Latest news with #Gilder
Daily Maverick
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Maverick
Writing what it felt like — Barry Gilder on memory, movement and making art in the struggle
At the Fire Hour stands as both tribute and testimony, a quiet but insistent record of what it meant to survive the storm and to still want to sing. Barry Gilder's novel, At the Fire Hour, is a deeply layered reflection on loyalty, memory and what it costs to live a life split between political commitment and artistic longing. In the book, we meet Bheki Makhathini, a South African writer and exile suspected of betraying the ANC. Suspicion clings to him. Was he a sellout? A spy? This question is at the novel's quietly devastating core. Gilder uses this tension not only to explore personal betrayal but to reflect on the paranoia that haunted the liberation movement's underground networks. Like Gilder, Bheki is a young creative who leaves South Africa in 1976 and goes into exile. He completes a creative writing master's degree in the UK, undergoes military training in Angola and the Soviet Union and returns home after the unbanning of the ANC. His life and the novel become a meditation on the high stakes of political belonging. Fiction becomes a tool to wrestle with what it means to be doubted by your own comrades, and what is lost in that rupture. But this is not simply a political thriller. It is also a love story, a story of creative loss and an intimate sketch of exile. At the Fire Hour spans continents, mirroring the movement of activists scattered by apartheid. These spaces are rendered not as exotic backdrops, but as textured zones of struggle, reflection and belonging. Gilder, who lived through many of these dislocations, lends authenticity to these passages. Through Bheki's voice, he evokes the haunting uncertainty of displacement and the fragility of the revolutionary self. There's an important strand in the book on surveillance and the psychological toll of being under suspicion. The novel's emotional gravity lies not in action but in atmosphere: the loneliness of exile, the fragility of trust and the slow erosion of the self under constant doubt. Gilder does not absolve his characters easily. Instead, he allows the complexity of revolutionary life to settle in quietly, asking the reader to sit with uncertainty. One of the most arresting sequences in the novel explores the brutal techniques of interrogation: Bheki is forced to stand on a brick for five hours, deprived of sleep for two days and nights, subjected to electric shocks on his testicles. These methods are not described for sensational effect, but as part of a system designed to fracture belief, to extract not only information, but ideological collapse. Gilder documents how the body is targeted in the hope that the will might break, and how survival becomes a kind of guilt. In the aftermath of such violence, the doubts of comrades cut deeper. Was Bheki released because he cooperated? Or because they could not break him? The anguish of this experience crystallises in a poem written by Bheki, inserted into the novel: words do not slice skin shred flesh shatter bone dethrone dictators. This tension is echoed in the novel's interplay between art and politics. Bheki, like Gilder, is torn between creative expression and the imperatives of the struggle. 'The more I got involved in the struggle, the fewer songs I wrote,' Gilder told me. 'Things got really hectic… writing reports to Lusaka, moving from safe house to safe house. Wally Serote was writing a novel during that time. I wasn't. I haven't written a song since the 1980s.' Creativity became a casualty of the revolution. The silence was not chosen, but enforced by necessity. Yet in fiction, he rediscovers voice. The novel, which began as part of Gilder's PhD submission, is woven with poems and short stories written by Bheki, forming a narrative within a narrative. 'I kind of really enjoyed getting into his creative head,' Gilder said. 'It helps say things more concisely than one can in the narrative part of the book.' These insertions do more than embellish the story; they deepen it, giving texture to the private interiority that historical accounts so often flatten. At the Fire Hour is also a commentary on the cultural politics of the ANC in exile. Gilder vividly reconstructs events like the Culture and Resistance Conference in Gaborone and Culture in Another South Africa in Amsterdam. These were not peripheral events; they were sites where politics and creativity met, where resistance was choreographed through poems, music and song. Gilder was present at these gatherings. His fictionalisation of them pulses with insight and detail that only a participant could provide. What makes this novel essential is not simply its storytelling, but its function as a historical intervention. In a country still wrestling with the afterlives of struggle, Gilder insists on fiction's power to hold emotional truths that the archive cannot. 'Historians tell us what happened,' he said. 'Novelists tell us what it felt like.' This is not nostalgia. It is reckoning. The novel is a form of political memory work – an attempt to break the silence around suspicion, doubt and betrayal that was never truly resolved. By the end, the novel ceases to be about one man's guilt or innocence. It becomes something far more collective – a mosaic of those who made the movement, lived through exile and continue to carry its shadows. Gilder reminds us that the story of liberation is not just about triumph. It's about what it costs to keep going. At the Fire Hour stands as both tribute and testimony, a quiet but insistent record of what it meant to survive the storm and to still want to sing. DM
