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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Political Menaing of Private Lives, March 27, 2001
"When Rain Clouds Gather" plot set is in Botswana in the 1960s, a country ridden with poverty and "primitive" agriculture, that is going through a process of independence from Britain. As a mirror view, we have independent South Africa - racist, violent and oppressive to the black population. After serving time in prison, Fleeing the violence and oppression of South Africa in the mid-1960s, Makhaya crosses the border into Botswana. Here he finds himself in a poverty-stricken rural village - He moves to a rural town named Golema Mmidi ("to grow crops") and finds it populated with people who, like himself, are seeking a better life. Golama Mmidi is a place very different from his native Johannesburg. It is a time of great change for Botswana, as the country approaches independence. Along with an idealistic English agriculturist, Balfour, Makhaya becomes involved in the villagers' struggle to adopt new agricultural techniques. In doing so, the community must overcome rigid customs, a corrupt local chief, and the unrelenting climate. Makhaya must struggle too against the bitterness and hatred within him that are a legacy of his life in South Africa. This book has several layers of interesting political meanings. The plot of the book is not "political" per-se - the story is about the private lives of a private person, who happens to be a political activist and a political exile. Moreover, it is strongly affected by Bessie Head's private life: Bessie Head was born in South Africa in 1937, the result of an 'illicit' union between a black man and a white woman. Her life was a traumatic one, and she drew heavily upon her own experiences for her novels. Unsuccessful marriage and her involvement in the trial of a friend led her to apply for a teaching post in Botswana, where she took up permanent exile. She greatly resisted attempts to categorize her writing as "African" or "feminist". Her work is highly individualized, rather than political, and defies this type of classification as a result. On the other hand, we can't avoid the political. This book deals with several political issues. First, and foremost, Apartheid. The apartheid system in South Africa is firmly in place. It is a massive system of legalized segregation, repression, and domination by the white minority--first British and then later Afrikaaner. Long before the system was enacted formally - following the 1948 elections with the passage by the new Afrikaner government of increasingly restrictive and repressive legislation - the Blacks (and other "coloured" people) suffered unofficial discrimination. During the early 1960s, opposition against Apartheid among Blacks and few Whites begins to show its first buds. The political activity of the opposition parties (Mandela's African National Congress and the Pan-African Congress) was banned in 1961. After political activism failed, the ANC formed a military wing to begin armed resistance. Two years later, Mandela was imprisoned. He was not released for 28 years (Mandela was later the first president of the new, post-Apartheid, South Africa). Violence drew more repression, that drew more resistance. Several events were specifically notable (the Sharpeville massacre, 1960; the Soweto uprisings in 1976). This is this novel's South Africa. Another political issue is post-colonial Botswana. Botswana became independent in 1966 in a relatively peaceful way (compared to its neighbours, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, or northern Kenya) . Botswana was less changed by colonialism, mostly because it had fewer White settlers. The stakes for the whites were not so high, therefore, and the governing system had not been so disruptive as in other colonies. Head is writing a period of transition, just before independence. There's an internal debate over whom should take power in the post-colonial period, and what kind of system should be adopted. The rivals are a conservative government (which eventually won the elections) and a Pan Africanist, socialist movement. A third political power, is of course, the traditional power. It is interesting to note, in this context, that weak and poor Botswana had been democratic throughout all of it's independence, since the mid-60, unlike most other African countries and especially neighbouring, strong, South Africa. The people of Golema Mmidi seem determined to build their own kind of community--to shape their own politics--free from tribal, national, or international forces. However, other issues this book deals with are the status of women in Africa, tradition and religion vs. change and change in political power - from chiefdom (that protects from above like the colonial power) to independence (in mind, but also in government). I highly recommend this novel, to learn about a period.
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