VASANTHA PHYLLIS RUTH NAIDOO (NEE DAVID) - GIANT OF THE LIBERATION STRUGGLES – REMEMBERED ON JANUARY 5 2019 WHEN SHE WOULD HAVE TURNED 91

(BY SUBRY GOVENDER) Today, on the 5th of January 2019, one of the giants in the struggles for a free and non-racial South Africa, Vasanatha Phyllis Ruth Naidoo (nee David), would have turned 91. Known as Phyllis Naidoo, this committed struggle stalwart was born on the 5th of January 1928 to a staunch Catholic family who also had their roots to indentured labourers. After being involved in the struggles for more than 60 years, she passed on, on February 13 2013 at the age 85. As a tribute to this struggle giant, I am re-publishing two articles and a radio documentary on her remarkable life. The first article, which encompasses her life from being a teenage activist, was published in February 2013 after her passing on Feb 13 of that year. The second article was an interview that I had conducted with Phyllis Naidoo at her Umbilo Road flat in Durban in 2005. The radio package was also recorded and broadcast at this time. I also have the pleasure of publishing a speech that Phyllis Naidoo had delivered at the then University of Durban-Westville in 2007 when she was bestowed with a honorary doctorate of law for her invaluable contributions to the liberation struggles. In her speech, she pulled no punches when reminding the people of the sacrifices made by countless activists for the freedom that we enjoy today. She also spoke about the current situation where greed for power and wealth dominates the work of the new politicians and leaders.

(PHYLLIS NAIDOO'S DAD, SIMON DAVID, MUM, AND HER SIBLINGS, INCLUDING PAUL DEVADAS DAVID) ACTIVISTS ATTEND MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR PHYLLIS NAIDOO A wide array of former political activists attended the memorial service for one of the country's most formidable comrades, Phyllis Naidoo, at The Parish of St Aidan in Durban on Saturday (Feb 16 2013) afternoon. Phyllis died three days earlier on the morning of February 13 at the local Albert Luthuli Hospital at the age of 85. Some of the activists who turned up for the service included Mr Swaminathan Gounden, who is 86-year-old; Mr Kay Moonsamy, who is also in his 80s; Ms Ela Gandhi; Mr Sunny Singh; Dr Dilly Naidoo and his wife; Mr Tito Mboweni, former Reserve Bank Governor; Dr Jerry Coovadia and his wife, Zubie; Mr Coastal Govender; and Dr Farouk Meer. Former struggle photographer, Omar Badsha, came down from Cape Town for the service and author and writer, Dr Deena Padaychee, was also in attendance. Some of the current politicians in Government who also attended included Mr Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim, Deputy Minister of International Affairs; Mr Mac Maharaj, who worked with Phyllis in exile; and Mr Derek Hanekom, Minister of Trade and Industry. Described as a "sound, cohesive force", a number of speakers spoke about Comrade Phyllis's family background; her disciplinarian headmaster father, Mr Simon David and mother, Violet; her early first marriage; her struggles to complete her university degree while working as a nurse; her commitment to the struggle and joining the SACP, ANC, Natal Indian Congress while still a student, her meeting and marriage to M D Naidoo, who was jailed on Robben Island for his SACP work; her struggles to work as lawyer; the opening of her own law practice; the assistance she had given to former Robben Island prisoners, including current President Jacob Zuma; her flight into exile to Lesotho where she was seriously injured after she unknowingly opened a letter bomb; her move to Zimbabwe; the assassination of her son Sadhan by apartheid security agents at an ANC farm in Zambia; the return to South Africa in the early 1990s, the divorce from M D Naidoo; the death of her third son, Sha; the work for the release of death row prisoners; the writing of her books to remember those who played crucial roles in the struggles, ..... the list goes on. It was also revealed at the service that Phyllis was robbed of her first son, Nathan, who was taken away by her first husband to the United States. She never saw this son again and later learned that after the ANC turned down his request to join MK, the young man joined the forces of Charles Taylor in Liberia where he was killed. But despite all the personal tragedies, she was never dispirited and continued to promote the struggles in the new, non-racial and democratic South Africa. The tributes were paid by her family members - only surviving child and daughter, Sukhthi; grand-children Buck and Louis Whaley; and brothers John and Paul David. Paul, who chose not to concentrate on the political side of Phyllis's life in his tribute, observed that Comrade Phyllis was very concerned about the socio-economic transformation of the previously-disadvantaged after the advent of the new South Africa in 1994. She was concerned about, among other things, the wide gap between the haves and have nots, the lack of services, the schooling facilities, proper roads and sporting facilities. At times, he said, she would say: "Maybe we should make a comeback." Her youngest sibling, Benjamin David, a former Verulam High School sportsman and top class cricketer, also paid tribute to his sister by quoting verses from the Bible. Father Michael Lapsley, who lost both his hands in a parcel bomb sent by the apartheid security police to Lesotho, and the Anglican Bishop of KZN and former black consciousness activist Reuben Phillip, also paid special tributes to Comrade Phyllis. Author Dr Betty Govinden penned a special religious tribute to Comrade Phyllis titled "We give thanks for Phyllis's life". The speaker of the National Assembly, Max Sisulu, was among a number of people who had worked with Comrade Phyllis, had their messages published in a special memorial booklet. Max Sisulu summed up the sentiments of most people when, among other things, he wrote: "In Phyllis, we have lost a courageous freedom fighter, human rights lawyer, teacher, activist and protector of the vulnerable. As a result of her dedication to the struggle for our people's freedom, and as a disciplined member of the Communist Party and the African National Congress, Phyllis bore the brunt of police harrassment, house arrests, banning and the painful loss of her two sons. "South Africa will forever be indebted to Phyllis and her family for her bravery, courage, leadership and sacrifice in the liberation and transformation of South Africa."