South African Political Exile in the United Kingdom

292 Pages·1999·33.15 MB·English

by  Mark Israel (auth.)

SOUTHAFRICAN POLITICAL EXILE IN THE
UNITED KINGDOM
Al50byMarkIsrael
INTERNATIONALVICTIMOLOGY(co-editor)
South African
Political Exile in
the United Kingdom
Mark Israel
SeniorLecturer
SchoolofLaw
TheFlinders UniversityofSouthAustralia
FirstpublishedinGreatBritain 1999by
MACMILLANPRESSLTD
Houndmills,Basingstoke,HampshireRG216XSandLondon
Companiesandrepresentativesthroughouttheworld
Acataloguerecord forthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
ISBN978-1-349-14925-4 ISBN978-1-349-14923-0(eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-14923-0
FirstpublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica 1999by
ST.MARTIN'SPRESS,INC.,
ScholarlyandReferenceDivision.
175FifthAvenue.NewYork.N.Y.10010
ISBN978-0-312-22025-9
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Israel.Mark. 1965-
SouthAfricanpoliticalexile intheUnited Kingdom/MarkIsrael.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-312-22025-9 (cloth)
I. Politicalrefugees-GreatBritain-History-20thcentury.
2.GreatBritain-Exiles-History-20thcentury. 3.SouthAfricans
-GreatBritain-History-20thcentury. I.Title.
HV640.5.S6I87 1999
362.87'0941-dc21 98-32038
CIP
©Mark Israel1999
SoftcoverreprintofthehardcoverIstedition 1999
Allrightsreserved.Noreproduction.copyortransmissionofthispublicationmaybemade
withoutwritten permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced. copied or transmitted save with
written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright. Designs and
PatentsAct 1988.or under the termsof any licence permittinglimitedcopyingissued by
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Anyperson who doesanyunauthorised actinrelation tothis publication may be liable to
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The authorhasasserted hisrighttobe identified as theauthorof thiswork inaccordance
withtheCopyright.DesignsandPatentsAct 1988.
This book is printed on papersuitable for recycling and made from fully managed and
sustainedforestsources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I
08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99
Contents
ListofTables and Figures
VI
Preface andAcknowledgements VB
ListofAbbreviations IX
1 The Invisible Migrants 1
2 State, Opposition and Exit 18
3 Accounts ofExit 55
4 South African Migration to Britain 86
5 Exile Networks 110
6 Exile and Identity 136
7 The Opposition in Exile 158
8 Conflictwith the South African State 184
9 The End ofExile 202
10 Conclusion 235
Notesand References 242
Bibliography 256
Index 272
V
List of Tables and Figures
Table
2.1 Periods in post-war South Africa 21
Figures
4.1 South African-born English and Welsh
residents, 1911-91 88
4.2 Residence ofSouth African-born
United Kingdom residents in 1991 88
4.3 Occupation ofSouth African-born
residents ofGreat Britain, 1991 89
4.4 Emigration from South Africa to the
United Kingdom, 1924-94 91
4.5 Immigration from SouthAfrica to the
United Kingdom, 1964-92 92
VI
Preface and
Acknowledgements
Many people have given me help over the last nine years
in preparing this work. These include Gavin Williams, Liz
Frazer and Terence Ranger at Oxford, Ade Peace at the
University of Adelaide, Robert Miles of Glasgow University
and Nicholas Van Hear ofOxford University.
As for the money and time for writing my thesis, I am
indebted to the Economic and Social Science Research Council
in the United Kingdom, the Cathie Fund in Australia, Balliol
College, Oxford, the Flinders University of South Australia
and the Oppenheimer Institute at the University of Cape
Town. I greatly value the help oftwo people, Hilda Bernstein
and Imruh Bakari, who were generous enough to allow me to
use the unedited transcripts ofinterviews that they had under
taken with South African exiles. The transcripts that Hilda
Bernstein created for her book, TheRift,are now housed in the
library ofthe University ofthe Western Cape. Theyconstitute a
remarkable collection and deserve more attention than I have
been able to give them. Imruh Bakari of Ceddo Productions
kindly offered me transcripts of both his film, Blue Notes and
Exiled lfJia s, and interviews done in conjunction with the film.
Again, AntheaJosiasvery kindlyprovided me with accessto the
unedited transcripts of interviews done by Wolfie Kodesh for
