Your loving husband,
Mangi
Robert Sobukwe
to Nell Marquard,
11 October 1963 (Bd1.1)
Dear Mrs Marquard,
Thank you for the magazines – The New Yorker, Life and The Listener.
Although I have listed The Listener last, it is the first on my list of preferences. It’s the first time I have read it. I had heard of it, yes, most probably even seen it. But I had not read it until I got the copies you sent. And what a pleasure it was to read!
I have a further reason now for asking you to continue the “good work” you have started. I have registered with the University of London for the BSc. Econ. degree and my tutor in British Government has recommended the reading of good newspapers and journals. Among the many that he lists is “The Listener” (very good indeed). The brackets and comment are his!
I have quite a busy day. Besides studying and reading (I have quite a wide range of reading matter – from the Bible to G.B.S.42). At the moment I am reading [George] Orwell’s 1984. I have just finished The Ugly American),43 I also do some gardening. I have a fairly large garden, larger than my Mofolo one. But the soil in this part of the country is – I am sure you’ll agree, patriotic Capetonian though you are – the despair of the amateur gardener. The vegetables (carrots, beetroot, beans) have somehow germinated but the flowers have not yet announced their arrival. Should both flowers and vegetables bear fruit, however, I’ll undertake to make the Sahara blossom.
I have had trouble with some of my friends who seem to believe that I have become a tardy correspondent of late because I do not reply promptly to their letters. The Press apparently, gave the impression that I could write an unlimited number of letters. In fact I am allowed two a week and have to ration my replies on the strict basis of “First come, first serve” except, to be truthful, in the case of my wife who demands and to whom I have granted the right to jump the queue.
Again, thank you for the journals. Your choice of this issue of “Life” was a generous gesture to the Americans – proving to sceptics that they ARE capable of intellectual production!
Yours sincerely,
RM Sobukwe
Benjamin Pogrund,
105 Earls Court,
2nd Avenue, Killarney,
Johannesburg,
to Veronica Sobukwe,
25 October 1963 (Ba1.3)
Dear Mrs. Sobukwe,
I am sorry that I missed you yesterday afternoon. I waited until 4 p.m. and then decided that you must have been unable to get a lift into town.
I saw Mrs. Stott again and she has promised to go into the matter of a record player without delay. Should it prove impossible for you to stay on the Island with Bob, Mrs. Stott will arrange accommodation for you in Cape Town. Please let me know as soon as you receive a reply to your application to stay on the Island.
In the meantime, I hope you will not fail to contact me if you should need anything at all.
Best wishes,
Sincerely,
Robert Sobukwe
to Veronica Sobukwe,
7 November 1963 (Bc9)
Hello Darling!
Thank you for your letter. It was pleasantly surprising to note how alike our thoughts were about the books I sent the boys. As you will see in my letter preceding this one, I, too, referred to the interesting stories and games found in them. I am glad you think Dini and Mili will find the books useful.
I received a letter from Mili last week, just a day before I received yours and Mercy’s and Bhuti’s. Mili complains, Darling, that their school fees and book fees have not yet been paid and tells me rather sadly that if they are not settled in time, then she and Dini will not be allowed to go home.
I am, therefore, writing so that you may settle the matter quickly. I remember your telling me that you had sent their fees as well as some pocket money. Well, Mili tells me she would have written to me earlier but she did not have money for stamps! Please CHECK IMMEDIATELY whether the money you sent did reach the school authorities. I know you are busy with a thousand and one things, all demanding money and attention. But please, Child, attend to this matter immediately.
She tells me that she has done badly in Arithmetic in what she calls the August Test. […] She says she is extremely disappointed! But I am not worried. I got 2/5 when I was doing Std II but went on to top the next few classes in Arithmetic. She must NEVER gain the impression that she is a dunce or that to fail even one subject is a disgrace. Churchill was mediocre at school and went into the Army because he was good for nothing else. But he was exceptionally good in English and history and he built his future on those two gifts.
I am looking forward with keen anticipation to your proposed visit – like a child in wild anticipation, waiting for a journey home!
Yes, darling, the lectures have come. There are two more subjects in which I have to receive lectures. Those should be done any time this month. The work is most interesting; but the notes are sketchy requiring wide reading. Of course they assume that their students have access to the libraries in Britain since the lectures are primarily meant for students resident there. I have no alternative but to get the books, although I am really sorry to have loaded you with this burden at this time of the year, when you need every penny for your journey and for Christmas.
Incidentally I notice that Mili’s address, as given by her, is different from the one you sent me. She gives me her address as:
Emmanuel Mission School,
P.O. Box 274,
Ficksburg,
Orange Free State.
Just try this address when you write. Also please drop her a note too, to tell her everything is all right. If you find Sotho too tough you will have to write SIMPLE SENTENCES in English! […]
Oh yes, Mili says she is looking well after Dini! But girls are not allowed to do washing for boys. So, she asks, who will do the washing for Dedani and Dali if you send them to school with her next year? She is quite a responsible girl, really.
Well, darling, so long for the time being. God bless you.
Your loving husband,
Mangi
Benjamin Pogrund
to Robert Sobukwe,
7 November 1963 (Ba1.4)
My dear Bob,
My deepest apologies for taking so long to answer your last most welcome letter.44 I have been up to my ears in work as a result of leaving the [Rand Daily] Mail to undertake my research project. After more than five years on the paper, I am almost part of the furniture there, and leaving has been an almighty wrench. I am, however, receiving a monthly retainer and am also going in to work every Sunday night.
I saw your wife a few days ago and can report that she is keeping well. When I asked after the children, her face lit up – which is perhaps the best indication of their welfare that I can give you. I am sorry that her projected trip to Cape Town did not come off, but as you no doubt know, she will be down for several weeks from later this month. I shall be seeing her before her departure in case I can be of any assistance to her. Mrs. Eulalie Stott of Cape Town was up here recently. She is keen to give you all possible aid and I discussed ways and means with her.
As requested, I sent off the originals of your academic certificates to Oxford with a letter that the certificates should be returned to me. I was under the impression that you intended doing your studies through the University of South Africa. If this is in fact your intention and you