Retired BBC journalist, radio producer and presenter Arjumand Wajid has fulfilled her promise to her close friend, anti-apartheid activist Fatima Meer, by completing the Struggle stalwart’s first biography, titled Born to Struggle.
Meer, who was born in Durban and died in 2010 at the age of 81, was an academic, writer and a prominent anti-apartheid activist who dedicated her life to fighting for social justice and human rights.
She vehemently opposed segregation that became a reality via the Group Areas Act, and was among the first women to join the executive panel of the Natal Indian Congress, where she led marches against the apartheid government.
Wajid, 76, said the book was a labour of love and a promise fulfilled.
“I see this as a debt of gratitude. She did so much for so many and she was such a great friend of mine. It had to be done, and I’m glad I did it.”
She said she met Meer and her husband and Struggle stalwart Ismail, on one of several trips to South Africa while covering the dismantling of apartheid and Nelson Mandela’s inauguration, among other events.
When Ismail died, Wajid started staying with Fatima whenever she visited South Africa and they became good friends over the years.
At the end of one of her visits, Meer was in an unusually depressed mood and explained that the autobiography she was writing was not going well.
“She was writing an autobiography and by then she had macular degeneration because of the diabetes, and she had a stroke. So on the spur of the moment, I said, ‘would you like me to write your biography?’ and she said, ‘Oh, Arjumand, I would like that very much’. And then it just became a commitment.”
Wajid said the fact that she was living in London and had not grown up in South Africa was a challenge because of the research challenges.
“It was an enormous undertaking, a huge challenge, and I was still working for the BBC, and I had also started working as a freelance trainer of journalists all over the world. In between, I was trying to come here to do the research,” she said.
A few years later, Wajid said she came back to interview people like Winnie Mandela, Saths Cooper and Ashwin Desai, among others, including Meer’s old friends and neighbours.
“So it took a long time, and then by the time I finished writing, I think she had just passed away, and I was just distraught.”
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She said her health then took a dip and finding a publisher became a challenge, which further extended the launch date.
“This is my first book, maybe even the last, who knows,” she said.
Wajid described Meer as an icon of her time and an inspiration.
“Her heart was into social justice, equality and she was passionate about it.”
The book will be launched at Ike’s Books and Collectables on Florida Road in Durban today at 5.30pm and on August 22 at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg.
The Mercury