The life and times of Poppie Nongena

by Daniel Pretorius

In 1978, the Afrikaans writer Elsa Joubert published Die Swerfjare van Poppie Nongena, later translated as The Long Journey of Poppie Nongena. Deservedly, but surprisingly (having regard to the book’s subject matter and the prevailing political climate), it received several establishment literary awards.

Poppie Nongena described the severe effects of apartheid laws on Black South Africans from the 1940s to the 1970s. The book depicted the impact of forced removals under the Group Areas Act and the hardships caused by the enforcement of the pass laws on Black people. In particular, it related the privations endured by a woman called Poppie Nongena and her family in towns along the west coast, in the townships of Cape Town and in the Ciskei ‘bantustan’. Although presented as a novel, the book was based on the experiences of a Xhosa woman named Ntombizodumo Msutwana-Ntsata. Thus, it was a true story, not atypical of those of millions of Black people in South Africa during the apartheid era.

Re-reading Poppie Nongena reminds one of the injustices inflicted on Black people by the apartheid system. It also indicates that there was a handful of white people who attempted—albeit ineffectually—to alleviate the suffering of Black people. A few heard the message of He who had come to proclaim good news to the poor, liberty to captives, deliverance to the oppressed, and sight to the blind.

Poppie received part of her brief formal education in a Catholic school. She and some of her relatives were Anglicans, while others were Methodists. Her faith gave her succour through her travails.

In a memorable passage, Poppie’s brother Mosie comments on the student uprising that erupted in Soweto and spread countrywide in 1976: “My little sister, I don’t like these riots. I don’t like it that the children tease the authorities and get hurt, or that they stop my car and shout, ‘donate! donate!’ until I give them petrol from my tank for their petrol bombs. But, my sister, I can’t help it, there’s something in my heart that says, ‘At last.’ I suppress it in my heart, because this way is not the Lord’s way. And then it comes again in my heart: At last.” Thus, despite his aversion to the violence, Mosie feels relieved that finally there is resistance to the apartheid regime.

In a world infected by war, injustice and suffering, Poppie Nongena forces us to ask: For how long do we accept this state of affairs, believing that justice and truth will eventually prevail? When do we take a stand and say, “Enough–no more!” When is it incumbent on us to refuse to acquiesce in the iniquities of our time? When do we take up the struggle of the poor, the captives and the downtrodden?

And when do we speak truth to the blind—the morally blind, who are responsible for inflicting injustice and misery? When do we stand up to those captured by their own greed and megalomania? And when do we question those who stand by indifferently (most of us), allowing it to happen?

As Pope Leo XIV said this week, “Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say: there’s a better way to do this.”

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. … Defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31: 8-9). “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17).