their own languages and teach their own communities. Over the years these community teachers have taught over 20,000 people. In their preparation for South Africa the students must study the culture, politics and history of South Africa. An important text is Madiba’s Long Walk to Freedom, where they meet the important figures who fought for the new South Africa.
In 2000 we were at what is now called the Nelson Mandela gateway to catch the ferry to Robben Island and we could not go because the sea was too rough and so when I finished talking to the ticket agent, he pointed to the gentleman who was just walking away and he said to me, do you know who that gentleman is and I said no. He said have you ever heard of Mr. Kathrada. I said YES! And he said there he is. I dropped my handbag and ran after him, shouting Mr. Kathrada! Mr. Kathrada! Mr. Kathrada! He turned around and spoke to me while I babbled. He behaved as though he was ordinary when he was so extraordinary.
Since that time we became fast friends. He came to Michigan a few times and we have seen him consistently in South Africa over the past fourteen years. Because I know we are going to meet him I spend a great deal of time making sure my students know about the history and struggle in South Africa and that they know him. In their dispatches about their travels home, the students write about the meaning of meeting him.
I think all of us who have met Kathy and have experienced his Robben Island, try, like the students, to find the words to adequately describe him – a description that has always eluded me.
In his very beautiful and moving book No Bread for Mandela, Kathy talks about his love and admiration for Walter Sisulu, as his mentor, his father. He uses a tribute written by the great Ruth First to give us a feeling of this seminal South African.
And in his person he is committed to the practice of liberation because he is committed to the liberation of his people, our people, but he is a liberated man himself. He uses no devices to overwhelm others. He has pride, but no false pride. He has no arrogance, he has no malice. He is a plain and straight forward man, he is a soft spoken man, but he is a committed man, a man who makes no concession when questions of principle are at stake.
This too is Kathy and I am sure Kathy will demur such comparisons, but the line “he uses no devices to overwhelm others” is the line we have been looking for to describe one Mr. Ahmed Kathrada.
Nesha Z. Haniff
The Triumph of the Human Spirit
“In preparation for this trip to South Africa, Professor Haniff made sure that we were aware of South Africa’s history. And I admit that after reading Nelson Mandela’s autobiography and other texts describing the apartheid system, I thought that I knew and could really understand what happened here. But after visiting Robben Island and looking into Mr. Mandela’s cell, after going to the District Six museum and hearing the words of Joe Schaffers, who lived through the displacement of his entire community, I felt like I was seeing the effects of apartheid for the first time. Words cannot fully describe how profoundly different reading and experiencing something can be. The thing that amazes me more than all the illustrations of the triumph of the human spirit is the extraordinary ability to forgive. We had the honor of meeting Mr. Ahmed Kathrada, one of the founding fathers of the New South Africa, who spent 26 years in prison including his time on Robben Island with Mr. Mandela. Mr. Kathrada not only spoke about forgiveness he also demonstrated it. When we first met him he felt compelled to introduce us to a dear friend of his, Christo Brand, who was his warder when he was imprisoned on Robben Island. This moment was astonishing for me, Mr. Kathrada, a man who was deprived of his freedom, and treated as less than human for a large part of his life was able to reconcile and forgive the man who was his warder. Mr. Kathrada chose not to emphasize the horrible and dehumanizing acts he endured but the small acts of kindness and humanity that Mr. Brand showed him. He explained that harboring feelings of anger and being unwilling to forgive only serves to keep people from moving forward with their lives.
Our time here has really helped me to understand what it’s like to witness a historical moment. As we travel across this beautiful country the effects of apartheid are still apparent, but it is important to note that South Africa is a country in transition. Yes there are many problems that exist and many changes are yet to be made, but we are inspired by the hope, faith and spirit of the New South Africa.”
Signing off, Marissa Watts – Teammate of Pedagogy of Action, 2007
“Privileged and Blessed”
The beautiful city of Cape Town was our third stop of our month long work in South Africa. It was amazing to see the tall Table Mountains tower over the city, while the Atlantic Ocean washed the coastline. The trip would be significantly short giving us a small holiday from our hard work at the University of Zululand and the schools of Cato Crest and Mayville. Although we were on holiday, we still held one day of teaching to twelve Red Cross HIV home care workers, and six peer facilitators. Instead of teaching, we visited historical sites such as District Six and Robben Island to gain more understanding of the history of South Africa and the effects left by the Apartheid System. During our stay here we have been blessed with many memorable experiences, being in the presence of living history.
The next day was followed by a tour on Robben Island. Everyone had this sense of excitement and anxiety to finally visit a place we have read about in Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, “A Long Walk to Freedom.” We were led by an ex-prisoner, Mr. Derek Basson, who was charged with sabotage at the age of seventeen. Our Robben Island experience came full circle as we met Mr.Ahmed Kathrada. I was surprised to be meeting a person who impacted the formation of the New South Africa, and was a leader along the side of Nelson Mandela against Apartheid. We were privileged and blessed to have the opportunity for Mr. Kathrada to take time out of his schedule to meet us. As he talked with us, he never exhibited any resentment of the adversity he experienced but how the others outside the prison suffered more.
