Some of us are recorders of history, others are makers of history and many sit on the fence allowing these two parties to steer the path to opportunities that can be exploited. Nanna was and still is a maker of history. The sort that does not calculate what they can gain out of a process but rather what they can do to lessen the plight of those that are suffering. Such people expound honesty, compassion, sincerity, selflessness, tenacity, commitment, loyalty, and above all would sacrifice themselves to bring relief to those that are ill treated and oppressed. This has been the character and characteristics of Nanna's life.

While I am thankful for being granted the opportunity to interview Nanna, it also struck me that we should make time to reflect on our own lives. Some of us go through life doing many things without taking the time to reflect on what and who influences our behaviour and actions. I don't think there is an activist in the Paarl valley that can honestly say that there was not a time in their lives that Nanna had some influence on them.

Nanna definitely had a strong influence on my life. As a young activist in the area her modesty, simplicity, caring but strong will to overcome the forces of evil and suppression was forever clearly spelt out. No long-winded theorizing on what is politically correct and what is not. People are suffering, she would say, we have to do something now to alleviate or reduce their suffering. We are still grappling to find the right definition and intervention on the polemical issue of poverty alleviation, eradication or reduction. The intelligentsia has a field day in this regard. They can now put forward all their theoretical versions and descriptions and the poor practitioners become ever so confused on what the approach should be.

Nanna's message about the struggle was, ‘get your hands dirty, do it with honesty and selflessness. Do not allow yourself to be distracted by worrying what the result is going to be'. This was and still is Nanna's approach and I honestly believe that that was the recipe for our successful liberation. Today we are reaping the success of such actions.

When I was arrested, Nanna was one of the first persons to call on my wife and daughter to comfort and console them. While imprisoned, I recall my feeling of comfort and assurance when, on one of her first visits, my daughter, then 4-years old, brought me good wishes from Nanna. Throughout my five years of imprisonment she stood by my family even though we did not belong to the same political organization. This was also the case during my days as an “activist”. She never questioned my political affiliation nor did she ever try to recruit me. As long as our interests were in congruence with one another we carried on with the work that was to be done, that was her motto. I will forever be grateful to her for her compassion and guidance.

Nanna, I know that you don't feel comfortable with the hype that is bestowed upon you now that you are reaching the ripe age of eighty. This is my modest way of saying thank you. Thank you for being there when we needed your guidance, assurance, counseling and just for being Nanna, our mother. You, Sis Rocky Mafekeng and others will always have a special place in our hearts and existence in this Valley. You are our mothers and it should be recorded that you are the “Mothers of our Valley”. I find it sad that up till now none of you have been given the “Freedom of the Town”. This is the least that can be done and an indictment of the present leadership.

Your toil and struggle are a vital part of our history and therefore need to be recorded. I hope that this humble effort will encourage other recorders of history to further research the richness of your life experiences accumulated over the years. I also challenge my contemporaries to research the life stories of Sis Rocky Mafekeng and the other mothers of our struggle. As the late Imam Khomeini had said:

“A nation who forgets its history will soon itself be forgotten”

We not only owe this to generations to come but also to our present comrades that have taken over the cudgels of leadership. Your style of leadership, values, approach and commitment are direly needed in this political milieu that we find ourselves in. It will be a travesty – no, treasonable - if we do not record the history of your and your contemporaries' lives.

Lastly, I want to express my sincere gratitude to you Nanna for allowing me the opportunity to do the interview with you. I hope that this account portrayed here will contribute to placing you in the historical annals that you deserve. I also wish to express my gratitude to Professor Philip Hirschsohn from the University of the Western Cape, for taking the initiative to bring such a project into its course content and making the study of industrial relations a living and memorable experience that could contribute to our lives in such a practical way.

Thank you to both of you, this exercise has enriched my life.

Yusuf Patel

Paarl

September 2005