DOROTHY NYEMBE

A p T A D C p I Q Q 4 South A frica - the Imprisoned Society! I U D C [\ I 70“ Rolo-.cc ->11 Pricor-clRelease all Political Prisoners!

M onday Tu esd ay W ednesday T h u rsd ay Friday Saturday Sunday

Among the thousands o f political prisoners and detainees incarcerated in South African jails since 1962, there have been hundreds o f women who, side by side with the men, have been struggling against the inhuman apartheid regime. Dorothy Nyembe, sentenced to the longest single term of imprisonment handed down to a woman (I 5 years) may well epitomise them all.

Dorothy Nyembe joined the A N C in 1952 during the Defiance Campaign and served tw o terms of imprisonment fo r defying unjust laws. In 1956 she was arrested with I 55 others in the Treason Trial. In 1963 she was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment fo r furthering the aims o f the ANC. On 26th March 1969 she was sentenced to I 5 years imprisonment under the Terrorism and Suppression o f Communism Acts, having been found guilty o f ‘harbouring te rro ris ts ’ .

Dorothy Nyembe was the AN C Womens Organiser in Natal and was also Vice Chairman o f the AN C Womens League Committee in Durban. She played an important part in mobilising fo r the campaign against the extension o f pass laws to women in 1956. She was endorsed out o f Durban in 1959 and organised demonstrations among the rural women in Natal.

Hers has been a life o f dedication and sacrifice.We salute her in the year o f her release - 1984 - The Year o f the Women.

M m4

"Is

1Nigeria Independence Day

2Guinea RPR Independence Day

3 41966 Lesotho Independence

5 6 7

8 9Uganda Independence Day

10 1 1International Day of Solidarity for release of Political Prisoners

1963 - Rivonia accused sentenced

12Equatorial Guinea Independence Day

13 14

151962 - H elen Joseph first person house arrested in SA

16 17 18 19 20 21Somalia Revolution Day

22 23 241964 - Zam bia Independence

25 26 27 28

29 30 31

NOVEMBER 1984 Youth fight against Apartheid

Monday Tu esd ay W ednesday T h u rsd ay Friday Saturd ay Sunday

1Algeria Revolution Day

2 3 4

5 61964-M in i, Khayinga and Mkaba executed by fascist regim e

7 8 9 101947 - Form ation of W FD Y

International Youth Day

1 11975-A n g o la Independence

12 13 14 151884 - Berlin Conference partitioning Africa

16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28Mauritania Independence Day

29 30Benin Revolution Day

This Path Child of the soil Child of own destiny cross this path cross the swordride the lions back and hold the mane bound on with shoulders high sky in heavens light the path echoes from this thorny busy guide the wayLuthuli, Kotane, Mandela, Sisulu trod this pathPull hard, hack the prickly shrubs burden beads on your brow pilgrim yoke on your back will balm the people’s tortured heart and bid the sod to seed freedomREBECCA MATLOU

DECEMBER 1984 UMKHONTO WE SIZW E-TH E PEOPLE’S ARMY

M onday Tuesday W ednesday T h u rsd ay Frid ay Saturd ay Sunday

Hamba-Hamba kahle Mkhonto We Mkhonto, Mkhonto we Sizwe

Thina-Thina bant’ bomkhonto Sizmisele Ukuwabulala wona amabulu

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 91961 - Tanzania Independence

Maseru Massacre - 1983

10 1 1 12Kenya Independence Day

13 14 15 16Heroes Day

1961 - Form ation of

U m khonto we Sixwe

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24

31

25 26

\ \

27 28 29 30

A Soldier at W ar (To the Y e a r of the Spear)

a soldier alone in reality I live w ith m yself and m y spear on m y shield

alongside in the fo rest and the heat in wild-shaped bodies o f ro ck

m y com rades the w ounded lions hardly limping but b lo o d y-eyed

fixed on the target that stole the land w ith a deadly shrill a call a cry

a shrill that tu ro rs b ro th e rh o o d - Th is is the tim e countrym an -

T h is is the m om ent patriots! to strike w ith the spear, to p ierce

the heart o f dom ination, this citadel of inhum anity

in the heart o f this stolen fo rest the birds chirp o u r language com rades they speak in defiance o f the usurper

they lead us to hives o f honey bee to inherit the acid sting o f m o th e r bee

co m e friends to the fo rest o f rest feast o f know ledge o f bow and a rro w

feast o f w hispers o f spear on flight the bush beckons all to the bush school

to tra ck and tra ce the drum o f past that speak a language o f ro a rs and claws

the m elody o f music w hich allures all dispossessed crippled . . . m ute . . . blind , . .

