History Matters

The Sunday Times July 4th 2009 Too much emphasis on suffering and sacrifice can leave a hard residue of victimhood and entitlement We Are a nation-in-the-making and we cannot afford to squander our assets. Our knowledge about ourselves — our identity as a nation — depends on our understanding of our past and how others [...]

Sokari Ekine and Firoze Manji 2009-06-11, Issue 437 http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/56914 With Shell having agreed an out-of-court settlement of $15.5 million with the families of the Ogoni Nine activists killed in 1995, Sokari Ekine and Firoze Manji argue that a victory should not be confused with justice. Though representative of an emerging movement in bringing a multinational [...]

Nomfundo Xulu Published:Times Jan 29, 2009 THOUGH the history of South Africa has always been fascinating, some elements do not make sense because every historian has a different story to tell. One such historical era involves the respected and feared Shaka Zulu. While Zulu people usually sing his praises and say he was the saviour [...]

Mondli Makhanya Published:Dec 27, 2008 Sunday Times When he announced his candidature for the American presidency in February 2007, Barack Obama invoked the legacy of Abraham Lincoln. He stood on the steps of the Old Capitol, where the man regarded as one of the greatest American presidents had delivered the iconic A House Divided speech [...]