Blanche La Guma
My husband, Alex La Guma, was an ardent political activist in South Africa who worked to overthrow the fascist apartheid regime in his country and suffered the consequences of detention in prison without trial, house arrest, the infamous Treason Trial, and exile. While under house arrest, Alex wrote quite a few short stories, but because of his intermittent imprisonment, frequent police raids, and his writing being taken by the police, he was unable to write more. Alex eventually wrote, over the course of his life, six books, which, due to him being banned, could not be read in South Africa. He was, however, vastly read internationally and particularly in the Soviet Union.
Alex’s father, James Arnold (Jimmy) La Guma, played a very influential role in the political thinking of Alex. He guided him with books to read and had many discussions with and explanations for Alex. Jimmy was a member of the Communist Party of South Africa—later known as the SACP—which came into being in 1921. In 1927 Jimmy with some other South African activists went as a delegate to Brussels to attend the League Against Imperialism conference. After the conference, the delegation from the Soviet Union invited them to visit Moscow.
Since Alex could not make a significant contribution in South Africa, he, I, and our family went into exile. Soon after arriving in London, Alex was contacted by a member of the Afro-Asian Writers Association (AAWA), which in due course invited him to attend an AAWA conference in Uzbekistan. He traveled to Moscow and from there to Uzbekistan. Yusuf El-Sebai from Egypt was elected Secretary General of the AAWA and Alex became his deputy, thus starting Alex’s trips to Moscow for the AAWA. He traveled to Moscow several times a year and at times from there to the countries of affiliate members of the AAWA to arrange conferences and meetings, poetry readings, and discussions with the executive members. Writers of the AAWA were mainly from countries in Africa and Asia and often from countries in political turmoil and thus had financial difficulties. Moscow covered all expenses.
Alex was also one of the chairmen of the World Peace Council, which supported the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. This organization was also headquartered in Moscow, and Alex traveled to and from Moscow to fulfill tasks in that sphere as well.
Alex was thus active in organizations to save humanity and to make the world a better place for all on this planet. His writing is a testament to these beliefs and his lifelong commitment to their fulfillment.
Blanche La Guma
Cape Town
March 2016