When Morning Comes

by Arushi Raina

  He offers me free things. Old Spice. “Very nice. Imported.”

  Most times I say no. Sometimes I say yes.

  I think of Meena as a proper doctor in a big hospital like Baragwanath. Agh, maybe in ten years I will be the same as I am now, but rich. We will meet at an operating table, and she will be pulling bullets out of me, and I will say, ai wena, I know you. I don’t trust you with a knife.

  Meena

  I still read newspapers. I’m still allowed to do that. Mostly I read old papers, starting from June. Then I read through all the stories, to Jonas. A week later, an obituary for Jack Craven, a picture of him in his rugby uniform, a cup in hands. No mention that he was still technically missing, that he ran off with a black girl across the border. This was, probably, a tidier ending for his parents.

  Most of the time, I have to stay in my room and study. That is all Papa says. Once or twice, he tried to talk about other things, ask me questions, talk about when Mami died, but what’s the point? Maybe for him this story starts there, but not for me.

  If Thabo hadn’t told Papa, I wouldn’t be here, but in Swaziland with Zanele and the rest. Training.

  I remember the way he just stood there as Papa took me away.

  My grandmother comes in every few hours, with more cooked food. She thinks if she makes me enough food, I will be happy again, that everyone will go back to how they were. Maybe this was how it was when Papa came back from jail all those years ago.

  Sometimes it’s Jyoti who brings the food to my room. She likes to sit in my lap and say nothing, so I let her. One time last week, she came to my room with a chocolate truffle. She didn’t know what it was, but she handed it to me and said it was from Fancy Man. And when I didn’t want it, she was happy to eat it herself. On the inside of the wrapper, there were three words: You Belong Here.

  Just the type of thing he would do.

  He doesn’t need to come to the store; he just comes because he likes Papa being grateful to him. It’s horrible. I imagine that he’s very proud of what he did, getting Zanele, Jack, and that other boy across the border. I bet he forgets to mention the Coca-Cola truck in the story. And the truck was there only because I told Jonas.

  I wonder what Zanele and Jack are doing. I imagine them walking down a street together. There is something careless about the way they walk, past houses and their staring owners, past shop fronts dull in the morning light.

  They’re an attractive couple, too attractive—shining a little too bright.

  One day I’ll get a postcard with a short message: “We’re OK.” Or something like that.

  I wait for it.

  Historical Note

  On June 16, 1976, a shot rang out—a bullet from a policeman’s gun that found its way to Hastings Ndlovu, a high school student in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa. Hastings was 15. In all, around 200 students were believed to have died that day, a day which would be later known as the Soweto Uprising. Hastings Ndlovu and Hector Pieterson were two of the first victims.

  Earlier, in the morning of June 16, more than fifteen thousand students, from schools around the township, met up according to a pre-planned route and organized themselves into a march to the Orlando Stadium to protest against the Bantu Education Act, or “Baas Law.” Sources from the time indicate that the police hadn’t been prepared for this protest, nor were most of the students’ parents.

  To understand why a policeman was given the power to shoot at unarmed black students, we have to go months, years, decades back. In 1976, most teenagers had been born into the system of apartheid, a racial policy in South Africa that made it legal to racially discriminate against non-white people. Non-whites were denied equal rights to decide where they lived, where they could work, where they were permitted to shop, and what type of education they could receive, among many other restrictions. Apartheid was written into law in 1948.

  Students realized that the new education law for blacks, the Baas Law, would make it extremely difficult to complete their education, in a schooling system that already had too few books, too few teachers, too few schools. Students had been learning most of their subjects in English, already a second language, for most of their lives. Now, students in Grade 10 or below would be forced, in a matter of weeks, to switch to learning in Afrikaans, the dominant language of the ruling National Party.

  Students in 1976 had lived with the stories of their parents’ and their grandparents’ experience of apartheid. All major political movements were banned, and many of the leaders of parties that opposed apartheid, like Nelson Mandela, were in prison. The students’ parents and their grandparents had seen the consequences of opposing the government­—life imprisonment, sometimes death.

  Students in 1976 realized they couldn’t wait for their political leaders to be set free.

  Now it was their time to act.

  Glossary

  Abantwana: noun, Zulu.

  Children.

  Note singular “umtwana” as below.

  Abo gata: slang, noun, plural, Zulu.

  Police.

  Afrikaans:

  A language of southern Africa, derived from the form of Dutch brought to the Cape by Protestant settlers in the 17th century. Could also refer to this group of people.

  Amandla: noun, Zulu.

  Strength, power, force, might.

  ANC:

  The African National Conference. Formed in 1912, the organization led efforts to protest against discriminatory legislation. The organization was banned in 1960, but continued significant underground activity through the 1970s.

  Asibe sabe thina: song, Zulu.

  We Shall Not Fear.

  Asseblief: interjection, Afrikaans.

  Please.

  Baas: noun, Afrikaans.

  Boss, master.

  Baba: noun, Zulu, from ubaba.

  Father, dad.

  Bafowethu: noun plural, Zulu from Abafowethu.

  My/our brothers.

  Baie: adverb/adjective, Afrikaans.

  Very much.

  Note: Baie dankie means “thank you very much.”

  Bhuti: noun, Zulu, from ubhuti.

  Brother.

  Boer: noun, English.

  A South African of Dutch extraction/origin. Commonly used to reference Afrikaans people.

  Braai: noun, Afrikaans and English.

  Barbecue.

  Bru: slang, English and Afrikaans.

