South Africa needs a "people's history", telling the stories of ordinary South Africans, said former education minister and ANC stalwart Kadar Asmal. 

There was a tendency, among lower middle-class South Africans, to try to forget about the past, Asmal said, speaking at the launch of James Ngculu's book The Honour to Serve at the Cape Town Book Fair (CTBF). The book has been shortlisted for the Alan Paton Award.

Asmal said that people tended to forget their history. The proposal for the series of books on the people's history should be pushed "at a professional level, then among publishers."

Each South African education minister had emphasised different school subjects, he said. His emphasis had been history and English - which were underrated in countries across the world, but essential for a healthy society.

In his time teaching in Ireland, Asmal had learnt that the country's patron saints had "revelled in blood sacrifice". At the launch, Asmal praised Ngculu for shunning blood sacrifice.

"For James, there is no blood sacrifice ideal, there is only the struggle ideal." 

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Jo-Anne Smetherham

HWB Communications

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