Word: suzman
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Born into white privilege in an increasingly racist society, Helen Suzman, who died Jan. 1 at 91, was a lifelong contrarian. She served in South Africa's Parliament from 1953 to 1989, fighting her government's repression of the country's black majority and the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and his fellow antiapartheid fighters. From 1961 to 1974, it was a battle she fought alone as the Parliament's sole anti-apartheid member...
...Helen Suzman, who was buried Sunday after dying at 91, was a lifelong contrarian. Born into white privilege in a society that was becoming progressively more racist, she served as a lawmaker in South Africa's parliament from 1953 to 1989, fighting government repression of the country's black majority and the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and his fellow anti-apartheid fighters. For 13 years, from 1961 to 1974, it was a battle she fought alone as the sole anti-apartheid member of South Africa's parliament...
...Suzman for tea in her lush garden in her Johannesburg home in June last year. She was, she said, "slowly fading away," tinnitus in her ears making her head "ring like a church bell." But, as I hoped, she was still feisty and outspoken. We chatted about the old days, about how she had managed to negotiate a visit to meet Mandela in prison on Robben Island off Cape Town in 1967, about what had made him such a unifying leader. Inevitably, that drew comparisons with today's A.N.C. "[Thabo] Mbeki [Mandela's successor as president, who was forced...
...What Suzman found most inexcusable was how the party that was supposed to transform the lives of black South Africans had failed so miserably at its primary task. "There are miles and miles and miles of shantytowns today, many more than before," she said. "No running water, no sewerage, nothing. There are, yes, a handful of extremely rich people whose lives have changed dramatically. But the vast majority have been left behind. Unemployment is 26%. And we have a serious crime problem, and the link is clear: people are getting fed up with this non-delivery of policies, and understandably...
...months after we spoke, Mbeki was fired by the A.N.C. and the party split in two. In a general election due in a few months, the A.N.C. will face its most formidable array of opposition parties to date. It is a development that would undoubtedly please Suzman. Even so, her passing - and the memory of her lifelong struggle as peaceful objector - casts all of today's South African politicians in a less than flattering light. Even faced with a stronger opposition, few doubt that the next South African president will be Jacob Zuma, the A.N.C. president...