The ChildThe child that died at Nyanga
The child is not dead
The child lifts his fist against his mother
Who shouts Africa! Shouts the breath
Of freedom and the veld
In the shanty-towns for the cordoned heart
The child lifts his fist against his father
In the march of the generations
Who are shouting Afrika! Shout the breath
Of righteousness and blood
In the streets of his embattled pride
The child is not dead
Not at Langa nor at Nyanga
Nor at Orlando nor at Sharpeville
Nor at the police station in Philippi
Where he lies with a bullet through his head
The child is the shadow of the soldiers
On guard with their rifles saracens and batons
The child is present at all assemblies and legislation
The child peers through the windows of houses and into the hears of mothers
This child who just longed to play in the sun at Nyanga is everywhere
The child grown into a man treks on through all Africa
The child grown into a giant journeys over the whole world
Carrying no pass
- "Rebel SA Poet Writes of Sharpeville, Orlando, Langa ...", Drum, May 1963. Translation from the original Afrikaans by Jack Cope
|
"She was both a poet and a South African. Confronted by death, she asserted the beauty of life." Nelson Mandela on Ingrid Jonker 
Ingrid Jonker
Picture: © National Afrikaans Literary Museum
IN THE CLASSROOM |
 |
Poetry as historical source
In this lesson plan, learners will be able to see that poetry was used as a weapon against the apartheid state, as well as a way of looking forward to a time of freedom and peace. Poetry can tell us a great deal about the personal and political feelings of people in the past. You′ll need the Adobe Acrobat PDF reader to view these lesson plans. Download it here.  | Audio Archive | | Ingrid Jonker reads one of her poems for a 1965 Springbok radio recording. In Afrikaans. |
| Audio Documentary | | Listen to Ingrid Jonker’s biographer, Petrovna Metelerkamp, and other friends talk about Ingrid’s life. |
 | Panorama | | A 360° view of the sculpture on Beach Road in Gordon's Bay. |
 | A Tribute to Ingrid Jonker | | In his inaugural address to Parliament in May 1994, President Nelson Mandela read Ingrid Jonker’s poem, "The Child" |
|
