Discover the incredible power of music in the fight for human rights during apartheid in South Africa with WE ARE NOT AFRAID, a captivating documentary co-directed by Janie Cole and Shameela Seedat. This inspiring film, set for release in 2023, delves into the lives of former political prisoners and how they used music as a tool for resistance.

Set against the historical context of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.musicbeyondborders.net/#page-section-72" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(112, 178, 196);">WE ARE NOT AFRAID</a>&nbsp;explores music’s critical role as a force for resistance and survival in the apartheid prisons, especially at the maximum-security prison on Robben Island, where activists including Nelson Mandela were imprisoned from the early 1960s onwards and at Number 4 women’s jail at the Old Fort in Johannesburg.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Blending archival footage of major historical struggles markers such as the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre and the 1976 Soweto Uprising, extensive new interviews with former political prisoners, shot many years later after their release, and musical performance and observation, the film casts light on both past and present.Through torture, harrowing prison conditions and abuse, black music performance provided resistance, critique, community, communication, therapy, memory and identity for political prisoners, uniting an oppressed people against a common enemy.Night and day, political prisoners sang whatever was in their defiant hearts through torture, despair and hope, and united as one they could not be defeated. Women’s narratives and songs expose the deadly gender-based violence that underlay structures of state violence and express their fight against both racial and gender oppression and dehumanizing prison experiences, which differed sharply to a male-centred struggle world.&nbsp;&nbsp;Through these remarkable resilient individuals, testimonies and music, the film touches on broader questions about cultural expression as advancing social change and the uses of music by individuals suffering and protesting the violation of human rights under oppressive patriarchal regimes at the intersections of music, resilience, power, violence, gender, race, trauma and human rights.&nbsp;Dr. Janie Cole collaborates with B&amp;R on Bespoke trips to South Africa and offers unique, private lecture experiences in her&nbsp;<a href="https://www.musicbeyondborders.net/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(112, 178, 196);">Music Beyond Borders</a>&nbsp;“<a href="https://www.musicbeyondborders.net/#page-section-150" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Travels in Sound</a>” series, including “Robben Island, Mandela and the Story of Music in the Apartheid Prisons” to travellers.The Slow Fund contributed US$10,000 to the development phase of the film project in 2019, enabling the completion of critical interviews with former political prisoners. The Slow Fund further supported the film's completion with a contribution of $15,000 towards the budget, and we're deeply honoured to be associated with this important work.

The Slow Fund: Exploring the Power of Music With Music Beyond Borders

Set against the historical context of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle, <a href="https://www.musicbeyondborders.net/#page-section-72" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WE ARE NOT AFRAID</a> is a documentary film that explores the pivotal role of music as a tool for resistance and survival in apartheid prisons. Particularly, it sheds light on the maximum-security prison on Robben Island, where notable activists such as Nelson Mandela were incarcerated starting from the early 1960s.The film explores cultural expression as a tool for social change, delving into the experiences of individuals who use music to cope with and protest against human rights violations under oppressive patriarchal regimes. It examines the intersections of music, resilience, power, violence, gender, race, trauma and human rights.&nbsp;Dr. Janie Cole, the documentary's Co-Director, collaborates with B&amp;R on Bespoke trips to South Africa and offers unique, private lecture experiences in her&nbsp;<a href="https://www.musicbeyondborders.net/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(112, 178, 196);">Music Beyond Borders</a>&nbsp;“<a href="https://www.musicbeyondborders.net/#page-section-150" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(62, 115, 155);">Travels in Sound</a>” series, including “Robben Island, Mandela and the Story of Music in the Apartheid Prisons” to travellers.In the interview below, we dive into a thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Janie Cole, as she shares insights into developing the documentary and her work in preserving South African heritage and culture.

I attended a lecture by a South African Shakespeare scholar <a href="https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C5CHFA_enZA935ZA937&amp;sxsrf=AJOqlzUY7ES_sMLyemYFY7pnCqqoH0OwLw:1675845237343&amp;q=David+Schalkwyk&amp;si=AEcPFx7HnMxbNS2egwqbd2fGseeWkZi3ZCVlQ3vY-NLoLE7SWbUQ82uezfdDZAMJu50ehtnBfgtGlCaaKjD7mHnxBybcD-642f77NaAIUI75KhxzDn03lxdUIVG6KvwrzUmQNCCQIpsmAek95plQQohWdPSsvNNYbgBjZxeDEG7-9L5fiKUnsQDvcQj7PhmBaxeG2_6I5rQ_-pinAZBGWrf8F6V4rHuzmA%3D%3D&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiB3seAwoX9AhXOT8AKHROyCxAQmxMoAHoECEMQAg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">David Schalkwyk</a> who spoke about the so-called “Robben Island Shakespeare”. A copy of the Complete Works was secretly circulated by Sonny Venkatrathnam among his fellow political prisoners on Robben Island in the 1970s, asking them to sign their names next to their favourite passages. Sonny covered it with images of Hindu figures to disguise it as a holy book.Nelson Mandela signed next to a passage from Julius Caesar, which begins, “Cowards die many times before their deaths”. While Schalkwyk examined the representation and experience of imprisonment in South African prison memoirs and the prison that is Denmark for Shakespeare’s Hamlet, I was profoundly moved by his reference to “a book that had passed through the hands of the people who had saved my country,” and the idea of the power of literature and words to provide resistance for political prisoners during apartheid.&nbsp;

