Ebrahim: Serene and fearless
STRUGGLE stalwarts described late former deputy minister for international relations Ebrahim Ebrahim as being the epitome of serenity and fearlessness at the Durban launch on Saturday of his book Beyond Fear – Reflections of a Freedom Fighter.
Sunny Singh, who served time with Ebrahim on Robben Island and was recruited by him into Umkhonto weSizwe, the armed wing of the ANC, said the Sharpeville Massacre on March 21, 1960, was a turning point in the history of the country.
“Up until that point we were for Satyagraha or peaceful resistance but the massacre changed that. Ebie recruited me and others into the armed Struggle and our cell carried out a spate of sabotage actions.
“He was arrested, he was tortured but he had a stable mind and was able to provide analysis when he ran the political school at Robben Island.”
Singh said the system of apartheid had turned Ebrahim into a freedom fighter.
“Like all of us, he was inspired by the Algerian and Cuban revolutions. When we were in the armed Struggle they were almost at the point of victory and this inspired us, knowing that some day we would defeat the apartheid regime,” Singh said.
Shannon Ebrahim said her husband was an example of how the human spirit could shine through despite almost insurmountable circumstances.
“He had an indomitable spirit that was annoying to the apartheid government. He was a serious politician, highly ideological but very adventurous and full of life.”
In 1950, when Ebrahim was 13, he attended mass rallies in Red Square in Durban with his older brother, Gora, where he was inspired by the speeches of leaders of the ANC and Natal Indian Congress such as Chief Albert Luthuli and Dr Monty Naicker. He helped distribute pamphlets for the ANC following the call of the Congress Movement for a stay-away on June 26, 1950. In 1952, he joined the Natal Indian Youth Congress
Speaking ahead of the launch, Judge Thumba Pillay, who represented Ebrahim along with 18 others who were charged under the Sabotage Act, said he had met Ebrahim at the Durban central branch of the Natal Indian Congress. Aged 17, Ebrahim was elected chair of the Greyville branch of the NIC in 1954.
“I knew him from the time of the Freedom Charter, he was part of the group of young people who sent information to Kliptown.”
Judge Pillay said when Ebrahim and others were charged under the Sabotage Act, Pillay was not listed as a banned activist and was appointed to represent them at the Pietermaritzburg trial in which Ebrahim was given a 15-year sentence in 1964. “I still have original letters from Ebrahim sent from Robben Island in my file. He was very humble and stayed in the background.”