In memory of Professor Mohammad Abdus-Salaam Karaan

Tributes attesting to the life and work of Professor Mohammad Abdus-Salaam Karaan has been pouring in since South Africa bid farewell to one of the sons of her soil on Wednesday, 13 January 2021. As I reflected on the decades of our intersecting lifepaths, amid the profound sadness, I also felt an immense sense of gratitude. A beacon of light to many – to me, he was a big brother, a mentor, a supervisor, a colleague and a comrade.

Abdus-Salaam and I hail from the same coastal community in the Western Cape, Strand – a community alive with heart, soul and mind where our love for nature was seeded. I met him in my early teens when, as a family friend of my older siblings, he visited our home. I would bombard our guest with questions about nature, agriculture, animal rights, conservation and the state of the relationship between people of colour and nature in apartheid South Africa. Big questions. In his responses, I was always met with patience, generosity and deep wisdom. He became a source of guidance as I navigated my way into the environment sector in post-apartheid South Africa.

As I was completing my undergraduate studies in geography, botany and zoology, our paths would cross again. He was on the board of the environmental justice organisation I worked for, the Environmental Advisory Unit. My studies were heading deeper into exploring the nexus of development, environment and social justice, leading me to collaborate and work with him in the formative years of my career. The lessons I learned; I carry with me still.

He supported both my Honours and Masters theses that were focused on pathways to sustainable rural livelihoods. I co-wrote and published one of my first journal articles with him and completed my post-graduate studies – which were interdisciplinary and action oriented in nature, under his co-supervision. The depth of his intellectual insights deserve another treatise, but his intellectual curiosity, his humanity and his humility has left a lasting impression in me.

In the years I worked with him, he listened deeply to people and nature. We sat on many rocks, stood on riverbanks, climbed mountains and listened to the story of nature. We spoke to farmers, fishers, resource users – women and men, attentive to and learning from their wisdom, their knowledge and their dreams. I learnt more about the human-environment relationship than in my six years at university. With dirty boots, we would then step into the boardrooms to engage policymakers with the same energy and focus. And everywhere we went, he was welcomed and loved. He gave respect and received it. He engaged fully, present, honouring all voices and all knowledges.

His wonderful sense of humour, deep integrity and brutal honesty helped him build the bridges that enabled many to step into spaces that had been shut for decades, if not centuries. He was a consummate storyteller and reached across many divides in our fractured country with grace, diplomacy and dignity.

He was a consummate storyteller and reached across many divides in our fractured country with grace, diplomacy and dignity.

While we would continue to interact in the ensuing two decades, I was on my way to walking my own pathway. He remained a mentor and a source of advice. With candour, but always in kindness, he would continue to advise and offer me guidance. While many would marvel at his rise to prominence in the country, to me, seeing his light manifest in the world was no surprise. A spirit so bright could not, and should not, be contained…

He had a deep love, not only for the land and seas of our country, but for all her people. Though he walked with lightness on this earth, he has left a heavy footprint in the hearts and lives of many.

He had a deep love, not only for the land and seas of our country, but for all her people. Though he walked with lightness on this earth, he has left a heavy footprint in the hearts and lives of many. Professor Mohammad Abdussalaam Karaan, father, farmer, forerunner, may you be blessed always for the love, generosity and kindness that you gave to this world.