VETERAN struggle activist, Phyllis Naidoo (80), member of the Order of Luthuli, launches her seventh publication, Footprints Beyond Grey Street, at 2pm on Saturday, December 1 at the iconic Scala Cinema, recently revamped as part of the Curries Fountain heritage project.
Her latest book continues the theme, which she started in 2002’s Footprints in Grey Street, of telling simple stories about simple people who changed the course of South African history through personal sacrifice. While Footprints in Grey Street was located in the old Casbah area, this sequel departs from the first one by looking at footprints in other areas.
“Phyllis Naidoo’s latest book is a monument to those who don’t have tombstones or statues,” said political analyst Kiru Naidoo.
“These are stories about the youthful MKs, Charlie and Jo, killed in action and the child McBride listening to the last exchange of gunfire from the rooftop of his township home, the Chief Sekhukhune starved to death and the Nobel Laureate, Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli, peacemaker and revolutionary, denied something as simple as access to a doctor in his later years,” said Kiru Naidoo.
“These are also stories about the running dogs of apartheid, capitalism and white supremacy like the SBs, Nayagar, who “died of a heart attack doing his filthy job”, Grobbelaar who blew out his brains and the one with the fat hands that killed the Imam,” he said.
The book also includes a rare short story of Phyllis Naidoo’s experience in prison called Ten Green Bottles, which first appeared in an out of print publication by the Congress of South African Writers (Cosaw) in 1992, under the heading “A snake with Ice Water – Prison writings by South African Women”.
Phyllis Naidoo will also be releasing a 2008 calendar called “Make South Africa Safe For Our Children” at the launch on December 1, which is hoped to raise awareness on the plight of our children. The calendar will be included with the book for a limited period only.
For more information contact Viroshen Chetty on 073 805 9168.
