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Ahmed Kathrada visits SU Museum for film screening
Author: Corporate Marketing/Korporatiewe Bemarking
Published: 23/08/2016

Ahmed Kathrada, anti-apartheid activist and ex-political prisoner on Robben Island, visited Stellenbosch Museum yesterday (22 August), the day after his 87th birthday on Sunday. More than a 100 guests attended the screening of the documentary film Ahmed Kathrada: A man for all seasons, produced by Anant Singh.

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Ahmed Kathrada. Photographer: TC Kieck

The film explores and pays tribute to Kathrada's life, from his days as an activist to being charged at the Rivonia trial and his incarceration on Robben Island for 26 years. His political mentors and fellow Rivonia trialists, including Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Denis Goldberg and Sbu Ndebele, provide exclusive interviews in the film.

After the screening, Kathrada engaged with audience members on issues such as racism in South Africa today and the transition from apartheid to democracy.

"Freedom was fought for, sacrificed for, many people were imprisoned and killed," Kathrada said. "Our wish is to convey to young people that with freedom comes responsibility: towards themselves, their parents, to their country. Bear in mind that young people form the majority of the population in South Africa and that you have responsibility. The doors of learning are open, you must continue to learn, so we can reach a stage where we don't have to import skills."

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Neeshan Balton, Executive Director of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, with Ahmed Kathrada. Photographer: TC Kieck

"You can't live a life of bitterness, revenge or hatred. As difficult as it may be, you have to forgive. Let us work towards a united South Africa. That was the policy of the South African post-apartheid government," he continued, in response to a student who discussed the difficulty of forgiveness in the wake of apartheid and colonialism. "I can't claim we have reached everything we set out for. There has to be patience, you can't achieve everything overnight."

"I think in the 20 years of our democracy, we have made substantial progress. Twenty years may be long in the life of an individual - in the life of a nation, it is nothing," he concluded. "Unfortunately, it will take time. But I think, while I can't say I'm satisfied, I understand that slow progress is being made. I'm quite confident we're on the right path."

The film screening was organised by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and Stellenbosch University Museum. Llewellyn MacMaster, Manager of Civil Society Relations in the Division for Social Impact at SU, and Executive Director of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Neeshan Balton, helped facilitate the event.  

"We would like the University Museum to become a space for dialogue. As South Africans we do not have spaces to talk and listen to each other," said Bongani Mgijima, Director of the SU Museum. "The event went very well and it was good to see a very diverse audience.  The discussions that followed the film were very constructive. It is clear that we need more intergenerational conversations."