These opportunities of meeting different historical figures, whether great or small, have inspired us in our work with the HIV module as well as our own work at the University of Michigan. Their experiences encourage us to fight the social injustices affecting our communities locally, nationally, or globally. Through their stories we are able to learn from the past, apply it to the present and hope for a better future.
Signing off, Jerry Ilar – Teammate of the Pedagogy of Action, 2008
Breathing Memories
Our journey in South Africa began in Johannesburg, where we were put into Kenny’s more than capable hands. Kenny is not your average tour guide. While he knows the straight facts about South African history, he also lived through apartheid and was able to enhance our learning by sharing personal details. He is an expert storyteller, a preserver of oral history. Kenny also gave our group an understanding of the meaning of community in Soweto, the former all black township outside of Johannesburg. I had to see the township with my own eyes before I could comprehend that black people were not allowed to live in the actual city of Johannesburg, even though their labor served as the backbone of South Africa’s economy.
Our group had the incredible opportunity to meet Mr. Ahmed Kathrada, a leader of the South African Indians Congress and freedom fighter who was imprisoned for over 30 years. As a person of Indian descent, I felt connected to South African history in a new way after meeting Mr. Kathrada. As I presented him with a small token of appreciation from our group, I was suddenly brought to tears. It was as if the pieces of the puzzle finally clicked into place: the fight against apartheid was no longer an abstract set of names and dates. It was real, personal, and standing right in front of me.
Kenny is a great admirer of Mr. Kathrada; each was engaged with the struggle against apartheid in his own way. Seeing Kenny and Mr. Kathrada actually meet and converse was extremely moving, especially when Kenny told Mr. Kathrada that he and his comrades sang protest songs in honor of Mr. Kathrada who smiled incredulously, seemingly stunned that anyone would make such an effort to support him. This is just one of the many examples of Mr. Kathrada’s humility. He is one of the forefathers of afree South Africa, yet he invited a group a students to his home (and even served us snacks!) and took the time to tell us about his experiences in the struggle. A truly humble man, he downplayed his role in the destruction of apartheid. I couldn’t believe that someone who had endured so many years of pain on Robben Island was sitting before me as a whole and fulfilled person. He was not bitter or angry; he was so dedicated to justice that imprisonment could not break him. Mr. Kathrada’s commitment to other people and his ability to comprehend the world in terms of his community rather than just as an individual are traits that make him an excellent role model. Seeing this man in real life helped me understand just how tall a person’s humanity can grow when properly nurtured with a sense of community, selfless-ness, humility, and forgiveness. He has inspired me to form personal connections with everyone I am lucky enough to meet while I am in South Africa and beyond to better understand my place in the world.
Mimi Singh, Teammate of Pedagogy of Action, 2011
Mr. Ahmed Kathrada, 8/21/29-3/28/17
If I had to pick one moment in ZA when I felt transformed, it was meeting Mr. Ahmed Kathrada. For the first time in my life, I felt proud to be of Indian descent as I saw it connected me to a man who had put his life on the line to end apartheid and fight for the humanity of black lives.
A man who refused to accept the slight advantages he was given over his black peers, instead challenging the ways in which the oppressors tried to pit people of color and black people against each other during apartheid ZA. A man who understood that his liberation was tied with his black siblings.
Through his struggle and triumph, through his courage and conviction, I saw my own path for justice carved out as a brown woman in the US. As I reflect on his life, his humility, his character, I hope to fight for the liberation of all, just as he did. Thank you, Uncle Kathy.
Harleen Kaur, POA 2015 Student
Live History
We have all had the opportunity to visit museums. The routine of walking around, casually reading scattered facts, and continuing with our day is how it always goes. On Monday, we found a way to break that routine. There we were—a group of twenty Americans—following Mr. Ahmed Kathrada through the halls of Liliesleaf Farm. We were in disbelief as we followed him from room to room, listening to him explain how he and his colleagues, such as Madiba, used the farm to hide and create their political strategy. There was an eerie feeling when we arrived in the room in which he was arrested. He nonchalantly talked about the danger he was in, and the tough prison conditions he faced over his twenty-six years of imprisonment.
Looking around and seeing pictures of a young Mr. Kathrada, and then looking back at him explaining his journey, gave way to many emotions. There was a chilling feeling when I realized that I was following a live piece of history through a museum. His pictures and the pamphlets came to life as he described every detail as if it were his first time there. Puzzled by his unrelenting demeanor, one of my POA brothers asked Mr. Kathrada if coming back to Liliesleaf was difficult. In his confident and humble tone, Mr. Kathrada described how his frequent trips to the farm were actually a source of enjoyment for him.
I used my opportunity during the Q&A session to ask Mr. Kathrada about the current state in Palestine. As a Palestinian-American activist, I was especially grateful to meet Mr. Kathrada, since he has been very vocal on the current struggle. I asked him a question about the true parallels of the struggle between Palestine and South Africa, and how things would play out if political prisoner Marwan Barghouti were released. Kathy chuckled and said, “One can endlessly speculate about the what-ifs of time.” He did, however, speak about the importance of solidarity between the South African and Palestinian struggles.
My favorite part of the day came at the end when we were taking pictures. As I approached Mr. Kathrada with my phone raised in my hand, I asked him to look up for a selfie. After he laughed and shook my hand, he looked up at me and said, “You are just as tall as Mandela.”
Sammy Shalabi, POA 2015 Student