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Yahoo
Thief who swallowed $770K worth of Tiffany earrings 'expelled' them over 12 days later, Florida police say
Investigators recovered $770,000 worth of stolen Tiffany & Co. earrings last week after the alleged thief who swallowed the jewelry "expelled" them from his system, Florida police said. The Orlando Police Department announced the recovery of the stolen jewelry from suspect Jaythan Gilder in a Facebook post on Friday. 'Detectives monitored Jaythan Gilder for more than a dozen days at the hospital before they were able to match the serial numbers on the jewelry with the items that were stolen from Tiffany & Co.,' the caption read. In a video accompanying the post, Detectives Aaron Goss and Tiffany Perez shared details from the investigation. 'Later, after the diamonds were expelled from his system, we were able to bring them to Tiffany's, where they were cleaned, and their master jeweler confirmed the inscription and serial numbers matched the stolen pieces,' Goss explained. 'I'm very proud of our team for all of our work. We acted quickly and diligently, working together tirelessly for days on end,' Perez added. Gilder's alleged heist unfolded on Feb. 26 at Tiffany & Co. in the Mall at Millenia, where he allegedly posed as a representative for an Orlando Magic basketball player. He was escorted to a VIP room and presented with several luxury jewelry items, including a pair of 4.86-carat diamond earrings worth $160,000, a pair of 8.19-carat diamond earrings worth $609,000 and a 5.61-carat diamond ring worth $587,000, the court document said. Gilder allegedly attempted to grab the jewelry, during which he struggled with employees, ultimately dropping the ring. However, authorities say he managed to swallow the diamonds before being taken into custody. A scan at the Washington County Jail later revealed 'foreign objects in his stomach,' according to the affidavit. Police also noted that Gilder has a history of jewelry heists, having pulled off 'a similar robbery' at a Tiffany & Co. in The Woodlands, Texas, in 2022. Additionally, he has 48 outstanding warrants in Colorado. Gilder is facing charges of grand theft and robbery with a mask. As of Tuesday, he remains in custody in Orange County. It was not immediately clear whether he had legal representation. This article was originally published on
NBC News
25-03-2025
- NBC News
Thief who swallowed $770K worth of Tiffany earrings 'expelled' them over 12 days later, Florida police say
Investigators recovered $770,000 worth of stolen Tiffany & Co. earrings last week after the alleged thief who swallowed the jewelry "expelled" them from his system, Florida police said. The Orlando Police Department announced the recovery of the stolen jewelry from suspect Jaythan Gilder in a Facebook post on Friday. 'Detectives monitored Jaythan Gilder for more than a dozen days at the hospital before they were able to match the serial numbers on the jewelry with the items that were stolen from Tiffany & Co.,' the caption read. In a video accompanying the post, Detectives Aaron Goss and Tiffany Perez shared details from the investigation. 'Later, after the diamonds were expelled from his system, we were able to bring them to Tiffany's, where they were cleaned, and their master jeweler confirmed the inscription and serial numbers matched the stolen pieces,' Goss explained. 'I'm very proud of our team for all of our work. We acted quickly and diligently, working together tirelessly for days on end,' Perez added. Gilder's alleged heist unfolded on Feb. 26 at Tiffany & Co. in the Mall at Millenia, where he allegedly posed as a representative for an Orlando Magic basketball player. He was escorted to a VIP room and presented with several luxury jewelry items, including a pair of 4.86-carat diamond earrings worth $160,000, a pair of 8.19-carat diamond earrings worth $609,000 and a 5.61-carat diamond ring worth $587,000, the court document said. Gilder allegedly attempted to grab the jewelry, during which he struggled with employees, ultimately dropping the ring. However, authorities say he managed to swallow the diamonds before being taken into custody. A scan at the Washington County Jail later revealed 'foreign objects in his stomach,' according to the affidavit. Police also noted that Gilder has a history of jewelry heists, having pulled off 'a similar robbery' at a Tiffany & Co. in The Woodlands, Texas, in 2022. Additionally, he has 48 outstanding warrants in Colorado. Gilder is facing charges of grand theft and robbery with a mask. As of Tuesday, he remains in custody in Orange County. It was not immediately clear whether he had legal representation.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Yahoo
A suspect swallowed diamond earrings. They were recovered after nature ran its course.
