Page 29 - SCAT Rural Voice II - 35 Stories for 35 Years

We ARe ALL HUMAN AND
entitLed to dignitY
Monica Nokupumpla Tyalimpi - Coordinator. Lulama Violet Rolihlahla - Treasurer. Monica Nokupumla Tyalimpi - Coordinator, Makatso Tsulo - Administrator, Lulama Rolihlahla - Treasurer
Nonceba Ndala - Field-Worker.
NOKUPUMLA MONICA TYALIMPI AND HER FAMILY WERE EVICTED FROM THE FARM WHERE THEY GREW UP AFTER HER FATHER WAS WRONGFULLY DISMISSED. THIS FORMATIVE ExPERIENCE FORGED IN HER A STRONG SENSE OF jUSTICE WHICH SHE NOW USES IN HER PARALEGAL WORK TO HELP FIGHT FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE MARGINALISED
I was born in Albertinia, a small town in the Western cape Province which is known for its aloe production. My father was a farm worker, assigned with the duty of milking ten cows in the afternoon, on sundays. My mother was a domestic worker for eight years. I had three brothers and two sisters.
My father made a powerful impression on me. He was a dedicated christian, who attended a church service 10km from where we lived. He travelled to and from church on a bicycle. One sunday, the church service lasted about 30 minutes longer than usual. This meant my father arrived late to milk the cows. Although this was the first time he had ever arrived late, he was unfairly dismissed. He was forced to leave our house which was situated on the farm he had worked on. My whole family was forced to sleep on the street, carrying all our belongings.
After our eviction, my father was deported to Lady Frere, the town of his birth. en route to Lady Frere, he was handcuffed until we reached Queenstown. I saw my father bleeding from his wrists as the handcuffs were eating through his skin. My father’s pass book was stamped with a section 10 inscription, which meant he was banned from the area. eventually, my family was forced to relocate to the small, mountainous, red-soiled town of Lady Frere. As the town is predominantly Xhosa speaking, we had to learn to speak the language because we spoke Afrikaans in Albertinia. Initially, we struggled with the adjustment.
nokupuMlA MonicA tyAliMpi
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