The struggle for democracy in the 1980s: oral accounts of political activists involved in the insurrection in Grahamstown.

Abstract

• Opsomming: In hierdie artikel word die aandag gevestig op Grahamstad, ʼn sekondêre stedelike sentrum in die Oos-Kaap waar massa-opstand, soos ook elders in Suid-Afrika in die 1980’s, plaasgevind het. Daar word gebruik gemaak van die mondelinge historiese metode en die artikel is derhalwe gebaseer op beskrywings van aktiviste. Na ʼn algemene oorsig van ontwikkelings gebaseer op beide dokumentêre en mondelinge bronne, word veral aandag gegee aan spesifieke sub-dimensies van vyf geselekteerde aktiviste se verhale. Dit het betrekking op hul politieke verbintenisse, insluitend hul vroeëre organisatoriese betrokkenheid, hul rol in die ondergrondse weerstand, hul ondervindings in aanhouding sonder verhoor en hul terugkeer na hul eie gemeenskappe.

• Summary: Employing an oral history methodology, this article is based on activists’ accounts of the mass insurrection that took place throughout South Africa in the 1980s, focusing on Grahamstown, a secondary urban centre in the Eastern Cape Province. After a general overview of developments drawing on both documentary and oral sources, particular attention is accorded to certain sub-dimensions of the activists’ stories, based on the personal testimonies of five selected individuals. These refer to their political socialization, including their early organizational involvement, their role in the underground resistance, and their experiences of incarceration without trial and of returning to their communities.