Two new books grapple with issues affecting today’s youth in Africa, telling touching stories of poverty, abuse, social and family ills and violence.
Ramphele’s Steering by the Stars tells the stories of 16 young people living in the Western Cape township of New Crossroads, using their own voices, and those of their relatives. One youth’s father is a drunk; another is constantly beaten by his father. Another does not attend school because of lack of funds. The overwhelming impression is of how society and family have failed these youngsters.
Some, however, refuse to accept failure. They have gone out to realise their dreams and to challenge the stigma of fear that infests poor communities.
The book does not present a rosy view, but it is honest about the problems such young people face and hopeful of solutions. In that respect, it should inspire South Africa’s youth in the face of adversity.
Child Soldier is a harrowing account of one person’s traumatic childhood — and traumatic adulthood. Following her departure from an abusive home, China Keitetsi, at the age of nine, was dragged into Uganda’s National Resistance Army, which dehumanised her and turned her into a killer. She survived attemped rape as well as imprisonment, and finally fled the army.
Eventually finding her way to South Africa, Keitetsi discovered that her traumas were not over. For instance, she had to provide sexual favours to people after losing her job as a barmaid in Hillbrow. She did, however, meet some kind-hearted people who helped her, and was finally put in touch with the United Nations, which enabled her to settle in Denmark.
With its straightforward and simple language, Child Soldier makes an accessible read. It is not a comfortable story, but it is gripping and an impressive tale of courage and determination in the face of horrific odds.
Both Steering by the Stars and Child Soldier remind us that life for young people, whether in the squalor of New Crossroads or the battlefields of Uganda, can be hard indeed. Much must be done to help them, and to bolster the spirit they indubitably possess.