Latest news with #wordsMatter
The Herald
02-06-2025
- General
- The Herald
Words matter, as ‘white genocide' lies show
There is a proverb in the Setswana language that I wish I could translate properly, but I don't think I can. It goes: 'Lefoko ga le boe, go boa monwana.' Literally, it means: 'You cannot take back or retract words you have uttered against someone. A pointed finger, or a gesture, can however be retracted.' The important part of this expression is that words matter. Words uttered and words amplified matter. Once released into the world, words are incredibly difficult to recall or erase. People are made by words we utter, and people are broken by words we release into the world. Words uttered thoughtlessly can break people, businesses, governments. Words chosen carefully can save reputations, avert wars, build empires. Over the past week, I have attended several events in New York. These events have cut across class, race, age and gender. All of them have brought home to me just how much damage has been done to SA by the thoughtless, racist, white supremacist, and utterly false allegations that there is a 'white genocide' in SA when there is patently none taking place here. These lies, whipped up and fanned in SA and internationally by utterly shameless, cynical and unethical organisations such as AfriForum and Solidarity, have been transmitted to dimwits like American broadcaster Tucker Carlson who has, like a faithful dog, then placed them at the feet of US President Donald Trump. Two weeks ago, armed with these lies, the most powerful man in the world ambushed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with pictures from the DRC and a misleading video, and claimed that this was evidence of these 'deaths' in SA. The SA Police Services last week released figures showing that in the first quarter of this year, five of six farmers were killed in SA. That's not a white genocide. It's murder of ordinary South Africans, all suffering under the scourge of crime. The point is that these lies of a non-existent 'white genocide' were uttered in the White House and reported across the globe. From Moscow to Beijing, from Havana to São Paulo, from Maputo to Cairo, the world was watching. And the world heard the most powerful man in the world lie to the world that there is a 'white genocide' in SA even though there is none. Words matter. Words carry. Words stick. Certainly, these false allegations of a genocide of white South Africans have stuck. Anecdotally, I see this everywhere. In the past week an immigration officer in New York asked a (white) friend of mine coming to SA: 'Is it true whites are being killed in SA?' At a school in New York, an Albanian asked me: 'Is it true white farmers are being slaughtered in SA?' At a Japanese restaurant I was asked: 'What are you guys doing in SA? Did you hear what President Trump said?' Many others joked about the scandalous encounter and utterances in the White House during the ambush of Ramaphosa. For the next decade I expect South Africans to be confronted by these lies whenever they travel across the world. I wonder how the so-called leaders of outfits like Solidarity and AfriForum sleep at night knowing they have lied to the world so much. On the other hand, why am I so naive as to expect that these hollow men still have a conscience? Here is another proverb: 'Lies have short legs.' It means that lies don't last long in life and that without corroboration and support, a lie cannot be sustained. When a lie is uttered from the White House not once, not twice, but almost weekly for four months, it reverberates across the world for a significant period of time. SA's brand has been badly damaged by these lies. I used to arrive at an immigration point on my travels across the world and people would smile at me and say 'Nelson Mandela'. Now, thanks to AfriForum and Solidarity and their lies, black South Africans are being asked if they are genocidaires. There can be nothing sicker than this — black South Africans, and black women in particular, are the most affected by all these crimes. SA now needs a robust strategy across the world to push back against these lies. This effort to counter the besmirching of SA's name needs to cut across from businesses to diplomats to ordinary citizens of the world. We have half a million Americans visiting SA every year — let's ensure they go back to their country as ambassadors for SA. Let's ensure they go home with a single message: it's a lie — SA is beautiful and there is no genocide there. We must be very clear, though. This assault on SA has been deeply damaging and will continue to be so. This assault on SA will continue, led by the relentless hate fanned by AfriForum and Solidarity. Huge damage has been done. Fixing it won't be easy because words are hard to erase.
The Guardian
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Margaret Atwood says she cannot remember another time ‘when words themselves have felt under such threat'
Margaret Atwood has said she cannot remember another point in her lifetime 'when words themselves have felt under such threat'. 'Words are our earliest human technology, like water they appear insubstantial, but like water they can generate tremendous power' the 85-year-old novelist said in her acceptance speech for the freedom to publish prize at the British Book awards. 'Political and religious polarisation, which appeared to be on the wane for parts of the 20th century, has increased alarmingly in the past decade,' she added. 'The world feels to me more like the 1930s and 40s at present than it has in the intervening 80 years.' The British Book awards, colloquially known as the Nibbies, are a set of prizes for authors, illustrators and book industry professionals run by the publishing trade magazine, The Bookseller. Other significant awards presented at the award ceremony were author of the year, which went to Percival Everett for his novel James and overall book of the year, which went to Patriot by Alexei Navalny, accepted on his behalf by his widow Yulia Navalnaya. 'Receiving this award, from across the book community is a powerful recognition of the strength of Alexei's voice,' Navalnaya said. 'It tells us that truth still matters, that integrity matters, that words can break through even the hardest walls and reach hearts everywhere.' Though Atwood did not attend the ceremony in London, she recorded a video acceptance speech to be shown when she was announced winner of the freedom to publish award, which is supported by freedom of expression campaign organisation Index on Censorship and was established in 2022 to 'highlight the growing threats to writers, publishers and booksellers, and to amplify those who fight back'. Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion The Canadian writer began her speech by saying that she was 'more than honoured' to be receiving the award, though 'a little puzzled'. 'Unlike so many writers, publishers and booksellers, both in the past and today, I have never been imprisoned – though I may have to revise that statistic if I attempt to cross into the United States in the near future,' she said. 'I have worked as a writer and in my youth in small press publishing for 60 odd years,' the author of The Handmaid's Tale went on to say. 'Those years included the Soviet Union, when samizdat was a dangerous method of publishing. Hand-produced manuscripts were secretly circulated and bad luck for you if you were caught. They've also included the recent spate of censorship and book banning, not only in the oppressive countries around the world, but also in the United States. They have included too the attempt to expel from universities anyone who disagrees with the dogmas of their would-be controllers.' Atwood is the fourth recipient of the freedom to publish prize, which is decided on by The Bookseller and Index on Censorship. Previous recipients have included Salman Rushdie and Arabella Pike, a publishing director at HarperCollins who was recognised for her 'fortitude and bravery' in defending two of her authors in the face of legal battles brought against them by Russian oligarchs. Philip Jones, editor of The Bookseller and the British Book awards' chair of judges, said: 'From east to west, our writers are now challenged, coerced and threatened in ways we thought were being consigned to history. Margaret Atwood and her books stand against that.' Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, a dystopia about an oppressive society in which women are forced to give birth to children, is one of the books most often challenged or banned in US schools. In 2022, the novelist announced an 'unburnable' edition of her most famous novel as a symbol against censorship. With 'acts of bold creativity' such as this, as well as through her writing and public advocacy, Atwood 'confronts repression not with fear but with wit and clarity', said Jemimah Steinfeld, CEO of Index on Censorship.
