Death is everywhere. Charmain Naidoo thinks about her encounters with that dark word and world
death
Posted inGeneral, Health
Reflections during a funeral in the time of Covid
This is how it ends. We arrive on our own and that is how we leave
Posted inMedia
Words can paint a softened impression of Covid-19’s onslaught
Reporting is blurry but, reading between the lines, it seems more people have died from the disease
Posted inGeneral
How often he’s tried to touch death
*** “How often he’s tried to touch death” How often he’s tried to touch death Caress the cheeks make them familiar Wipe away flecks of blood Or crumbs off death’s chin Perhaps he should shave death’s face Use lipstick and ear rings make the gender a man One that prefers intimacy with other […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
Love, loss and Atticus
“I hope to arrive at my death late, in love, and a little drunk.” Atticus. “I will arrive at my death late, and drunk with love.” Charlie Mathews. I never thought I’d fall in love. I am not talking about that delusion that’s a bit like a moulded jelly dessert – which, when left out […]
Posted inGeneral
Letting the curtain fall
By Lawrence Kritzinger It is Sunday evening. For whatever reason, my subconscious has been regaling me with choice tidbits from my memory banks, not all of them pleasant. They disturb me, and so I write. I don’t know how else to process them. So permit me this self-indulgence, please. Sometimes, death wrenches someone from us […]
Posted inGeneral
Maya Angelou’s death reminds us old people are not ‘a waste of space’
You can upgrade your phone, your television, your car and even your vagina (see: vaginoplasty). It is all about the “up-to-date”, the next best thing. We have become a world that needs it young, fresh and new. The passing of poet, activist and Maya Angelou brought to the forefront of people’s minds the wealth of […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Nelson Mandela: A death in the family
“A giant is about to depart, leaving political pygmies to divide his cloak and squabble about who is the rightful heir. The media will be wall to wall with plaudits, the world will groan with grief.” I wrote those words in a column some five months ago, as Nelson Rolihlala Mandela lay in a Pretoria […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Madiba, this is why I am a public servant
I posted this on my Facebook profile, today. I figured I would share it widely on this worst of days. He held my hand for twenty minutes and told me of the vision he had for our country. No, I said, I was a journalist. It is all I ever wanted to be. I loved […]
Posted inGeneral, Health
‘Death and dying in the Eastern Cape’
By Zimbini Ogle Death and dying is something we are certain of. However, we cling to a hope that our death will be delayed when we come into contact with healthcare professionals. This hope is soon shattered by the SECTION 27 report titled “Death and dying in the Eastern Cape: An investigation into the collapse […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Nelson Mandela: A giant leaves the world to pygmies
“That man is as healthy as a horse and as tough as they come. He’ll live to be a 100.” It was 1978 and prisoner 46664, Nelson Rolihlala Mandela, had just turned 60. The speaker was a delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) who, by virtue of international law, was twice […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Boston, media bias and problem with quantifying life and death
Invariably when a tragedy such as the Boston bombing occurs in the US, UK or any other “western” nation, the bloodshed is compared, quantitatively, with the violence in Iraq, Syria, or any other nation that is not in the “west”. Within minutes of the detonation of the bombs in Boston, my Facebook feed was producing […]