My Book Review

A South African Story by Azeeza Saloojee review by Fatima Khakie

If I was an eight-year old child reading the story, I would have definitely learnt more about my country’s past, things that I would not forget. The simple plot and amazing illustrations keeps the interest of a young mind. The book “A South African Story” by Azeeza Saloojee will prove to be not only enjoyable, but will teach children important life lessons as well.
Set in Apartheid times, the hardships and unfairness of racial segregation is explored through main character, John and his family. Explaining that also the young suffered - one can almost feel the sadness which gives the book a realistic feel. Thereby teaching children to treat everyone fairly.
The impact of Apartheid is brilliantly portrayed in the line “John and his family are still hurt and their wounds and memories of their ill past has not healed.”
Yet, this is all forgiven and forgotten thanks to the TRC, which was well explained. The book does end in a happy ending – just like South Africa did. All can look forward to a brighter future filled with people of all colours.
The gold covered story book is an interesting bed time story, that unlike sleeping beauty is true, deep and above all, about South Africa – our country.

Narrative Essay

As the hot summer sun filtered through the tall window of her bedroom, it shone directly on to a monstrosity. His disheveled figure leaving a dark shadow behind him as if he were the devil.

Her palms are sweaty, knees weak and arms are heavy. Trembling like a scared puppy in the corner. Hoping from the depths of her heart and praying to god like there is no tomorrow that this man, this thing, does not choose the correct casket.

Seconds turn into minutes and minutes stretch out to be hours and her mind drifts away to another land, wandering what the future has in store for her. What if this man chooses the right casket? She's doomed.
I cannot stay with such a thing, it’s simply inhumane,” she whispers to herself in a breaking voice.

With a nudge to her side only seconds before he gives his answer, Stella’s monstrous suitor, disorientated if he were drunk, with curly, greasy, shoulder-length hair, not combed for days like a shag dog not groomed for a month, chooses the right casket. Her heart dropped to the floor like a bomb falling from the sky, only to leave destruction in its path. She now knew her life was over, this was the turning point, like every fairy-tale, the poor girl gets her prince, for her it’s for the worst.
“Me, oh me, why? Why do I have to be in the middle of a dead mans wish, I am only human, deserving enough to make my own choices and to marry one other than this, why God? WHY?” She cries out in dismay.

The room stands I shock to her words, like robots, without blinking. She looked at him and stared, his face suddenly gone small by her words, but deep inside he had a grin.
Standing on her two feet again, recovered from her state of shock, she has no say in the matter. He is her suitor, her husband to be.

The nights leading up to the wedding were endless. With every passing day, her eyes puffy and red, new grief entered her heart. The day came when Stella had to share her life and herself with a man she did not know, she did not like and further more did not choose.

After the ceremony, Stella was taken to her new home. Far from the rich city to calm, serene place in the country side. She entered her castle. A huge mansion lied before her.

For weeks she was a lump of misery. But soon her heart began to change. Slowly her monstrous husband shredded of the layers only to reveal what lies beneath. She felt ashamed about herself, how could she make such accusations against a man of such character. Her heart took over her mind and the bond between them grew like the tendrils of a grape vine.



Never in her life was she ever spoken to with such respect and honour. He honoured as royalty and treated her as his treasure. Her happiness was his. His tongue, the words he spoke so gently and kind were sweeter than sugar and honey. She asked him one day, “Why did you appear to be such a vile man?” he replied, “my love, I wanted to see what kind of man your heart searched for, I was not sure, if I came well dressed you would have not moaned, and I would have not known if I was the one or not.”
By his words her heart set free like a butterfly. Her handsome prince, cleaned up and in his original deep voice, was the only thing she needed to survive. He was her everything.

She learnt her lesson. Outward appearance means nothing to what you may find inside. She thought to herself, “I guess this was my turning point, something more than a fairytale, this is reality,”

Evaluation: Term 3

Term 3 saw to the closure of the study Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. During this term we made shanty town models and plays which were all based on the novel. Putting yourself in the shoes of others gave me a deeper sense of feeling of the way of life many lived through the Apartheid times. Cry the Beloved country was a great book and it did a wonderful job on shedding some light on the history of our country in a more deeper context than other history books.

Evaluation: Grade 10 2007

Awesome, exerting, application, maturing, understanding, growth, fun, tears, laughter, world, media, technology, history, general knowledge, news, events…and the list can go on and on. These are only a few words that describe my English class for the year 2007. With great help and support this is all thanks to Mr. A Sujee and my great class of girls! Thanks a lot guys, you all made it worth while.

Evaluation: Writing children's books

This task, I have to admit, had me shaking at first. How do you possibly write a book for kids on Apartheid and the TRC, when I myself have no idea what to do. Well, I gave it my best shot, and to my surprise, it actually looked quite good at the end. I was proud of the little book that came out of my hands…and my head. Let’s just hope Mr. Sujee and the others like it too.

On a more serious note, at the same time writing children’s books was an extremely learning experience. It was challenging but I made it!

