Men make their own history

Correspondent | Thursday December 10, 2015 14:37

The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living’- (Karl Marx, The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, 1852).

It is a pleasure and an honour to have been afforded this opportunity to share some thoughts with you on the occasion of the launch of my brother’s book: ‘Better to Die on One’s Feet’: One man’s Journey from Robben Island to Freedom’.

It is fitting and proper that I must do so. Mike, as we fondly call him, or simply MK, is the first in a family of 13 siblings. I am the 13th. He is by tradition the head of our family, now that our parents are no more. However, on the occasion of my wedding, in 2000, he voluntarily and publicly abdicated that role and handed over the reigns of power to me.

“Better To Die On Ones Feet” does three things; First, it captures the history of the ANC, and by extension that of South Africa, and Mike’s involvement in it. Secondly it pays glowing tribute to the leading personalities of the South African struggle, such as Moses Kotane, Oliver Reginald Tambo, Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Chief Albert Luthuli, Anton Lembede, JB Marks, Yusuf Dadoo, Govern Mbeki, Bram Fischer, Mike Harmel and many other stalwarts of the South African struggle. Thirdly, it poses a challenge to humanity, though not so explicitly, to be intolerant of injustice wherever it lurks and to fight it to death if need be.

The book is a clear testimony that human struggles do not respect artificial boundaries drawn by the departing colonialists, because injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.

Mike was born in Bobonong, but moved inexorably to the furnace that was the South African liberation struggle. As the book illustrates, he played a historic role in helping the ANC to dislodge the Apartheid regime.

He was in the trenches at many key moments in the history of the ANC, such as the adoption of the 1949 Programme of Action; the adoption of the Freedom Charter. He was part and parcel of the ANC leadership. He is part of that rare breed of revolutionaries who immersed themselves in the struggle without any expectation of personal gain.

Yet this book is also a celebration, At 87, Mike’s mind remains as sharp as a razor blade. His mastery and articulation of the history of the ANC is simply amazing. The book validates the notion that a people united, even across boundaries, can never be defeated. The book shows how a determined and united people can challenge what seems to be the most ruthless regime and win!

The book shows that freedom was won at a great cost. Many of his friends and comrades died before they could taste the fruits of their sacrifices. Their death should never be in vain. It behoves the current generation of politicians to ensure that out of their sacrifices there is better life for all.

The book is unique in its metaphoric richness, dazzling language and skilful delivery. It is a sumptuous mix of historical and contemporary issues spiced with a travelogue of personal musings and reflections.

Mike, as he always does, writes with amazing simplicity, enlivened with colourful details.

Speaking for myself, I have enjoyed reading the part on Moses Kotane, the legendary communist leader, whom my brother loved to harangue with critical questions. Moses Kotane’s answers to my brother’s relentless questioning confirms what I have always known to be the truth about communists, namely that they are amongst the best thinkers and humane people. This observation is reinforced by the following remarks by Karl Marx:

‘The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas, i.e., the class which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force. The class which has the means of material production at its disposal, has control at the same time over the means of mental production, so that thereby, generally speaking, the ideas of those who lack the means of mental production are subject to it.

The ruling ideas are nothing more than the ideal expression of the dominant material relationships, the dominant material relationships grasped as ideas.’ (Marx, German Ideology (1845) A close and critical reading of the book confirms in material respect the above wisdom by Marx. In conclusion, one is compelled to observe that as it is often said, history is never simply a chronicle of the past. It also teaches us about how to construct a better future. Mike’s participation in shaping the history and future of South Africa and by extension the continent and the world, is a matter of immense pride to us, his family. We hope the coming generation of young people will take to heart his values and shall exhibit the highest level of intolerance to injustice anywhere.

It is true, as Adam Muchnik observed, that most revolutions, have two phases. First comes a struggle for freedom, then a struggle for power. The first, he observes, makes the human spirit soar and brings out the best in people. The second, unleashes the worst:- envy, intrigue and greed. This book we are launching today is a confirmation of the first observation, and a denouncement of the latter.

Thank you for listening to me. Enjoy what remains of the launch.

*A statement by Oagile Key Dingake at the launch of his elder brother, Michael Dingake’s book “Better to Die on One’s Feet”