In is autobiography the author explains how his immigrant Jewish background and childhood experience of anti-Semitism in Cape Town predisposed him to strongly identify with the victims of racial hatred and steered him towards radical left-wing politics and trade unionism. Explores, with scrupulous honesty, the difficulties of life underground and in exile, and the unwavering commitment of a group of extraordinary individuals to the right to political freedom of all South Africans. In the process, Ben Turok reveals both the personal and political tensions implicit in his relationships with some of the most prominent political activists of the time. During his time as an activist in Johannesburg, his fingerprints were found on a crude explosive device used in a failed attempt to blow up the Rissik Street Post Office. He was arrested and jailed for three years and became the first white political prisoner in Johannesburg. The inhumane conditions under which he was held speak volumes about the brutal methods employed by the apartheid regime to silence dissenters at that time. On his release, he and his family were left with no alternative but to go into exile.
They eventually settled in Tanzania where Turok became disillusioned with the efficacy of the then ANC leadership.
- ISBN13 9781868421763
- Publish Date 24 February 2005
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country ZA
- Imprint Jonathan Ball Publishers SA
- Format Paperback
- Pages 320
- Language English