The book cover of veteran journalist Subry Govender's autobiography titled 'Coolie Journalist'. He is seen with internationally-recognised cartoonist, Nanda Soobben
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Subry Govender's 'Coolie Journalist': A legacy of courage in South African journalism
Taschica Pillay|Published 4
weeks ago
"Coolie Journalist", the autobiography of Marimuthu
Subramoney, better known as Subry Govender, will be launched today.
At 79, Govender's impressive five-decade career in journalism bears
testimony to a life dedicated to the fight for justice, freedom, and media
integrity during one of South Africa's darkest chapters, apartheid, from the
late 1960s to the early 1990s.
Set against the backdrop of state repression, Govender's memoir delves
into his formative years in the rural village of Ottawa, north of Durban. Early
experiences in the sugarcane fields where he worked as a school boy fostered
his strong desire to impact society through journalism, which he viewed not
merely as a job but as a vital vocation capable of enacting real change.
Govender, from Umdloti, paid a heavy price for his commitment to
truth-telling. He faced harassment and intimidation at the hands of apartheid
security police, detention, banning restrictions, the denial of a passport for
more than 10 years and a lengthy stint of house arrest, which tragically
culminated in the loss of his five-month-old son, Vishen. Due to a banning
order that confined Govender to his home during specific hours, he was unable
to take his son to seek urgent medical attention.
Subry Govender intrviewing Florence
Mkhize in Griffith Mxenge's office in the 1980s
Image: Supplied
In "Coolie Journalist", Govender takes readers on a compelling
journey; one that spans from his start as a clerk at an insurance company in
the 1960s to pivotal roles as a freelance correspondent, a full-time journalist
at the Durban Daily News and a senior political correspondent for SABC
post-1994. He ran community newspapers and was a correspondent for
international print and electronic media outlets.
His narrative also touches upon the establishment of Ukusa, a Durban
weekly newspaper he launched with the help of prominent anti-apartheid leaders.
After spending three years completing his autobiography, Govender, said
it is the legacy that he would like to leave behind for aspiring journalists
and for them to make a contribution to social, political and economic
development by ensuring that as a journalist they make a difference for the
better in the lives of the people and society.
"I chose to write my autobiography because I wanted to leave behind
a legacy where South Africans could learn about the struggles by journalists in
the late 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s for a free, non-racial and
democratic future South Africa. We had established organisations such as the
Union of Black Journalists(UBJ), Media Workers Union of South Africa and the
Association of Democratic Journalists. At every turn we were subjected to
oppression at the hands of the apartheid security police.
"I wanted the autobiography to be a reminder of what we went
through and that now our democracy must be free, fearless, and progressive.
Coolie Journalist urges a new generation of journalists to choose courage over
compliance, ethics over expediency, and the people over power," he said.
Govender chose the title "Coolie Journalist" purposefully,
reclaiming a term that was weaponised against him by the apartheid regime while
simultaneously recognising the discrimination he faced as an insurance clerk
and journalist.
He said security police kept a watch on him because they disliked his
reporting of anti-apartheid activities by sporting leaders, trade union
activists and political activists and organisations.
"They saw me as a "coolie terrorist" and when I was
detained and banned in 1980s, the security police made it clear that I was
nothing more than a "Coolie Journalist" who should be stopped in my
tracks," he said.
Govender said the younger and older generations will learn from the book
that there were many journalists during the apartheid era who were prepared to
pay the highest price in order to fight for a media that was free and
democratic.
The book which costs R250 is available from Govender on 082 376 9053 or
email subrygovender@gmail.com.
Image: Supplied
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