THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ACHMAT DANGOR
“I am an African with Asian and Dutch blood in me. I don’t know what race I am and I don’t care”
Achmat Dangor, quoted by Luca Prono, 2010
Portrait of Achmat Dangor, 1992. George Hallet / Africa Media Online
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ACHMAT DANGOR
“I am an African with Asian and Dutch blood in me. I don’t know what race I am and I don’t care”[1]
Achmat Dangor, quoted by Luca Prono, 2010
Portrait of Achmat Dangor, 1992. George Hallet / Africa Media Onlinemages via Gallo
ACTIVISM & WORK
Achmat Dangor, 2 October 1948 – 6 September 2020
Achmat Ebrahim Dangor, was born on 2 October 1948. His birth year is significant. Almost two months after his birth the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. In South Africa 1948 was the year in which the National Party came to power and with it came the legal enforcement of segregation through the policy of Apartheid.
Achmat would witness the implementation of residential segregation and the many horrors that apartheid brought and which he fought against. He also experienced the demise of apartheid and played a key role in building a democratic South Africa. Running parallel to his human rights activism and extensive work in the field of development and social justice was his creative writing.
He was, according to his family, “first and foremost a writer … He celebrated happiness with vigour and probed pain with unflinching rigour. He was a son of the soil, a warrior for the truth, justice and equality.”
Achmat’s younger, and only, sister Jessie Duarte expressed deep pride in her brother when she spoke at a memorial service for Achmat hosted by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, in collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, the Mandela Rhodes Foundation and the Nelson Mandela Institute, on 17 September 2020. Jessie reflected:
“Achmat was gentle, kind, but very incisive and often he openly said what he wanted to say, without fear and favour and I think he was the most fearless man I knew.”
“[My dad] always treated me as an equal, even when I was younger. When I had a different opinion, it wasn’t shut down. He wanted me to talk about it. He always, always, preached this idea of non-violence. Patience and honesty and respect were taught to me at a very young age. He taught me through his actions. I liked the way he just listened to people and he was always calm. In every situation, no matter what, he was stone-cold calm … He was just really clever, amazingly clever. He was very creative. He would want to be remembered through what he had done and I think he would be very happy for it to be shown in literature.”
Zachary Dangor, Achmat’s son
“I think Achmat would like to be remembered as an activist in the service of people, in the service of transformation and in the service of upholding justice.”
Mohammed Dangor, Achmat’s older brother
“Achmat would want to see his legacy presented with as little fuss as possible and he would like it mustered within the collective legacies of the people whom he regarded as his comrades and those he regarded as his seniors and those he regarded as the generations to come.”
Mamphela Ramphele, Achmat’s colleague at the Independent Development Trust and the Nelson Mandela Foundation
“South Africa and the world needs to know so much more about Achmat and his work and reflect on this remarkable person, who was an extraordinary writer with exceptional insights and is up there with some of the best in the world … he brought a particular kind of creativity to the South African landscape … Achmat possessed that incredible ability to transcend the day-to-day circumstances within which people found themselves and offer a very creative insight in his interpretation of the world around him.”
Paul Weinberg, Achmat’s colleague and friend
“I will forever remember Achmat, besides his books and besides the positions he held, … as a leader. His legacy for me will be one of a good poet and writer. His legacy will also be that he cared about communities, he cared about human rights, he cared about the development of people and the fact that everybody is equal in the world … his legacy is about winning the battle over the challenges and difficulties that’s aplenty within our society and in the world.”
Patrick Flusk, Achmat’s colleague and friend
