Gevisser Thabo Mbeki

The Dream Deferred
1. Auflage 2013
ISBN: 978-1-86842-545-7
Verlag: Jonathan Ball
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 300 Seiten

What happens to a dream deferred? This question, from one of Thabo Mbeki's favourite poems by Langston Hughes, provides the thread for this magisterial biography of the second president of a democratic South Africa. In the long shadow of Nelson Mandela, Mbeki attempted to forge an identity for himself as the symbol of modern Africa. Mark Gevisser brings to life the voices and places that made Thabo Mbeki: the frontier of the Eastern Cape; 'Swinging' Britain and neo-Stalinist Moscow in the 1960s; the fraught world of African exile; the confusion of the transition. He examines the meaning of home and exile; of fatherhood and family. He tells the story of South Africa's black elite over a turbulent century - from 'black Englishman' to revolutionaries to heads of state - and Mbeki's own transition from doctrinaire communism to economic liberalism. Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred is a work of deep scholarship and a gripping, highly readable story. By tracing the path of Mbeki's life, it sheds new light on his political personality and provides unprecedented insight into the dramatic role he has played in South African history.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Gevisser, Mark

Leseproben

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Over the course of eight years, my debt has grown to an ever-widening circle of colleagues, collaborators, critics, friends and family members.

This book was made possible through the generosity of Jonathan Ball Publishers; WISER (the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research, which awarded me a writing fellowship in 2001); the Swedish Embassy in Pretoria (which paid for a research trip to Sweden); the Sunday Times (which commissioned the original six-part series and some of the latter research); and my family.

I am most grateful for the assistance of Zweliyanyikima Vena and Sandy Rowoldt at the Cory Library at Rhodes University; Stephen Gill at the Morija Mission Archives in Lesotho; Richard Whiteing, Simpiwe Yako, Zolile Mvunelo, and all the staff at the Mayibuye Archives; Sadie Forman and the staff at the ANC Archives at the University of Fort Hare; Stan Ndlovu from the ANC Film and Video Archives; Verne Harris from the Nelson Mandela Foundation; Madeleine Fullard, Pule Zwane, and the Missing Persons Task Team at the National Prosecuting Authority; and the staff at Wits Historical Papers, the Johncom Library, and the South African Communist Party Library.

I was greatly assisted and generously hosted on my travels by the following people: Tor Sellström in Sweden; Vladimir Shubin and Maxim Sivograkov in Moscow; Rob Skinner and Tibor Barna in Brighton; Mel and Rhiannon Gooding in London; Gail and the late John Gerhart in Cairo; Ambassador Reddy Mampane and Robinson Makayi in Lusaka; Wellington Jansen in Port Elizabeth. Over the course of eight years, I have also had the services of a veritable army of researchers and assistants. I thank you all, and, in particular, France Bourgouin, Collette Fearon, Tumi Makgetla, Boitshoko Mohlabane, Felicity Nyikadzino, George Ogola, Sophie Maggs and Tymon Smith. Paul Holden worked beside me as my fact-checker and researcher for the final three years of this project, and made himself indispensable, with his rare combination of intellect, rigour and good nature. Joanne Bloch accompanied me on my travels in the Eastern Cape and took wonderful photos; Ellen Elmendorp spent many hours trying to make me fit into the frame; and Ruth Muller assisted greatly with picture research.

Thank you to the following people who kindly gave me access to their private papers, collections and photo albums, and permission to cite from or reproduce material: Thabo and Zanele Mbeki, Epainette Mbeki, Moeletsi Mbeki, the late Linda Jiba, the late Govan Mbeki, the late Norah Moerane, Sophie Moerane, Olive Mpahlwa, Essop and Meg Pahad, Derek Gunby, Mel and Rhiannon Gooding, Tibor Barna, Howard Barrell, Luli Callinicos, Colin Coleman, Gail Gerhart, Barbara Harmel, Shireen Hassim, Philippa Ingram, Tom Karis, Tom Lodge, Tiksie Mabizela, Hugh Macmillan, Mphu Matete, Gabriel Mokgoko, Ann Nicholson, Wiseman Nkuhlu, Tiny Nokwe, Seth Phalatse, Hennie Serfontein, Tor Sellström, Bridget Thompson, Tony Trew. The Mbeki family also gave me permission to access the Department of Justice files on Govan and Thabo Mbeki at the National Archives in Pretoria. I also acknowledge that I have used published poetry and lyrics by Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, Keorapetse Kgositsile, Fela Kuti, Karl Mbeki, Thabo Mbeki, Michael Moerane and DJ Opperman.

At WISER, I found a welcoming and stimulating home; I would particularly like to thank Deborah Posel, Jon Hyslop, Achille Mbembe, Sarah Nuttall and Graeme Reid. This project began, in 1999, at the Sunday Times; I would like to thank, specifically, Mike Robertson, Mondli Makhanya, Ray Hartley, Sylvia du Plessis, Herbert Mabuza, and my friend Charlotte Bauer, who edited the six-part series that started it all.

