In the horrible, cold winter my parents would shake the frost from our blanket in the mornings and then we would be off to another farm looking for work, often without having eaten breakfast. My political awareness stemmed from seeing this cruelty. After the family moved from the farms to Sada, a township in the Eastern Cape, the teenaged Vavi set up a Cosas branch in the township and was detained many times. Today Vavi, a married man with three children, lives in suburban Kempton Park. There isn't the moral conviction and idealism that we had in our youth.
Youth seem to be interested in cellphones, designer clothes, discos.
The future generation worries me a great deal. But Vavi does lighten up when he talks about his own three children. He likes nothing better than to relax and dance with them to local music when he gets home early. And I love my music, but for me it's only local. I'm a great 'buy local' fan.