Former guerrilla and public administrator Marion Sparg detailed her journey during exile at the launch of her memoir, Guilty and Proud, at Exclusive Books in Rosebank Mall on July 25.
Sparg, who is a former Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) member and member of the ANC, went into exile in 1981. Due to her troubles, she ended up in Pretoria Central Prison (Kgosi Mampuru II) where she spent seven years. She was released in 1991 with all the changes that came about the unbanning of the liberation movement and the release of political prisoners.
Her youth was typical of most white South Africans in the 1970s. She grew up happily in the Eastern Cape, unaware of politics – until a teacher interrupted a lesson to ask his all-white class if they knew of the uprising taking place in Soweto.
As a Rhodes University journalism student, Sparg overheard classmates joking about Steve Biko’s murder. This outraged her.
Sparg’s time at Rhodes University and student politics
“There was a strong presence of students from Zimbabwe, formerly known as South-Rhodesia, who insisted on being known as Rhodesians, who were organised and brought a ‘right wing’ to the student politics on campus. A lot of them went straight into the Rhodesian army during varsity holidays and came back proud of how many terrorists they had shot.”
She expressed that there certainly was a political life at the university but it was not enough to draw her in, and the student political leaders did not inspire her to get involved.
Sparg found out after leaving that her lecturer had been arrested and charged with being a member of the ANC.
The former MK combatant noted that it was late in the evening – she had just returned from home for the holidays – when the news about Steve Biko’s death broke and there was a lot of conversation about it on the campus among the students.
“I was shocked because I did not think any of them knew who Biko was, what he stood for, and what black consciousness was, but the students insisted they were told by late member of the former National Party, Jimmy Kruger, that Biko was a terrorist and it was a good thing he was dead. I remember trying to intervene and asking if there were concerns about his death while in police custody. The response I received was being accused of being a terrorist because I was questioning what the narrative was from their point of view.
This is when the ANC member had her first big ‘political wake-up call’ about how so many ordinary people were prepared to accept atrocities without questioning them because it suited them.
Experience and journey of exile
The activist detailed her first time going into exile. “A comrade and I were driven to Mafikeng, and arrangements were made by leading Afrikaner anti-apartheid activist, Beyers Naudé. We did not stay long and had no idea what lay ahead of us; we were driven to another place where we saw other comrades.”
She added that after being dropped off, they continued walking and the only living mammals encountered were donkeys.
“When we were too tired to walk, we slept on the side of the road. The next morning, we began walking and fortunately, the first bakkie gave us a lift to a small town, and we eventually arrived in Gaborone. We were given a number that belonged to a Botswana policeman and as we were weary of policemen, we decided not to call anyone – despite the instructions given, but called our friends who were teachers and trusted instead.”
Women’s experiences in exile
Sparg said she had a positive experience in the camps. “ I did not feel that my needs as a woman were ignored. I am aware also that I was fortunate that I was in a small camp and was the only woman in the camp which made it easier to take care of female comrades who came to the camp.”
She acknowledged that judging from the conversations she had with women from different camps they had negative experiences.
“My experience was positive and affirming, in saying that I do not take away or deny any negative experiences other female comrades had. Camps were rudimentary; there were many times when we had to pack up and move into bushes and move back again when it was safe. One could not expect any luxuries.”
The driving factor to join politics
Sparg noted that although she had made a choice to be involved and be an activist, she did not anticipate what followed on her journey.
“The comrade I went to exile with and I did not anticipate going into exile – that idea was presented to us later and we found ourselves walking across the border into Botswana before we knew exactly what was happening. We were clear that we wanted to join the ANC and MK.”
The first time she began reading literature about the ANC, MK, and its operations, was when she was in Botswana and became aware of what the consequences could be for being an activist.
“My family was aware of my political interests but it was my choice, and the fact that I was a white woman making the choices, I did seem remarkable but thousands of young South Africans were crossing the border. Once I was in the first MK camp, most of those in charge were part of the 1976 generation who had left. I also trained with them, so my decision did not seem odd to me. I felt at home with the people I was supposed to be with.”
Toughest part of her past and traumas
Sparg grappled the most with coming back to South Africa as an MK combatant and the impact of leaving her family weighed on her greatly.
“The time when I felt the impact of leaving my family behind was when I left Lesotho to come back to SA. It dawns on you how much contact matters – even though I was in contact with a few comrades at that time, and that contact was not only important but also reassuring.”
She added that when she was in Lusaka, Joe Slovo pulled her aside and jokingly warned her, “You know you are going back to SA, you’ll have to be white again..” He emphasised that he wanted her to think about that because she was used to living in exile and a closed community which would be different back home.
The publication spoke to guests who were in attendance of the launch of Guilty and Proud and this is what they had to say…
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