South African author and anti-apartheid activist Breyten Breytenbach dies aged 85

The famend anti-apartheid author and activist Breyten Breytenbach, jailed for his beliefs in South Africa within the Nineteen Seventies, has died aged 85, his household mentioned.

He handed away in his sleep, together with his spouse Yolande by his aspect in Paris.

The dissident poet, novelist and painter was “an immense artist, militant in opposition to apartheid, he fought for a greater world till the top,” a press release from his household learn.

Breytenbach’s sharp mind earned him widespread admiration, prompting the British satirical tv puppet present Spitting Picture to explain him as “the one good South African” in a tune throughout apartheid’s darkest days.

Jack Lang, French former training minister, shared a heartfelt tribute on X.

“A insurgent with a young coronary heart, he was a part of all of the struggles for human rights,” he wrote.

Born within the Western Cape on 16 September 1939, to a household of 5, Breytenbach lived a lot of his life overseas, however at all times remained true to his South African roots.

He attended the College of Cape City and joined a bunch of Afrikaans poets and writers known as the Sestigers, who needed to spotlight the great thing about the language whereas critiquing the racist apartheid regime.

Afrikaans developed amongst white settlers and comes from the Dutch phrase for African.

With Afrikaners in energy throughout apartheid, the language grew to become ever extra related to the oppressive regime.

In an interview with The New York Instances, he mentioned: “I would by no means reject Afrikaans as a language, however I reject it as a part of the Afrikaner political id. I now not contemplate myself an Afrikaner.”

In 1960 he left South Africa for a self-imposed exile, largely in Europe, however he continued to be a vocal critic of the apartheid regime.

He labored in London for some time earlier than settling in France, the place he met his Vietnamese spouse Yolande Ngo Thi Hoang Lien.

Breytenbach tried to return to South Africa together with his spouse within the Sixties, however she was denied a visa as a result of she was a “non-white”. Interracial marriages had been in opposition to the legislation.

In 1975, on the top of his literary fame, he made a clandestine return to South Africa, the place he was arrested for trying to assist resistance teams within the nation.

He was sentenced to seven years in jail for terrorism, however continued to write down poetry whereas he was jailed.

The then French President, François Mitterrand, helped safe his launch in 1982 and he grew to become a French citizen.

The years of imprisonment resulted in certainly one of his most impactful works, his novel The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist – a harrowing account of his seven-year jail sentence, two of which he spent in solitary confinement.

After apartheid ended, he grew to become a vocal critic of the liberation authorities of Nelson Mandela. He felt the African Nationwide Congress (ANC) had changed into a “corrupt organisation”.

The poet did not solely use his pen to battle these injustices in South Africa, but additionally around the globe.

In 2002, he wrote an open letter in The Guardian to the then Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon.

“Why ought to we glance the opposite means when it’s Israel committing crimes? A viable state can’t be constructed on the expulsion of one other individuals who have as a lot declare to that territory as you’ve got,” he wrote concerning the ongoing battle between Israel and the Palestinians.

Breytenbach printed over 50 books throughout his lifetime, and a few have been translated into a number of languages.

He’s additionally recognized for his surreal work, which frequently depict people and animals in captivity.

He was later made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters, France’s prime cultural award.

Breytenbach is survived by his spouse, Yolande, and daughter Daphnée and two grandsons.