SA's old friends 'come home'
Chris Khumalo
1 October 2004
Activists who were at the forefront of isolating apartheid South Africa from the international community will gather in Durban this month for the first time since the advent of democracy in the country.
The activists, many of whom had never set foot in South Africa, will be attending a conference celebrating the role of the international Anti-Apartheid Movement in SA's freedom struggle at Durban's International Convention Centre from 10-13 October.
The conference will bring anti-apartheid activists from 20 countries, including the US, Britain, Ireland, Germany, Russia, India, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Lesotho, Namibia and Mozambique.
The event will be opened by former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda and Hollywood film star Danny Glover.
Nerissa Ramdhani of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, which is hosting the conference, said President Thabo Mbeki is scheduled to deliver the keynote
address.
"Many of these activists are today between the ages of 70-80 and will be setting foot on South African soil for the first and perhaps last time", Ramdhani said. "Yet they have given much of their lives to our freedom struggle.
"This conference is also part of our attempts to link up to the decade of freedom celebrations", Ramdhani said. "Hence the focus on this international group of people who have also contributed to the democracy we enjoy today."
For more information, visit the conference website.
Source: BuaNews
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