After nearly a month, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of diamond earrings have been recovered from a man accused of stealing the jewelry in Orlando, Florida. The Orlando Police Department Violent Crimes Unit recovered more than $769,000 worth of Tiffany & Co. diamond earrings from Jaythan Gilder, 32, of Houston, Texas, last week, according to a news release. Gilder was arrested on Feb. 26 for allegedly robbing a Tiffany & Co. store in Orlando, Florida. During his arrest, Gilder was seen swallowing a few items, which police believed were earrings. More news: Couple sentenced to 375 years collectively for forcing Black children to work 'as slaves' The day after his arrest, Gilder was transported to a hospital where authorities awaited the earrings to pass through his system. Detectives recovered three of the four Tiffany & Co. diamond earrings, in addition to two unidentified diamond earrings on March 10, according to a news release. The final earring was recovered on March 12. After recovery and cleaning, detectives took the earrings back to the store, where a master jeweler matched the serial numbers of the items that had been stolen. "This case quickly turned into a marathon, not a sprint," Orlando Police Department Violent Crimes Unit Detective Aaron Goss said in a social media video, shared on Friday. Gilder is accused of robbing a Tiffany & Co. store in Orlando, Florida on Feb. 26. Gilder allegedly entered the store and told staff he was negotiating a sale on behalf of a player on the Orlando Magic basketball team. Court records obtained by USA TODAY didn't specify which player Gilder was talking about. Gilder, who told staff his name was Shawn, was taken to a VIP room in the store due to the potential size of his purpose, staff told police. Gilder was shown two pairs of diamond earrings and one diamond ring, with a combined value of more than $1 million. Once inside the room with the jewelry, Gilder jumped from his seat, grabbed the jewelry and tried to escape the room. A store associate tried to stop him but failed, court records said. Gilder dropped the diamond ring but managed to leave the store, which is inside a mall, with the earrings. Through surveillance cameras, police were able to identify Gilder's getaway car, which was en route to Texas. The car was stopped by the Florida Highway Patrol a few hours later. Gilder resisted arrest and was seen swallowing several objects, a news release states. Currently held at Orange County Jail, Gilder faces charges of robbery with a mask and grand theft in the first degree. Gilder also has 48 separate warrants which, he will face, according to a news release. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tiffany diamond earrings recovered from suspect who swallowed them
USA Today
24-03-2025
- USA Today
A suspect swallowed diamond earrings. They were recovered after nature ran its course.
A suspect swallowed diamond earrings. They were recovered after nature ran its course. "This case quickly turned into a marathon, not a sprint," Orlando Police Department Violent Crimes Unit Detective Aaron Goss said. Show Caption Hide Caption Florida thief ingests over $700,000 worth of jewels The suspect swallowed Tiffany diamond earrings after stealing them in an effort to conceal the theft. After nearly a month, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of diamond earrings have been recovered from a man accused of stealing the jewelry in Orlando, Florida. The Orlando Police Department Violent Crimes Unit recovered more than $769,000 worth of Tiffany & Co. diamond earrings from Jaythan Gilder, 32, of Houston, Texas, last week, according to a news release. Gilder was arrested on Feb. 26 for allegedly robbing a Tiffany & Co. store in Orlando, Florida. During his arrest, Gilder was seen swallowing a few items, which police believed were earrings. More news: Couple sentenced to 375 years collectively for forcing Black children to work 'as slaves' '...a marathon, not a sprint': Police had to wait for jewels to leave suspect's system The day after his arrest, Gilder was transported to a hospital where authorities awaited the earrings to pass through his system. Detectives recovered three of the four Tiffany & Co. diamond earrings, in addition to two unidentified diamond earrings on March 10, according to a news release. The final earring was recovered on March 12. After recovery and cleaning, detectives took the earrings back to the store, where a master jeweler matched the serial numbers of the items that had been stolen. "This case quickly turned into a marathon, not a sprint," Orlando Police Department Violent Crimes Unit Detective Aaron Goss said in a social media video, shared on Friday. What happened? Gilder is accused of robbing a Tiffany & Co. store in Orlando, Florida on Feb. 26. Gilder allegedly entered the store and told staff he was negotiating a sale on behalf of a player on the Orlando Magic basketball team. Court records obtained by USA TODAY didn't specify which player Gilder was talking about. Gilder, who told staff his name was Shawn, was taken to a VIP room in the store due to the potential size of his purpose, staff told police. Gilder was shown two pairs of diamond earrings and one diamond ring, with a combined value of more than $1 million. Once inside the room with the jewelry, Gilder jumped from his seat, grabbed the jewelry and tried to escape the room. A store associate tried to stop him but failed, court records said. Gilder dropped the diamond ring but managed to leave the store, which is inside a mall, with the earrings. Through surveillance cameras, police were able to identify Gilder's getaway car, which was en route to Texas. The car was stopped by the Florida Highway Patrol a few hours later. Gilder resisted arrest and was seen swallowing several objects, a news release states. Currently held at Orange County Jail, Gilder faces charges of robbery with a mask and grand theft in the first degree. Gilder also has 48 separate warrants which, he will face, according to a news release. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@
