Sindiwe Magona
Magona Gives Voice to a Forgotten Mother

Like many deaths, the 1993 murder of Amy Biehl in South Africa was described as "senseless" and sparked many to mourn her loss, sympathize with her grief-stricken parents and call for the punishment of her killers. A college student from California, Biehl was a Fulbright scholar who had been voluntarily assisting in establishing democratic elections in South Africa. She was killed when a mob of young black men descended on her car in an African township just before she was scheduled to return home. South African native Sindiwe Magona was so close to this tragedy that she felt compelled to tell her side of it in her first novel, Mother to Mother. Magona explores the range of possible emotions that could have been attributed to one of the mother's of Amy's killers without rationalizing or attempting to justify the murder.

"I knew one of the mothers of the four young men who killed this girl. I remembered how bright, energetic and full of wit she was. I thought that woman is in a lot of ways worse off than the woman whose child has died. This mother is also in mourning, but unlike the mother of the victim, she doesn't have our sympathy and the understanding of the community. She is ashamed and she blames herself," says Magona.

Through her colorful anecdotes, Magona discusses the inadequate educational, social services and job training opportunities that led many young South Africans to hit the streets of Guguleta, where Amy's murder took place, luring their anger at anyone who resembled their oppressor. Her fictional character also questions a government that would give her son a better life in jail than he has ever had.

"Without hope, how do you think [South African] children must feel? The jobless rate was 50% among African men and women when the times were good in 1994. How do you think it must feel to be 18, 28 or 38 years old and to know that it makes absolutely no difference whether you get out of bed (that is, if you have a bed), any morning of the week? Nobody misses you if don't appear somewhere during the course of a day," said Magona. Magona began writing poetry in her late teens and was inspired to write the books that she wanted to read. "I just love words. I love books and stories and come from an oral tradition, where I always had grandmothers, uncles and other relatives stopping by and telling stories around the village in South Africa, where I was born, she said.

In her 20's and early 30's, Magona was very involved in South Africa, working for peaceful change via women's, youth and church groups. She spoke publicly about the conditions of the townships, trying to convert whites to change their attitudes about Black South Africans. "Then there just came a time when I got fed up with it. I realized that one is either preaching to the converted or knocking one's head against the wall," said Magona. She also began to see clearly that South Africa would change one day. In 1979, Magona considered writing down her thoughts in response to the positive feedback that she had gotten from her speeches. She states she started writing in the '80's, but it took her another ten years before she thought about publishing a book.

Her first books, To My Children's Children and Forced to Grow, are autobiographies. She has also published two books of short stories, which she describes as slightly autobiographical, but mostly fiction. Magona came to New York in 1981 to attend Columbia University and pursue her masters' degree in social work. Just before leaving New York to return home, she applied for a job at the United Nations (UN), following the advice of a friend. A year later, she was hired and until Apartheid ended in 1994, she hosted UN radio programs about the UN's role in bringing an end to Apartheid. She remains employed in the UN's film library.

When asked to describe her mother's writing, Tohko Sayedwa, Magona's second-eldest daughter and book publicist states, "When I think of my mother's writing, I think of Shakespeare. She does the kind of writing that will teach people 50 years from now what went on in South Africa. Her books are used in South Africa for teaching purposes. She's my hero." Magona hopes to retire in 2003 and return to her native South Africa to work with young people. She looks forward to working collaboratively with various government entities to improve the welfare of children and believes that it is a human rights issue that children grow up healthy, well fed and nourished.

Reviewed by Demetria Harvin