Foundation celebrates 10th anniversary

THE 1860 Indentured Labourers Foundation Verulam (ILFV) will commemorate its 10th anniversary with a conference that will pay homage to the 1860 Indian forebears and observe Nelson Mandela’s 100th birth anniversary next month.

The conference, “From Indenture to Mandela & Freedom”, will be held on November 17, a day after the arrival of Indian indentured labourers to South Africa in 1860, at the Sastri College Education and Convention Centre.

The executive committee member of the ILFV and convener of the conference committee, Anand Jayrajh, said: “The history, heritage and contribution of the indentured labourers and their descendants are largely ignored in South Africa and by the world at large. It is therefore important to preserve this.

“For this purpose, there is a need to continually educate and inform our community, society and the people of the world, as well as constantly maintain this heritage on the radar of public awareness. ”

The speakers are Professor Goolam Vahed (an overview of the history of indenture); Betty Govinden (role of women in indenture); Professor Rajend Mesthrie (languages in indenture); Professor Kalpana Hiralal (education in indenture); Dr Hemant Nowbath (stress and psychological affects of indenture); and Professor Ashwin Desai (influence of indenture on present day South Africans of Indian descent). Questions and answers follow and the adoption of resolutions.

For tickets and admission requirements, call Shirley Jayrajh at 082 081 7010 or Anand Jayrajh at 071 900 7415.