Many colleagues have spent time sharing their own ideas and research with me; some have become close friends through the process. I would like to acknowledge, in particular, Colin Bundy, who provided me with much of the theoretical underpinnings of the first part of the book, and who was unfailingly generous with his ideas and his unpublished work. Gail Gerhart, too, sets a very high bar for collegial generosity, as do Tor Sellström and Vladimir Shubin. Others who were of great assistance as readers and thinkers include Jonathan Berger, Fran Buntman, Luli Callinicos, Jeremy Cronin, Jihan El-Tahri, Andrew Feinstein, Stephen Gelb, Mel and Rhiannon Gooding, Derek Gunby, Robert Harvey, Hillary and Tony Hamburger, Barbara Harmel, Heather Hughes, Tom Karis, Jürgen Kögl, Kwena Steve Mokwena, Joel Netshitenzhe, Dele Olajede, Kole Omatoso, Helen Schneider, Mark Schoofs, Elinor Sisulu, Raymond Suttner, Ivan Vladislavic and Iden Wetherell. I am deeply grateful to those colleagues, too, who beat a path up to Lusaka long before I even knew who Thabo Mbeki was, and in whose formidable footsteps I follow. I would like to mention, specifically, Patti Waldmeir, Allister Sparks, Max du Preez, John Battersby, and the late Anthony Sampson. I measure myself, constantly, according to the standards set by the extraordinary colleagues I had the privilege to work with at the Mail&Guardian, between 1990 and 1996: you were my teachers, and you remain my internal reference group!

During the course of the research for this book, I have been moved, too, by the commitment and generosity of many people in the Presidency, in government, and in the ANC, and my engagement with these very busy men and women has enriched me and strengthened my pride in and love for this country, its freedom, and the people who liberated it. At the GCIS, my thanks to Tony Trew; from the Presidency, the late Parks Mankahlana, Bheki Khumalo, Murphy Morobe, David Hlabane, Louis du Plooy, Mandisa Mayinje, and the administrative staff at Mahlamba Ndlopfu; in the ANC, to Kgalema Motlanthe and Smuts Ngonyama and their staff. Essop Pahad and Joel Netshitenzhe smoothed the way for the co-operation of the Presidency in this project, and supported it and its independence. There are many others who wish to remain anonymous. I thank all of you for your generosity with time and insight. The ideas of this book, however, are my own, and no-one else should be held to account for them – or for my errors.

The Mbekis, too, have let me into their lives and graciously allowed me to trample all over their family histories. They are all smart and warm, an enviable combination. Special thanks to Zanele Mbeki, for being so uncomplaining a conduit between myself and President Mbeki; to Moeletsi Mbeki, whose combination of charm, intellect and spirit I can only aspire to; and to Epainette Mbeki, who has become a teacher, a mother, and a friend: what I have learned from her far outweighs any material benefit or celebrity this book might bring to me. Three family members have passed away who also helped me greatly: Govan Mbeki, Linda Jiba and Norah Moerane. I am also particularly grateful to Olive Mpahlwa and Mphu Matete, who have trusted me with their unimaginable pain. Of course, my ultimate gratitude goes to President Mbeki himself, who agreed to spend hours with me and to encourage his comrades, friends and family to talk to me. He never once attempted to vet or control my research or writing, and proved, in his engagement with me, his commitment to intellectual independence.

My agent Isobel Dixon from Blake Friedmann went far beyond her job description in helping this book through its long gestation and in advising me on matters great and small. At Jonathan Ball, I am most grateful to Jeremy Boraine, who has managed the publication of this book with unflappable good nature; to production director Francine Blum, who brought the book home with spirit and skill; to the incisive editorial reader Eva Hunter; to the talented and accommodating designer Kevin Shenton; to the heroically exacting copy-editor Owen Hendry; to the publicity team lead by Tanya White; to the incomparable Claire Wright, who should become an editor if she ever tires of the law. They are a remarkably professional and engaged and friendly team, and I am honoured to be part of their ‘family’.

My own family has also been an extraordinary resource during this book’s long gestation. I apologise, to them, for my extended absences, and thank them for the bedrock – always there – they have provided me: David and Hedda Gevisser; Antony, Francesca and Lois Gevisser; John, Justine, Leo and Josh Gevisser; Peter Gevisser and Liza Chambers; Shantha Vurden, Bundy Naidoo, Mahendra Chetty and families. My friends, too, have suffered my absences and my preoccupations, and have been generous with their advice, their judgement and their care. I would like to thank you all, and in particular: Sharon Cort, Sedica Davids and Fiona Mpisi, Jessica Dubow, Fiona Garson and Robbie Potenza, Bridget Impey, Philip Miller, Neil Morrison, Oliver Philips, Ira Sachs and Carla Sutherland. Vital advisory roles were played by Maggie Davey, who was also this project’s first editor; by Carol Steinberg, and by Rachel Holmes. Lauren Segal – together with our colleagues at trace – unflaggingly picked up the slack created by my many broken deadlines.

I owe this book, ultimately, to four remarkable men. The first is my editor, Shaun de Waal, who took a 1 500-page monster and made it into a book. He is the perfect editor: even-keeled, incisive – and nice! The second is Jonny Steinberg, the other half of the two-person writer’s workshop that has sustained me creatively for nearly a decade now. I had always admired his intellect; through the course of our relationship I have come to cherish his integrity and humanity too. The third is Jonathan Ball himself, a writer’s dream in a publisher, whose faith in this project and support of it – not to mention his delightful company – has been another gift.

And the fourth...