An old-school journo with a good heart

MY FATHER died in January 2016.

Later that year I was appointed editor of the Daily News – the first time I changed jobs after his death.

When my dad was alive, I would call him whenever I took up a new position. I did so because I wanted his blessings. But I also looked forward to the reassurance that I knew he would give me.

“I’m still here,” he would say. “You have nothing to lose.”

October 2016 was therefore different. As I drove to the office to start the new job, I felt emotional and alone.

While driving, my phone rang. It was Farook Khan.

He had heard about my move to the Daily News, a title he had worked on, and called to wish me well.

“You have my support,” he told me. “What else do you need?”

I will never know why Farook called me at that particular moment, but I do know that I am grateful he did. And ever since that day I think of Farook every time I drive on that stretch of road.

I never worked with him. By the time I joined POST as a young reporter, he had long left and was making himself a household name on the Daily News.

But I would see Farook in the building. You couldn’t miss him. He had a presence that forced you to take notice. And even though we didn’t work together, he always had something positive to say when we met.

In 2010 when I returned to newspapers and to Durban, Farook was one of the first people to call me and offer me his support. By then he had retired from full time work.

But Farook was always a journalist at heart. It was a profession that came naturally to him because he had a deep sense of justice. He was driven to make the world better, be it helping people or fighting a cause.

He would often try to rope me in on whatever his latest project was.

A few weeks ago, only days before he was admitted to hospital, Farook was pushing me to cover the story of a young lady who needed help to fulfil her dream.

That was Farook, always trying to do something to help someone else. And therein lies a lesson for all of us: Random words or acts of kindness may cost nothing but it will ensure our memory lives on long after we have gone.