One of my most powerful insights during the height of the #feesmustfall protests was that the media has its own agenda and bias. Nuance, the sympathetic depiction of all sides, fair coverage of silent constituencies: these are all niceties in the hurly-burly of a reporting frenzy. So with the axing of Nhlanhla Nene sending the […]
Tracy Humby
Tracy Humby is passionate about exploring the multiple intersections of environmental and social justice. Weary of sustainability-talk, wary of sufficiency she wonders whether sacrifice is the better metaphor to capture the transformations needed in an age of massive ecological degradation. But with increasing global inequality, who and what will be sacrificed? She is an associate professor of law at the University of the Witwatersrand, a mother and a lover of poetry, art and music. She has degrees in music, law and the humanities.
Posted inNews/Politics
Mazibuko: W(h)ither the truth?
What is the “truth” regarding Lindiwe Mazibuko’s resignation as parliamentary leader? Last week I wrote a short opinion piece on the Sunday Times’ bombshell revelation “Shock as Mazibuko quits DA”, critiquing the paper for its misleading headline, articulating my splenetic disrelish of this new episode of “South African-politics-as-Days-of-Our-Lives”, and praising Mazibuko for her courageous decision […]
Posted inNews/Politics
SA owes Mazibuko a thank you
The Sunday Times carried the headline “Shock as Mazibuko quits DA”. The print version of the paper carried the sub-heading “Move kept under wraps and party leader Zille told only later yesterday”. Beyond this the front page of the paper conveyed precious little information — half of the expanse of the page being taken up […]
Posted inEnvironment
How do ‘world-class cities’ deal with their waste?
The waste crisis in my own suburb in Jozi has abated … for now. Last Friday residents flurried about with their stinky, overloaded bins in obviously excited gratitude as the Transman truck heroically crested at the top of the hill. I rushed to tell my neighbour from across the street to bring her bins out, […]
Posted inEnvironment
The white-throated needletail and passing of precious things
I recently travelled to the picturesque town of Hamilton, New Zealand, through which the ethereally beautiful Waikato River courses, a body of water deemed sacred to the Maori people who refer to it as a tupuna (ancestor), a taonga (treasure), and a mauri (life force). Featuring in the headlines of this far-off place were regular […]
Posted inEnvironment, News/Politics
Turkey: The last green space
In one of its earliest reports on the turmoil that is ripping through Turkish cities, CNN highlighted an apparent paradox: How the anti-government protests that are now being compared to the Arab Spring were sparked by a “trivial” matter: The destruction of Gezi Park in the centre of Istanbul. Gezi Park is the last remaining […]