Description
'The silence of the cell is less disturbing than the deliberate silence of the human beings who come and go. I know that it is part of the process, designed to break my morale, but that doesn't make it any easier. I calculate that I am speaking less than twenty words a day, and begin to wonder whether my vocal chords will dry up and wither if this goes on ... I have never been very talkative, but now I begin to hunger after talk more strongly than for either food or drink.'
Lionel 'Rusty' Bernstein was arrested at Liliesleaf Farm, Rivonia, on 11 July 1963 and tried for sabotage, alongside Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and other leaders of the African National Congress and Umkhonto we Sizwe in what came to be known as the Rivonia Trial. He was acquitted in June 1964, but was immediately rearrested. After being released on bail, he fl ed with his wife Hilda into exile, followed soon afterwards by their family.
This classic text, fi rst published in 1999, is a remarkable man's personal memoir of a life in South African resistance politics from the late 1930s to the 1960s. In recalling the events in which he participated, and the way in which the apartheid regime affected the lives of those involved in the opposition movements, Rusty Bernstein provides valuable insights into the social and political history of the era.
About the Author
Rusty Bernstein was a lifelong political activist and as a member of the LabourLeague of Youth, the South African Communist Party and later the Congress ofDemocrats, he was a committed and tireless opponent of the apartheid regimedespite being detained, jailed and banned for his political activism. He was triedfor treason in the Rivonia Trial alongside Nelson Mandela and other ANC andUmkhonto we Sizwe leaders but was acquitted for lack of evidence. After beingre-arrested and then released on bail, Rusty and his wife Hilda went into exile inLondon where Rusty practiced as an architect and continued working for the ANC.He returned to South Africa in 1994 to run the ANC's press offi ce during the fi rstdemocratic election. He died in 2002 and was posthumously awarded the Order ofLuthuli (Gold) for his political activism.
Reviews
The memory so eloquently contained in this book tells especially the younger generations of South Africans who live in freedom that they should never forget that, indeed, that freedom was not free.' - Thabo Mbeki, anti-apartheid activist and former President of South Africa, 1994-2008
Book Information
ISBN 9781776141548
Author Rusty Bernstein
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint Wits University Press
Publisher Wits University Press
Lionel 'Rusty' Bernstein was arrested at Liliesleaf Farm, Rivonia, on 11 July 1963 and tried for sabotage, alongside Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki and other leaders of the African National Congress and Umkhonto we Sizwe in what came to be known as the Rivonia Trial. He was acquitted in June 1964, but was immediately rearrested. After being released on bail, he fl ed with his wife Hilda into exile, followed soon afterwards by their family.
This classic text, fi rst published in 1999, is a remarkable man's personal memoir of a life in South African resistance politics from the late 1930s to the 1960s. In recalling the events in which he participated, and the way in which the apartheid regime affected the lives of those involved in the opposition movements, Rusty Bernstein provides valuable insights into the social and political history of the era.
About the Author
Rusty Bernstein was a lifelong political activist and as a member of the LabourLeague of Youth, the South African Communist Party and later the Congress ofDemocrats, he was a committed and tireless opponent of the apartheid regimedespite being detained, jailed and banned for his political activism. He was triedfor treason in the Rivonia Trial alongside Nelson Mandela and other ANC andUmkhonto we Sizwe leaders but was acquitted for lack of evidence. After beingre-arrested and then released on bail, Rusty and his wife Hilda went into exile inLondon where Rusty practiced as an architect and continued working for the ANC.He returned to South Africa in 1994 to run the ANC's press offi ce during the fi rstdemocratic election. He died in 2002 and was posthumously awarded the Order ofLuthuli (Gold) for his political activism.
Reviews
The memory so eloquently contained in this book tells especially the younger generations of South Africans who live in freedom that they should never forget that, indeed, that freedom was not free.' - Thabo Mbeki, anti-apartheid activist and former President of South Africa, 1994-2008
Book Information
ISBN 9781776141548
Author Rusty Bernstein
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint Wits University Press
Publisher Wits University Press
