page_title: Ruth First
section_title: Memoirs
hierarchical_section_title: Ruth First / Memoirs
caption_attribution_description: English: Ruth First by Ben Slow in Orlando East Soweto Johannesburg - This wall commemorates a piece of history as does the beautiful mosaics in front of David Webster’s old house in Troyeville – Lest we forget. Walls do speak. Finely crafted piece by British Artist Ben Slow who wrote on his page; “Returning tonight from an incredible trip to Joburg. Such an eye opener in so many ways and I’m very privileged to have got to paint such an individual in Soweto, as well as meet the people that I have, and hearing their remarkable stor ies. Can't wait for part 2 of the project when I can get back here to see other parts of this country and get my brushes out again. ..... British artist Ben Slow has painted a large mural of Ruth First in Nomzamo Park informal settlement in Orlando East, Soweto. Starting on National Heritage day, the 12 foot tall painting was completed in five days using ink and brush and spray paint. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Ruth First by a letter bomb in Mozambique. The spot where the painting is located is only a few kilometres from Kliptown where in 1955 the Freedom Charter was adopted by the Congress of the People. This became the central document outlining a vision of an egalitarian and apartheid-free South Africa. Ruth First was in the drafting committee of the charter but could not attend because of her banning orders. Commenting on the subject of his painting, Ben Slow said: “I am very interested in people who deserve to be immortalised and who have a direct link to where they are painted. It has been an incredible experience for me. The people here have been incredibly friendly and welcoming. Life must be difficult here. There are shacks in Nomzamo Park without basic amenities. No electricity. No running water.” Gillian Slovo, novelist and playwright and Ruth First’s daughter, when asked for her comment about the painting replied: “How wonderful that this painting of Ruth, based on a photo which was my mother’s favourite, should be there amongst a community she cared so deeply about.” Beauty Mlakalaka the owner of the small house on which the painting appears said, “I think it is beautiful. Also people must know who this person was and what she did.” Ruth First was a journalist, an academic and a gifted and dedicated political activist. She authored several books including “117 days,” the account of her imprisonment under apartheid’s 90 day law, and “The Barrel of a Gun,” her book about coups in Africa. She also edited a number of books, including Nelson Mandela’s “No Easy Walk to Freedom.” She was married to Joe Slovo who became the Housing Minister in Mandela’s government. On 17 August 1982, Ruth First was murdered by order of Craig Williamson, a major in the South African Police, when she opened a letter bomb made by Jerry Raven and sent to her university. The Truth and Reconciliation Committee granted amnesty to both Williamson and Raven.”
context_page_description: Ruth First was a South African anti-apartheid activist and scholar. She was assassinated in Mozambique, where she was working in exile, by a parcel bomb built by South African police.
context_section_description: First's book 117 Days is her account of her arrest, imprisonment and interrogation by the South African Police Special Branch in 1963. It was first published in 1965. The memoir provides a detailed account of how she endured "isolation and sensory deprivation" while withstanding "pressure to provide information about her comrades to the Special Branch".
  Her daughter, the writer Gillian Slovo, published her own memoir, Every Secret Thing: My Family, My Country, in 1997. It is an account of her childhood in South Africa and her relationship with her activist parents.
caption: A mural by Ben Slow in Nomzamo Park, Soweto.
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