A search for identity as a ‘Coloured’
HOW does one deal with the demons of the past? For Jesmane Boggenpoel the demons are not those she created but those set out by the evils of apartheid under which she grew up.
Her book, part memoir, part catharsis and part motivational, goes a long way in helping readers to heal, however they individually bore the brunt of apartheid – either through being classified as the “wrong” colour or through default by virtue of being white and feeling the collective guilt of the oppressive minority.
It would be an understatement to say Boggenpoel is a professional A-lister. A chartered accountant, she has a master’s degree from Harvard University’s JFK School of Government, serves on a string of advisory business and social boards, was honoured as a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum, is former head of business engagement there; and is a Harvard Mason Fellow, along with her many other achievements.
Born into poverty and an apartheid imposed third-class status, the young Jesmane may have been top of her class and showed a lot of promise but she was plagued by strong feelings of self-doubt, of inferiority and shame.
Even after shining academically, she writes how she wrestled emotionally and intellectually with those internal conflicts and contradictions originating from her past.
In the first pages of her book, Boggenpoel delves into her heritage: “I always knew my ilk: Jesmane Boggenpoel, a Coloured girl growing up in Westbury, a Coloured township (in Johannesburg) notorious for gangsterism and drugs”, she writes, using a capital C for defining her race.
“While I dearly loved and appreciated my family and community, when looking back into our history, I could not help but see the shame of being an illegitimate group and not truly knowing who we were – the narrative crafted by apartheid,” she writes.
So after years of pondering her mixed and fascinating heritage, which also reveals strands of other family trees, Boggenpoel had her DNA tested in 2016, through an overseas company called 23andMe and, about 11 weeks later, the results come back. She discovered she was 38.4% European; 28.6% sub-Saharan African with “a rather large dollop” (6.2%) Ashkenazi Jewish, a quarter South Asian and 6.9% East Asian. For many this information would be folded away and shelved but for Boggenpoel it becomes a “treasure” in making her feel more connected with herself.
With a poignant and, at times, searing honesty, Boggenpoel pens some bitter-sweet memories. A close and loving family but with a past that had its many moments of struggle and enduring deep hardships. One particular memory shows her mother’s love and pride. She writes of how she would walk her and her twin sister to school 40 minutes away from where they lived. Leaving her girls bedraggled and soaked early one morning at the entrance to the school after a downpour, her devoted mother runs back to the house and returns with dry clothes so that they can look neat and tidy for school…
Hope and a strong sense of determination lead to a woman of extraordinary endurance, passion for her work and a passion for inspiring others through the connective tissue of organisations she’s involved in.
In this worthy book, she shows how she has been able to set new boundaries and create “new narratives” for all to live. With painstakingly well-done research, she uses examples and quotes of the many people she has met along the way…