Uncle Kathy teaches human rights to Crawford College Sandton
SANDTON - Ahmed Kathrada spoke to pupils at Crawford College in Sandton on 7 March. The formal assembly was also attended by Edward Ndopu, head of activism and youth engagement in South Africa for Amnesty International, as well as former Crawford College Sandton pupil, attorney Roy Gluckman who also has a passion for human rights and the Constitution.
Also in attendance from the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation was Busisiwe Nkosi, the youth programmes coordinator. Nkosi led Kathrada into conversation on the school stage, where Uncle Kathy, as he is affectionately known, spoke about his childhood, growing up in Schweizer-Reneke. Kathrada recalled how, as a child, he was not aware of colour, as some of his neighbours and friends were white and black.
At the time, when there were no schools for Indian children in his hometown, he was forced to move to Johannesburg to find a school that would accommodated his race. In Johannesburg, he developed an interest in politics, and soon took to activism.
He also recalled his encounter with Madiba, which would lead to decades of friendship. “Madiba was like a brother to me and Walter (Sisulu) was like a father to me,” he recalled, adding jokingly that after he met Madiba, he “just saw jail”.
Kathrada shared his experiences of prison with the pupils. It was very interesting for them to hear his views on apartheid, especially, the inequalities within prison. He was troubled by the fact that his fellow comrades and inmates were treated differently even behind bars based on their race group.
Kathrada and Nkosi also mentioned the upcoming Anti-Racism Week, a first of its kind initiative hosted by the Anti-Racism Network of South Africa (ARNSA) – a network of some 80 civil society organisations, spearheaded by the Ahmed Kathrada and Nelson Mandela foundations.
Nkosi urged schools and organisations to get involved in the #TakeOnRacism campaign.
Details: www.arnsa.org.za
