For the Fallen - Honouring the Unsung Heroes and Heroines of the Liberation Struggle (Paperback)

While South Africa has many stories about the struggle years, yet many more remain untold. For the Fallen; honouring the unsung heroes and heroines of the liberation struggle was inspired by a radio interview with the late Govan Mbeki. In that interview Mbeki emphasised the need for South Africans to tell their stories and spread knowledge. It took a while for Ndlela to heed those words and tell his story in this book. This book is as much about the author’s concerns that a generation who have only known freedom will forget or never even understand the great price it took to gain that freedom, as it is about the often forgotten heroes and heroines who showed their ultimate commitment to their ideals. The book chronicles the author’s journey from Bedford in the Eastern Cape as a young boy, fearful and yet defiant of the police who harassed him and his friends, to the young militant who became an MK soldier whose exile took him to Lesotho, Zambia, Angola and Swaziland. He describes the inspiration he gained from the heroes and heroines he encountered on this journey. These heroes and heroines included the primary school teacher who encouraged parents to broaden their thinking and who stressed the importance of education; the radical high school teacher who defied the “system “and the school curriculum to teach real, “current” history and the man of God who was required to save souls in more ways than one. As the reader accompanies Ndlela on this retrospective journey, one will encounter individuals who would later play a pivotal role in the establishment and concretisation of the democratic South Africa, people such as Thenjiwe Mtintso, Chris Hani, Jeff Radebe, Rev Makhenkesi Stofile, Mvuyo Tom and many others. For the Fallen is above all, a reminder that our freedom was not lightly gained and that we should keep telling these stories, lest we forget.