Love's Courage by Mokopi Shale

Author:Mokopi Shale
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Media24 Books
Published: 2011-08-01T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

Kenneth is having his weekly lunch with his father. They always have a hefty steak and some beer, a real men’s meal.

“Dad, I met this interesting young lady today. She said she’d love to hear the story of how you escaped the apartheid police and ended up in London with Mom. But then I realised that I’d never asked. What exactly happened?”

“Hêêêê! You know, son . . . Life is a strange thing. Sometimes a man needs to know when he must act, and when not to. And sometimes the choice seems difficult, but understanding what you truly need and what you must do – that is very important. And for that you have to know yourself,” Kenneth’s father says pensively.

“Amazing,” Kenneth replies, slightly surprised. “My boss said exactly the same thing to me the other day, regarding some problem I’m having with a woman.”

His father smiles and then continues.

“I was young, but apartheid wouldn’t allow me to be stupid. I had to make some difficult choices. Choices that I’m glad you never had to face. At twenty-two, having to make a choice between life and death is a little daunting.”

Kenneth can see the distant look in his father’s eyes as his mind travels back through time.

“Your mother and I met at a PAC rally where there was talk of starting the armed struggle. She was so committed to making a difference. A passionate young thing, and gorgeous. All the young men were after her, but she seemed not to notice; I guess the Tumaole charm is potent stuff.”

They both laugh.

“We faced death every day: harassment and threats. So we had to steal life and live it fully; truly experience it. Our parents were in the magaeng and we were in the urban jungle. For those committed to freedom, there was hardly time to do normal things like propose marriage and provide magadi. But I did write to her parents and mine when I realised how deeply I felt for her, and I promised to do right by her when the time was right and I wasn’t being hunted. Your mother, the loudmouthed firebrand, put on a play at the Market Theatre which mocked the state and so she became a wanted woman. She had to take off into the hills of Lehurutshe to lie low. Next thing I knew, they came after me – it was just after we had bombed one of their shopping malls. On the way to Botswana, I stopped over in Lehurutshe and picked up your mother. We made our home there for a year and a half, until the murder of Onkgopotse Tiro.

“Because of our profile, we were shipped off overseas. Then I had a choice between becoming an MK commander, or going to London with your mother to raise awareness of what was happening in other ways. She didn’t believe we all had to die; she felt that some of us had the responsibility of spreading the message. Only when I

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