Eusebius short Facebook book reviews: Book: Askari: A Story Of Collaboration In The Anti-Apartheid Struggle Author: Jacob Dlamini This is a good second book written by Jacob Dlamini. I have earlier explained, in a column, what the basic storyline is (bit.ly/1vCV3KO). I wont repeat that detail except to reiterate what is well known by now, that it is a book about one Comrade September, an ANC member who served in the leadership of MK during the anti-apartheid struggle, but who later turned, working for and with the apartheid police against the very comrades he formerly fought with against apartheid. He had become a collaborator. I want to jump to some critical points (this is pretending, after all, to be a short review): I guess two issues are at the centre of the book: What is the explanation for why and how Glory Sedibe (Comrade September) became an Askari? And, what are appropriate attitudes to have towards Sedibe? I find Dlamini unsatisfying on both issues. But I hasten to add - especially as I am a writer who is bored with reviews that do not engage what a book set out to do but rather simply say what YOU wish the book was about .... - that these arent objective flaws in the book. They simply reveal stuff about me, the reader. Nevertheless, here are those pointed thoughts: 1. Dlamini doesnt stick his neck out and pick among the themes, and various factors, the ones he regards as ultimately explaining Sedibes turning. The book is discursive, and as I say elsewhere, it shows the complexities, and interrelatedness, of the various factors that account for betrayal, from sheer cowardice, to a need to earn wages, to the effects of torture, etc. But complexity should not imply a writer cant take a definitive view. I for one have a penchant for non-fiction that doesnt just complicate ; but which also constructs an argument, even if it is speculative analysis. This again betrays my training in analytic philosophy no doubt, but I do not apologise for that. The best I can do is not blame Jacob Dlamini for this. That said, I do think it is important to NOT pretend that complexity implies that explanations for behaviour must be irreducibly complex or allusive, and lists of contributing factors not sorted through in terms of their varying roles in explaining how and why Sedibe turned. 2. The moral question is left hanging, yet for me it is the most interesting question. And yes this is unsurprising given I have studied and taught moral philosophy. But I do think, nevertheless, that this isnt just my personal fixation as a reader. I think it is a fair criticism of the book. At one stage in the book Dlamini discussed Deborah Posels critique of the TRC. She argued, among many things, that the TRC often didnt know how to deal with the challenge of agency. And Dlamini pretty much rushes over this, and then gets back to narrating the life of Sedibe. But actually this is a massive issue that he should have taken a view on. Should we judge an asakri morally? Were they fully in control of their behaviour? Did they, as per the reference to Posel, have sufficient agency to justify impugning their actions as morally repulsive and unforgiving? Or should the moral stains be partially wiped away by the list of contextual truths that account for the moral cowardice? Indeed, is it unfair to think of Sedibe as a moral coward at all? These are interesting, fascinating and important ethical and political questions of a normative kind, and the rich texture of the narrative could have been used by Dlamini to explore these questions, and to take a view on them. As it happens, the reader is left with no insight into the authors take on the character of Sedibe, and what attitudes would be appropriate to adopt towards him. But, in mitigation as it were, Dlamini is not an ethicist, and he didnt set out to write a book that devotes countless pages to these questions. I just feel that these moral issues jump out at me as I read the book, and felt they deserved better discussion than the occasional reference to the challenge of agency. Overall, however, a well-written book, in the style of the best narrative journalism, and an excellent follow-up on his first book, Native Nostalgia, which dovetails this one: Both books disrupt popular narratives, the first one by exploring aspects of black life during apartheid that wasnt inherently depressing; and this one by reminding us that some phentoypically black South Africans were no better than apartheid police during the struggle against apartheid. Go buy a copy, read it immediately and share the book.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 16:51:43 +0000
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