TRC Final Report

Volume 5

Chapter 4

Subsection 13

102 The emotional and financial pressure experienced by families sometimes led to strained relations with young activists in the home. Detention and political activism gave some young detainees a sense of independence and autonomy, and they found themselves unable to revert to their earlier roles in the family. Others felt that their families would not understand what they were doing or why, and wanted to protect them from the knowledge of their activism. The reality that parents often did not know what their children were doing was reflected time and again during hearings and in statements. At the Bloemfontein hearing, Ms Pumla Marina Mashoang, whose son was killed by the security forces for his role in the South African National Students Congress (SANSCO) in 1988, said she was not clear about her son’s role:

I believe he was holding a prominent position because he had a van that he had been given, so I think he was organising for the Free State.

103 At the same hearing, Ms Daseko, whose son was killed in detention, also said she was not acquainted with her child’s activities outside of the home:

Sam used to tell me that he was going to meetings, but I couldn’t understand ... which meetings was he going to. I think [he] was fond of the ANC.

104 Ms Evelyn Masego Thunyiswa was detained and severely tortured. At the Mmabatho hearing, she told the Commission that, despite her suffering, she was unable to tell her parents of her predicament:

Our parents used to hate politics during that time. My mother was actually not in favour of politics. If you said anything about politics, she would tell you that you are against the law.

105 Owing to her inability to communicate with or draw support from her parents, the only person Evelyn confided in was her husband:

This has been my secret for quite a long time and I am glad that the Truth Commission is here and I am now talking this out. It is only my husband who knows this whole story.

106 When asked at the Nelspruit hearing whether his son was a member of an organisation, Mr Madala Ndlazi (see above) replied:

There is nothing that I can say because really they don’t tell you. They just disappear from home. You don’t know what they are doing on the other side.

107 Thus, in many families, even where activism did not generate outright conflict, a shroud of secrecy often affected intergenerational relationships. In some families, political activism was seen as operating in a sphere outside of family life. This was sometimes linked with parents’ feelings of helplessness about the public realm of politics. This lack of communication was aggravated by disruptions to family life, caused by the absence of parents who worked as migrant labourers, domestic workers, or because group areas legislation and other apartheid laws prevented them from living with their families.