to dance the rhythm o f the bush wild in rhythm o f the bush dance

this fam ily indeed has m astered the sound the drum that horn o f signal

presenting the clouds o f battle the rhythm patriots is a daring dance

echoing th ick the dish o f the m o rro w in this dance o f the fo re st b ro th e r

the dancer and m elody are tw inned to mingle in clouds of dusty brew

to shape in tide o f sounds that h o o t the knell o f doom

its no m iracle we are b lood-eyed w e are o f the epoch o f the spear

w e will rendezvous at the know n Ithaleni1 to m arch in battle through U lundi2

Isandhlwana3 drips on o u r spear tips

can you m others feel this note in yo u r navels can you feel yo u r tits itch to be sucked

can you scratch yo u r ears to the note o f retrieve

this is the echo fro m the bush o f the disow ned this is the tide fro m in h erito rs o f the fo rest the pulse o f Isandhlwana flow s in o u r blood

the spear shall battle to retrieve the chains o f Maluti and M ajuba4

the fishes that swim in the O ra n g e 5 trees that fru it on o u r ow n ground

shall ju ice tongues o f brave m others to hail and anoint and feather

the holders o f this spear, this hilt

w e are o f the bush and fo rest this is no inchoation plunderers

this is the tradition o f Isandhlwana we are the children o f the spear

I Ithaleni is a place in Zululand

2. U lundi was the Capital o f C etshw ayo. King o f the Zulus

3. W h ere a B ritish arm y was w iped o u t by C etshw ayo 's fo rces in

1879

4. The M aluti and Hajuba are m ountains

5. A r ive r.

REBECCA M A T L O U

A N C Publications are obtainable from the following A N C Addresses:

801 Second Avenue Apartment 405 New York 10 0 1 7 NEW YORK

Gamla Brogatan 29 5th Floor STOCKHOLM SWEDEN

P.O. Box 31791LusakaZAMBIA

Postfach 1901405300 Bonn IFED. REP. OF GERMANY

Via Capo d ’Africa 47 0018 Rome ITALY

P.O. Box 2239 Dar es Salaam TAN ZAN IA

P.O. Box 302 Adelaide Postal Station Toronto, Ontario M5C 2J4 CANADA

P.O. Box 38 28 Penton Street London N I 9PR UNITED KINGDOM

P.O. Box 3523 LuandaPEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF ANGOLA

Flat 68-Baghat Singh MarketNew Delhi IINDIA

I 106 Berlin Angerweg 2 Wilhemsruh DDR

Calle 21A NR 20617 Esquina 2 14 Atabey, Havana CUBA

P.O. Box 7483 Addis Ababa ETHIOPIA

No 9c Rue de Russi 1060 BRUSSELS

42 Fue Rochechouart 75009 PARIS

5 Ahmad Hismet StreetZamalekCairoEGYPT

READ VO W -VO ICE OF WOMEN Voice of the ANC Women’s Section

Federal Government SpecialGuest HouseVictoria IslandLagosNIGERIA

26 Avenue A lbert SarrautDakarSENEGAL

5 Rue Ben M ’hidi LarbiAlgiersALGERIA

P.O. Box 680M orogoroTAN ZAN IA

LILIAN N G O Y IIsitwalandwe/Seaparankoe

Malibongwe Igama LaMakhosikazi

Published by the A fr ica n N ationa l Congress o f South A fr ica , P .O . Box 31791 LU S A K A . Z A M B IA

Collection Number: A3299 Collection Name: Hilda and Rusty BERNSTEIN Papers, 1931-2006

PUBLISHER: Publisher: Historical Papers Research Archive Collection Funder: Bernstein family Location: Johannesburg

©2015

LEGAL NOTICES:

Copyright Notice: All materials on the Historical Papers website are protected by South African copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, or otherwise published in any format, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Disclaimer and Terms of Use: Provided that you maintain all copyright and other notices contained therein, you may download material (one machine readable copy and one print copy per page) for your personal and/or educational non-commercial use only.

People using these records relating to the archives of Historical Papers, The Library, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, are reminded that such records sometimes contain material which is uncorroborated, inaccurate, distorted or untrue. While these digital records are true facsimiles of paper documents and the information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be accurate and reliable, Historical Papers, University of the Witwatersrand has not independently verified their content. Consequently, the University is not responsible for any errors or omissions and excludes any and all liability for any errors in or omissions from the information on the website or any related information on third party websites accessible from this website.

This document is part of the Hilda and Rusty Bernstein Papers, held at the Historical Papers Research Archive, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.