  Shortened from Afrikaans boer, meaning “brother.”

  Clever: noun, slang.

  Clevers are ‘streetwise city-slickers,’ and may also be gangsters, but non-gangsters may aspire to the style, (Glaser, 2000). From E. Hurst. Tsotsitaal, global culture and local style: identity and recontextualisation in twenty-first century South African townships.

  Dagga: noun, South African, informal.

  Marijuana.

  Dankie: verb, interjection, Afrikaans.

  Thank you.

  Domkop: noun, Afrikaans.

  Dummy.

  Eish: noun, Zulu.

  An exclamation expressive of surprise, agreement, disapproval, etc.

  Gaan blaas: insult, Afrikaans, literal definition.

  Go blow yourself up.

  Gogo: noun, Zulu, from ugogo.

  Grandmother.

  Highveld: noun, English.

  Plateau land with an elevation of about 4,000 feet used especially for grazing. Partial translation from Afrikaans hoogveld, from hoog (high) and veldt (field).

  Ja: interjection, Afrikaans.

  Yes.

  Jol: verb, slang, South African.

  To party, have fun.

  Kak: Afrikaans.

  Bird droppings, shit.

  Kaffir: noun, offensive racial term.

  An insulting term for a black African person
in South Africa.

  Kahle: interjection, Zulu.

  Wait.

  Klaar: verb, Afrikaans.

  Finished, clear.

  Klap: verb, noun, Afrikaans.

  Hit, strike.

  Koeksister: noun, Afrikaans and English.

  Afrikaans dessert, braid-shaped doughnut, infused with syrup.

  Koppies: noun, English, from Afrikaans.

  Small hills in a generally flat area.

  Masibulele ku Jesu, ngokuba wasifela: Hymn, Zulu.

  Let us thank Jesus, for He died for us.

  Mealie: noun, English.

  Corn.

  Meneer: noun, Afrikaans.

  Mister.

  Mfana(s)/Bafana(pl): noun, Zulu.

  Singular mfana from umfana, boy. Plural bafana from abafana, boys.

  Mlungu: noun, Zulu, from umlungu.

  White person.

  Moer: slang, verb, noun.

  To attack (someone or something) violently.

  Nkosi S’ikelele: song, Zulu, Xhosa, and other.Title of South African’s national anthem, from 1994 to present. The literal translation, from Xhosa, is “God Bless Africa.” Nkosi Sekelel’ iAfrika was originally composed in 1897 by Enoch Sontonga, a Methodist school teacher. The song started being sung as a church hymn but later was sung as part of political protest against the apartheid government in South Africa.

  Oke: slang, South African.

  Word for a person, usually male.

  Paap: noun, Afrikaans, English.

  Maize porridge.

  PAC:

  Pan Africanist Congress. South African political party, originally part of the ANC. This party followed an Africanist ideological stance. Further information at: South African History Online: http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/pan-africanist-congress-pac.

  Putco:

  South African bus company.

  SASM:

  South African Student Movement. An organisation of high school students that represented students, that among other activities, organized boycotts against the Bantu Education. Further information at: South African History Online: http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/pan-africanist-congress-pac.

  SASO:

  South African Students Organisation. An organisation focused on Black Consciousness. Its inaugural president was Steve Biko. Further information at: South African History Online: http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/pan-africanist-congress-pac.

  Sawubona: interjection/greeting, Zulu.

  Hello, Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening.

  Shebeen: noun, English.

  South African name for an illegal bar, typically located in a township.

  Sisi: noun, Zulu, from usisi.

  Sister.

  Siyabonga: verb/greeting, Zulu.

  He/She/We thank you.

  Suka: verb, Zulu.

  Go away, go off.

  Tata Madiba:

  Name for Nelson Mandela. Tata is a Xhosa word for father, while Madiba was Nelson Mandela’s clan name.

  Thula: verb, Zulu.

  Be quiet, be silent, be still, be peaceful, be tranquil, shut up.

  Note: Thula wena as used in the book, refers to the imperative and is literally translated as “you, be quiet.”

  Tsotsi: noun, English.

  A black street thug or gang member.

  Umkhonto We Sizwe: Zulu.

  Literal meaning: Spear of the Nation. This was the name of the armed wing of the ANC. Further information at: South African History Online: http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/pan-africanist-congress-pac.

  Umntwana: noun, Zulu.

  Child.

  Umqombothi: noun, Zulu.

  Traditional beer.

  Veld: noun, Zulu.

  An area of grassy land with few trees or shrubs especially in southern Africa.

  Voetsek: interjection, Afrikaans.

  Get lost.

  Wena: pronoun, Zulu.

  You.

  Yebo: adverb, affirmative interjection, Zulu.

  Yes.

  Zulu:

  The Bantu language of the Zulu people of South Africa. Could also refer to this group of people.

  Glossary Sources

  Collins Dictionary, http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/.

  Dictionary.com, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tsotsi

  E. Hurst, Tsotsitaal, global culture and local style: identity and recontextualisation in twenty-first century South African townships, (2009). Routledge, Taylor and Francis. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02533950903076196.

  Glosbe.com, https://glosbe.com/af/en/.

  Isizulu net, https://isizulu.net/

  Majstro translation website: http://www.majstro.com/Web/Majstro/bdict.php?gebrTaal=eng&bronTaal=afr&doelTaal=eng&teVertalen.

  Merriam Webster Dictionary, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/.

  Oxford Dictionary, http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/.

  South African History Online, http://www.sahistory.org.za.

  The Presidency, South African, http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/.