September 27, 2002
An unfolding human tragedy
Being invited on to the jury of the Three Continents International Documentary Film Festival in Buenos Aires is one of the more interesting assignments that has come my way in recent years, for two reasons.
A footnote or a hero?
Steve Biko was just about to turn 23 when he articulated the aims and objectives of the South African Students’ Organisation at its first meeting, held at the University of Natal at Wentworth in Durban in December 1969.
Buenos dias — but where are the brothers?
The Argentinians are frightfully nice people. I was kissed on the cheek by every woman I met, and hugged by all the men. Some of the men will even kiss you as well, if they get to know you a bit. It’s all warm and wonderful and very Latin.
A bittersweet gathering
At a certain point, the elderly white lady sitting next to me started to cry. We were sitting on plastic chairs in the middle of the road in the Johannesburg suburb that is now known as Pageview. In the old days, of course, it had a name that was nowhere near as snooty-sounding as “Pageview”.
In a class of its own
Summits come and summits go. In fact the consensus around Johannesburg these days seems to be that they should just go — unless the opulent lifestyle they bring could be maintained, in which case they should stay.
Robert Kirby: LOOSE CANNON
Ivy need not cling to this one
What is most puzzling about the proposed Broadcasting Amendment Bill is why anyone thought it was needed. Nudging the SABC into fulfilling its “official language” obligations might be necessary, but the nudge could come from far less weighty mechanisms than an amendment Bill.
Turn it down or preferably off
Another example of a latter-day obscenity came with the television transmission of a recent one-day cricket match between South Africa and the West Indies. During play loud music was blasted around the ground.
Desmond, our high level arch
One, if not the only relieving moment of last week’s depressing post-summit maunderings was to turn on the television just in time to catch Archbishop Desmond Tutu in sumptuous form. Our celebrated cleric was giving his acceptance speech for an honorary degree.
Summit-time, and the thinking is sleazy
As of filing this column, the Very Important Global Summit is at its end. Racks of “world leaders” have added their five-minute ha’pennyworths to the jabber, the cliches, the fine-sounding waffle, which has been the primary harvest of this extravagant junket.
E-mails from the summit
To: [email protected]
Subject: Emergency Summit Funding
Hi Smuttie. Big Mama says is there any chance of applying your influence with Trevor to shovel us over a couple of hundred million to cover unexpected technical overspend on the world summit? Do your best if you can. – Azzie
Thebe Mabanga: BLACK & BOURGEOIS
Fears of the rich, needs of the poor
So, the event that the French call Le Sommet Mondial Developpement Durable, or the World Summit on Sustainable Development, has come and gone, leaving in its wake what this newspaper calls “a dubious legacy”.
The joys of the dismal science
When I grow up I would like to be an economist. If I fail to come of age intellectually I will, however, simply continue reporting on the subject. The best soccer writers and theatre critics are often failed players, actors or directors.