the Mayibuye Centre at the University ofthe Western Cape. I
would like to thank the British Home Office, the SouthAfrican
Central Statistics Office, David Owen at Warwick University,
and the librarians at every library that helped me (in the
United Kingdom, United States,Australia and South Africa).
Of course, the research would have been of little merit
without the help and time of many South Africans who
agreed to talk to me and relate their stories. I hope that they
felt that their effort was worthwhile and that I have repre
sented their accounts fairly. Thanks to the following people:
RosAinslie; Julius and Tamara Baker; Clarice Been; Barbara,
Terry and Brendan Bell; Hilda Bernstein; Babette Brown;
Gavin Cawthra; Theo Chaplin; Indira Cuthbertson; Winnie
VII
PrefaceandAcknowledgements
Vlll
and Roshan Dadoo; Vuyisile Dlova; Jonty and Dax Driver;
Betty du Toit; Sadie Forman; Gessie Gathercole; Stephen and
Tozie Gawe; Hazel Goldreich; Blanche La Guma; Michael
and Margaret Hathorn; Sir Raymond Hoffenberg; Daso, Sally
and Vijan Iyer; Eileen and Roy Jaffe; Adelaide, Paul, Zoya,
Tania and Nadia Joseph; Fritz and Jenny Joubert; Freda
Katz; Ethel de Keyser; Gerald Kraak; Francois Krige; Martin
Legassick; Colin, Margaret, Kate, Liz and J Legum; Khosi
0
Mabena; John Matshikiza; Jean Middleton; Krishna, Navi
and Maya Moodley; Greg Murray; Karen and Sandra Naidoo;
M.D. Naidoo; A.B. and Lauretta Ngcobo; Donald Nicholson;
Tembi Nobadulla; Maria Nobrega; Miriam and YoussefOmar;
Gerald O'Sullivan; Ken Parker; Pauline Podbrey; Matthew
Temple; Anna-Zohra, Ruweida and Adam Tikly; Stephen
Tobias; and Brian and Gavin Williams. Thanks also to Deborah
Hersh and those who asked me not to reveal their names.
I have made every effort to trace all interviewees so that
they might check the information contained in the completed
manuscript. I apologize to those people that I was unable to
contact and hope that what I have written does not cause
them any embarrassment.
My initial interest in the sociology of migration was stimu
lated by my parents. They too have moved enough times in
theirlivesto have a rich appreciation ofthe pleasures and pains
of migration. Their unflagging enthusiasm for and genuine
interest in what I waswritingwas an important part ofkeeping
me going. I hope that, at the very least, I now understand a lit
tle more aboutwhat they and their generationwent through.
Adelaide,Australia MARK ISRAEL
The author and publishers are grateful to Carfax Publishing
Limited (PO Box 25, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OXI43UE,
United Kingdom) and Kluwer Academic Publishers (PO Box
17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, Netherlands) for permission to
reproduce material from, respectively, Israel, M. (1996) 'The
"Strangest of Minorities": The Shifting Visibility of South
African Post-WarMigration to Britain', New Community, vol. 22,
pp. 479-93; and Israel, M. (1998) 'Crimes of the State:
Victimisation of South African Political Exiles in the United
Kingdom',Crime, LawandSocial Change, vol. 29, no. 1,pp. 1-29.
List of Abbreviations
AAM Anti-Apartheid Movement
ANC African National Congress
ARM African Resistance Movement
AZAPO Azanian People's Organisation
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
BCM Black Consciousness Movement
BDAF British Defence and Aid Fund for Southern
Africa
BOSS Bureau for State Security
BRC British Refugee Council
CCB Civil Cooperation Bureau
CLAAG City ofLondon Anti-Apartheid Group
COD Congress ofDemocrats
CODESA Convention for a Democratic South Africa
COSATU Congress ofSouth African Trade Unions
COSAWR Committee on SouthAfrican War Resistance
CPSA Communist Party ofSouth Africa
DMI Directorate ofMilitary Intelligence
ECC End Conscription Campaign
FOSATU Federation ofSouthAfrican Trade Unions
FSAW Federation ofSouth African Women
GWU GarmentWorkers' Union
IDAF International Defence and Aid Fund
10M International Organisation for Migration
MDM Mass Democratic Movement
MK Umkhonto WeSizwe (Spear ofthe Nation)
NCCR National Co-ordinating Committee for the
Repatriation ofSouthAfrican Exiles
NCL National Committee for Liberation
NEUM Non-European Unity Movement
NF National Forum
NIC Natal Indian Congress
NP National Party
NUM National Union ofMineworkers
NUMSA National Union ofMetalworkers ofSouth
Africa
OAU Organisation for African Unity
IX