Blackface and “Braai Day” are just a distraction from our real...
My Tuesday morning was marred by yet another blackface incident. For some reason, this took me by surprise; I didn't think we would have...
A call to redefine democracy
It is often said that the grass is greener on the other side, but that is not the case when you pay a visit in either Kliptown or Bekkersdal, writes UYANDA SIYOTULA.
Don’t sweep Lwandle under the rug
RA'EESA PATHERÂ reflects on her time reporting from the Nomzamo informal settlement near Lwandle in Strand, where hundreds of people have been displaced following a...
Unemployment: “The bottom line is people are suffering”
Listen to an audio version of this story:
Statistics South Africa recently revealed that the national unemployment rate has increased to 25.5%, up 0.3 %...
Berea evictions are one of many, but we forget
Most of us find comfort during the bitter Johannesburg winter from knowing that we have a warm place to return to every night. However,...
Feed A Child: A dogged pursuit
RA'EESA PATHER ponders the PR disaster that was the Feed A Child advert.
At some point there must have been a "eureka!'' moment. After deliberation,...
Are protests the only way to a gain a university education?
Students around the country have been experiencing frustrations with access to financial aid; some have resorted to protests as a way to highlight their...
What I learnt after a week of travelling with SA writers
Books and intellectual conversations all day long, right? Wrong. Writers are like you and me. They are very human who don’t always talk smart...
When black people don’t live up to Gareth Cliff’s standards
Black Twitter was outraged when radio personality Gareth Cliff inquired about who was footing the bill for South African football captain Senzo Meyiwa’s state...
#SowetoAttacks and the far-off dream of reconciliation in SA
I was raised in a culture where we treat elders with the utmost of respect, no matter who they are. So last week, when...
How many hoops must African students jump through to study in...
To get into a South African university isn’t easy, but it becomes even more difficult if you come from another country. DANA DA SILVA...
People don’t fail just because they’re “stupidâ€
AAISHA DADI PATEL spent time at Wits University last week helping students to fight academic and financial exclusions. She shares what this sobering experience...
UKZN students present a united front after violent protest
The mood was sombre at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) this week following violent protests on campus. There was no assurance that management would...
Waiting for the #Brixton141 to be released, I learned to be...
GOOLAM SAYNEDS was outside the Brixton police station on Saturday as protesting workers and students who were jailed on Friday afternoon were released. He learned...
Ahoy there! Which way for the Cape?
RA’EESA PATHER read the Institute of Security Studies “FuturesCape Policy Briefâ€. It’s left her with more questions than answers.
#FNW19: Journalism Is Under Threat But There Is Hope
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
“Journalists are the canary in the mineshaft,” said Sreenivasan Jain, managing editor at New Delhi Television (NDTV). Jain was speaking at Future News...
Water shortages and SA’s urban/rural double standards
In Gauteng water has finally been restored to most areas, but it left many South Africans with questions. Why were there water shortages in the first place?...
“We will stay here anyway, we have nowhere else to go.â€
On Sunday the eThekweni Municipality destroyed dozens of homes in Cato Crest, which it said had been built illegally on land earmarked for housing. RUMANA...
The “service delivery” euphemism
From stoic police justice to the supposedly illegal protestors, what happened to the story of humans, asks RA'EESA PATHER
25 years later, comrades remember Mandela’s release
On 11 February 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from Victor Verster prison after spending 27 years as a political prisoner. It was a momentous...