Evaluation: Preparing to teach a poetry lesson

We were recently told that we were to teach a grade nine class a poetry lesson. This got us all excited, I mean, how cool is that, we get to teach. The poem that we were going to teach was An Abandoned Bundle by Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali. It was a powerful poem and in no time we were all ready preparing the lesson. Headstrong and passionate, the planning was awesome.

Letter to the editor- The Vereeniging Vaal Ster

P o Box 21287

Roshnee1936

Vereeniging

21 September 2007

The Editor
Vereeniging Ster
P O Box 351
Vanderbijlpark
1900Dear Sir

High crime rate in South Africa

I am writing this letter to express my concern of the high crime rate in South Africa and my community.

As a citizen of South Africa I feel that my right to ‘safety and security’ and also the ‘right to life’ are being violated on a daily basis. This feeling is not only being experienced by me but also by those around me and by the community. We, the citizens of South Africa, fear for our life, possessions and loved ones every day with out fail.

Every person in this country has been affected by crime either directly or indirectly at some time in their lives. Just last month a close family member was hijacked in the quite town of Lydenburg. It wasn’t long after that that there was a break in attempt at my own home. In the previous week it is said that two men walked into a ladies home at about 8:45. They hit the domestic unconscious and stabbed the owner in the upper arm. They got away, once again, with the ladies possessions including her jewelry.

Common assault is down 8.7 percent, common robbery is down 5.8 percent, indecent assault is down 5.5 percent, rape is down 5.2 percent, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm is down 4.9 percent and attempted murder is down 3 percent.
However, despite the overall decrease, there has been an increase in two categories: provoked robbery and murder, which went up by 4.6 percent and 2.4 percent respectively.
Even though the crime rate has dropped as shown by statistics, it is still ridiculous as to what we have to go through. Prison does not seem to help in this country, are we been forced to introduce the death penalty? Without a doubt it raises a question in my mind: What will be the ultimate punishment for criminals?

Sincerely yours,
Azeeza Saloojee

Statistics obtained from:
www.allafrica.com
www.nationmaster.com

Joburg City

It’s a city with a rhythm,
It’s a city with a vibe,
A city with undercurrents
That makes you want to drive.

Everything, though, is not always well and good.
There’s murder, theft and rape.
You’ll find it everywhere.
From newspaper headlines and the ally way under the night sky,
To the vast veldt in broad day light.

There is the rich, there is the poor,
And the struggle to survive is to work for.
The rich do coffee shops,
The poor do the streets.
We all live our lives,
There’s nothing worth risking it for.

Drive through its streets
And you will find happiness
Within the heavy mists of unfortunates.
It’s a great city
A city worth seeing.
It is Joburg city,
A city for me.

A city full of hope
And great expectations.
A city which is developing
And won’t hesitate to produce successes
It is Joburg city.
For you,
For me,
For everybody.

Evaluation: The Vaal Hearings

I was surprised to find out how many great stories were still hidden under the soil. This was our chance to do something for our country and the people in it. We interviewed people and retrieved their life experiences from deep within their hearts. They were extremely happy to know that finally their experiences of the struggle will be exposed. It was gripping to know that ordinary people were so active in opposing the struggle. It got me thinking about my self and the youth of today. I found myself questioning “ what did I do for my people, for my self… to make a difference?” . The answer was obvious. I did not do much. The same school project had now evolved into a moral inspiration, and a reforming one as well.

Evaluation: Term 2

By now I had adjusted well to the new way of teaching. The lessons were becoming more interesting and informative as we then began to work well outside the class room.

Our study of The Merchant of Venice was concluded and we then began the study of Cry the Beloved Country. We centered all our activities on the book and the Apartheid era. This also was the beginning to our latest project, The Vaal Hearings. (Continuation into term 3)

Evaluation: Plays and Projects

This project was based on Cry the Beloved Country. It was highly informative as we had to view our country and our surroundings in a different perspective. We based our projects on the contrast between the rich and the poor in South Africa. Looking through our evidence and the reality in front of us , we came to a conclusion that the situation is highly off balance. This experience was unsettling, informative and most of all fulfilling as it made me realize how blessed and fortunate I am. It made me appreciate every small detail in my daily life. Exposing and informative, an awakening experience.

Evaluation: Audio Assignment

This project was based on The Merchant of Venice. We had to do a news slot and record it. For me, this experience was a gateway to a new beginning. It demanded all I had as I had to break out of my shell (and definitely couldn’t afford to be shy). It helped me grow and helped me to realize that I can do anything, I just had to try. At first it was impossible, but as I went along doing it I discovered hidden capabilities and at the end had a great time doing it!

Evaluation of term 1

During term one we began our study of Merchant Of Venice written by William Shakespeare. At fist I was afraid I would not manage, the work load was a lot and keeping up to it wasn’t easy. As time went by though, I learnt time management and the skill of keeping in touch with all latest developments in the classroom. My understanding of the English used in his plays had increased as the weeks went by. Open to this new world of English the lessons were exciting, captivating and mind stimulating.