Disembarking at Cairo, we were confronted with an enormous billboard welcoming delegates to the COP27 climate conference. 40 000 delegates were meeting to discuss, among other things, the painful question of financial responsibility for fixing the climate crisis caused largely by the activities of developed countries. Visiting Egypt was a long-held dream. It was wonderful for many reasons, not least […]
This Mournable Body, Tsitsi Dangarembga
Imprisoned minds in colonised bodies Tsitsi Dangarembga and Julie Barnes were arrested on 31st July 2020 for walking down a street in Harare carrying placards that simply said “We want better. Reform our institutions.”. They were convicted on 29th September 2022 and given suspended sentences and fines for inciting violence. Dangarembga is a writer and filmmaker who has worked with […]
Fear, anger and the attempted murder of Salman Rushdie
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie was banned in Zambia In Zambia, The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie was a lump hidden under a towel in my bedside cupboard. It wasn’t a very effective hiding place. I knew that. I was afraid and angry every time I opened the cupboard door. I was afraid one of my house staff would […]
That was the way it was
My last blog post was about children of violence. Today I write about how I am also a child of violence and its impact on my family and children. War was always around me but as a child, I didn’t know that. My parents were scarred by it – a normal human reaction after all. As a schoolgirl, I […]
Simon Zukas
Simon Zukas, a kind and principled freedom fighter There are people in one’s life who are so important and yet so much woven into the fabric of that life that you take them for granted. This is true even of the people in our families, parents, siblings and also spouses. There comes a sudden moment when you realise that you […]