International Brigade against Apartheid

I am invested in this book.?I played a role in the international battle against apartheid, both as a campaigner and as a clandestine operative.?My role as the latter was limited to the African Hinterland safaris.??I was a recruiter and also advised that, as the company was registered in London it had to run at a profit as any safari company crossing the borders into South Africa would have its accounts checked at Companies House by apartheid agents.?If it was not profitable but continuing to operate it would come under suspicion and be investigated.??I also provided a safe house for operatives passing through London with the strict rule that no-one staying with me asked any questions about what anyone else was doing.??Only one person breached this rule over the years, and I made up an excuse and told him to leave.?I was also aware of some of the other operations because I was occasionally asked to provide assistance.?One such occasion was being asked to make extra copies of the Metropolitan Police brochure on personal protection for the ANC London office and told to keep one for myself.?My public role was as Secretary of the Redbridge Anti-Apartheid Group and as Chair of the London Anti-Apartheid Committee (LAAC).?In this latter role, I attended the Second Brussels Conference on Namibia in 1986, and the First ANC International Conference at Arusha in Tanzania in 1987.??I was also a delegate to the Second ANC International Solidarity Conference in Johannesburg in 1993, after I had stood down as Chair of LAAC.??In 1988, I was one of those who took part in the Nelson Mandela Freedom March from Glasgow to London, joining the march at Macclesfield.?I mention all this to show that I am not in the least bit neutral about the contents of this book.

Many of the authors and people mentioned in this book are known to me personally.?Some, like Klaas de Jonge, I have met only once at Arusha in Tanzania, but some became friends over the long years of the struggle against apartheid.??I am in awe of the commitment made by the people who went into South Africa to assist the ANC in all kinds of ways.?Many of them were caught and interrogated by the apartheid security police, like Sean Hosey and Damien de Lange.??Some found themselves at the centre of diplomatic confrontations, like Pierre Albertini and Klaas de Jonge.?Some, like the London Recruits and the African Hinterland drivers, went into and out of South Africa, completing their terrifying missions without any hitches.?These people were truly heroes of the struggle

The most inspiring stories, though, are those of the mostly unnamed Africans from the frontline states, who assisted ANC guerrillas in the most practical of ways, smuggling them into and out of South Africa, feeding them and providing shelter and transport, including donkeys to smuggle equipment across the mountains from what is now Eswatini into South Africa.?It is often thought that Africa did not play much of a role in the liberation struggle, and this is just so wrong.

Nor should the role of the Cubans ever be forgotten.??They supplied medical and education help and, most important of all, when Angola was invaded in 1975 by both South Africa and Zaire, they provided the troops that defeated these attacks.?Cuban troops fought alongside their Angolan comrades and secured the independence of Angola.??They remained in place until South Africa agreed in 1989 the elections in and independence for Namibia.??The significant victory came at Cuito Cuanavale.??In 1987, the apartheid army launched another invasion of Angola in the south-east of the country, using both their own troops and that of their UNITA surrogates and collaborators.??Angolan forces held Cuito Cuanavale and a Cuban battalion came to their aid.?Superior Cuban airpower was vital in winning the battle.??The immediate result of the apartheid army’s defeat was the Quadripartite Agreement (Angola, Cuba, South Africa and the USA who chaired the meetings) that led to the independence of Namibia in 1990, and the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994.

I played a small part in this. At the Second Brussels Conference on Namibia in 1986, a motion was introduced effectively supporting the US policy of constructive engagement by calling for a Cuban withdrawal from Angola and the replacement of their troops by an "acceptable" international military presence. I asked if the implication was that the Cubans were unacceptable, and this led to the withdrawal of the motion.

There are so many stories in this book that are inspirational.?There are too many to list, but all of them illustrate what ordinary people can do.through their political parties, their churches, their trade unions or just as ordinary people committed to doing the right thing in the fight against an evil regime..??We did this once and future generations have to remember that it can be done again.??We are all getting old now, but in that resonant South African phrase, the next generations can “pick up the spear”.?Whether it is the struggle for Palestinian rights, the struggle to mitigate the effects of climate change or the struggle to alleviate poverty, if we put our minds to it, we are unstoppable.

(This is a personal comments and reminiscence by David Kenvyn)