Struggle stalwart remembered

STRUGGLE stalwart Reggie Vandeyar was remembered at the weekend as someone who shunned the limelight to work in the background for the benefit of others.

Vandeyar, who had joined the ANC’s military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), and was regarded as a fearless member of the Transvaal Indian Congress and the Communist Party, died last Thursday of a heart attack at age 84.

The Johannesburg resident was an active delegate to the Congress of the People that established the Freedom Charter in Kliptown in 1995 and was among the first three members of Indian origin to be arrested for MK activities in the then Transvaal.

They were sentenced to 10 years each and sent to Robben Island.

In April last year, President Jacob Zuma awarded the National Order of Mendi for Bravery to Vandeyar for his remarkable courage during the struggle against apartheid and for striving for a free and democratic South Africa.

“We are deeply saddened to lose struggle veterans like Comrade Reggie Vandeyar, who are the reservoir of the history of our struggle for freedom,” the president said in a statement.

“On behalf of government and all South Africans, we convey our heartfelt condolences to his family and relatives.”

Fellow struggle hero Ahmed Kathrada also praised Vandeyar for his lifelong dedication to the fight against apartheid.

“Reggie is one of those comrades who became involved in politics when he was young and was active before, during and after imprisonment. I had a close political relationship, and personal friendship, with him and his family,” he said.

“My partner, Barbara Hogan, and I would like to extend our condolences to Reggie’s wife, Assoo, his family and friends.”

The president of the South African Tamil Federation, Kathi Moothsamy, described Vandeyar as a “Tamil struggle hero”.

“He was born in Fordsburg and came from humble beginnings. He was the youngest of nine children. When I used to hear his name, it was synonymous with the struggle and fighting for the liberation of others,” said Moothsamy.

He added that when he used to meet Vandeyar, the veteran would often stress the importance of people becoming active in their communities, at grassroots level first, for positive change to happen.

Political activist Omar Badsha said: “Reggie was a modest, strong and unassuming person. He was never interested in running for office but stayed in the background and did his work in the community, like many of his contemporaries of that period.”

The ANC chief whip in the City of Johannesburg, Prema Naidoo, said he had known Vandeyar for many years.

“I know him from the 50s because our mothers were friends,” said Naidoo.

“Other than our family bond, we were also allies during the struggle. I was a political activist and he was my senior, and we worked together at the tricameral parliament during boycotts and strikes. Reggie was a soldier of liberation.”

Following democracy in 1994, Naidoo said Vandeyar had over the years acknowledged that South Africa faced many challenges, including inequality, poverty and corruption, but at the same time believed democracy was alive and well.

“He was happy democracy was working in South Africa. He used to say people have choices to make and they alone can make those choices.” Vandeyar’s son, Karuna, said: “I am so proud of my dad. He was a giant of a man, who sacrificed his life for the benefit of getting our democracy and he did it unselfishly.”

Karuna’s wife, Shamain, said her father-in-law and 27year-old son, Kaylesh, shared the same birthday (July 15).

“When Kaylesh was born, my father-in-law told me he had never received a gift in his life, and that by me giving him a grandson on his birthday, it was the only gift he had received.” He had three grandchildren.

Vandeyar is survived by his wife, Assoo, and children, Karuna and Sushila.

Zuma declared a special provincial official funeral for Vandeyar.

He instructed that the national flag fly at half-mast in Gauteng on Sunday.