Q&A WITH DR. JANIE COLE 

So, as a musicologist, I wondered where was the music in such a space of intense oppression, violence, sorrow, and resistance in a country where singing is the primary cultural expression?&nbsp;&nbsp;Thus began this cultural-heritage preservation project in the form of a film, book and <a href="https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2020-12-17-amplifying-the-voices-of-women-struggle-heroes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">archive</a>, which trace the role of music and resistance in apartheid prisons, with a special focus on Robben Island and the women’s jails, through first-hand struggle testimonies and music by surviving former political prisoners and guards.&nbsp;

I was inspired to found <a href="http://www.musicbeyondborders.net/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Music Beyond Borders</a>, which focuses on the role of music in social change, surviving trauma and supporting human rights, after my first interviews with former political prisoners of apartheid in 2011.&nbsp;After surviving 9/11, I was unable to listen to music for a long time thereafter, which as a musicologist I found incomprehensible on so many levels, so I got interested in how music and sound can link to trauma, memory, sensory association and overload, and healing.&nbsp;&nbsp;I was most impacted by the stories of abuse and conditions in the prisons and of apartheid. I had read Nelson Mandela’s now famous comment from his 1994 autobiography about the conditions in South Africa’s apartheid prisons which reflected the reality of thousands of political activists:&nbsp;&nbsp;“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones – and South Africa treated its imprisoned African citizens like animals.”&nbsp;&nbsp;The accounts that I was hearing verified the worst of Mandela’s statements, especially those about women and gender-based violence. The women’s struggle stories are particularly overlooked historically and their treatment at the hands of the security police was different to men’s.&nbsp;

Our vision is that MBBs’ educational film WE ARE NOT AFRAID will preserve this rich South African cultural heritage, capture the memories of South Africa’s long struggle against apartheid, honour the legacy of struggle veterans, and raise consciousness, especially about gender-based violence past and present.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The focus on Robben Island is an obvious one as the most notorious apartheid prison which held Nelson Mandela and hundreds of other political prisoners. However, we have aimed to concentrate on the unknown ‘foot soldiers’ of the struggle, as opposed to the liberation leaders, whose stories have been told many times of course.&nbsp;&nbsp;

As Thoko Mpumlwana, a political prisoner held at the brutal Number 4 women’s jail at the Old Fort says:“Human beings must not repeat mistakes of the past and to communicate that through testimony and music would cut through much better than probably saying it or writing a thesis. Because if people understand what was going on, it will be a learning tool for future generations. To know what it means to dehumanize the other, and to also know that even in the midst of that dehumanization, the truth prevails, good will always prevail over evil.”&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.butterfield.com/who-we-are/sustainability/the-slow-fund" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Slow Fund</a> contributed US$10,000 to the development phase of the film project in 2019, enabling the completion of critical interviews with former political prisoners. The Slow Fund further supported the film's completion with a contribution of $15,000 towards the budget, and we're deeply honoured to be associated with this important work.

The Slow Fund: In Conversation With Dr. Janie Cole

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<h4><a href="http://www.butterfield.com/trip/namibia-family-private/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">3. Namibia</a></h4>
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-27947" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Namibia-Family-Trip-900x600.png" alt="Namibia-Family-Trip" width="900" height="600" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Namibia-Family-Trip-900x600.png 900w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Namibia-Family-Trip-450x300.png 450w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Namibia-Family-Trip.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" /> Wedged between the Kalahari and the South Atlantic, Namibia&#8217;s potential is as vast as its varied landscapes: wild seascapes, rugged mountains, lonely deserts, stunning wildlife, colonial cities and nearly unlimited elbow room.
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<h4><a href="http://www.butterfield.com/trip/morocco-family-private/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">4. Morocco</a></h4>
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-27951" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Morocco-Family-Trip-900x600.png" alt="Morocco-Family-Trip" width="900" height="600" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Morocco-Family-Trip-900x600.png 900w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Morocco-Family-Trip-450x300.png 450w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Morocco-Family-Trip.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" /> We&#8217;ve waxed poetic about <a href="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/2013/10/22/morocco-family/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Morocco&#8217;s family vacation potential </a>before, and with good reason. The delights of magical Marrakech, Berber villages, <a href="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/2015/11/04/in-the-markets-of-marrakech-a-master-class-in-moroccan-cuisine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">incredible culinary culture</a> and stunning oases will please mom and dad, while camel and donkey rides, kid-friendly kite surfing, and a ropes course will keep the kids smiling all the way to the souk.
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<h4><a href="http://www.butterfield.com/trip/tanzania-family-private/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">5. Tanzania</a></h4>
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-27949" src="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Tanzania-Family-Trip-900x600.png" alt="Tanzania-Family-Trip" width="900" height="600" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Tanzania-Family-Trip-900x600.png 900w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Tanzania-Family-Trip-450x300.png 450w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Tanzania-Family-Trip.png 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" /> Home to some of the world&#8217;s <a href="http://www.butterfield.com/blog/2015/09/29/6-of-tanzanias-coolest-if-lesser-known-exotic-animals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">coolest exotic animals</a>, (not to mention this little thing called the Serengeti), Tanzania is perfect for families with an adventurous spirit and desire to engage in their environment. The natural diversity here presents a truly breathtaking spectacle, from rolling hills, open plains and ground water forest, to massive volcanoes, and the Serengeti Migration.

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<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-36578 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Exterior-Cape-Grace-960px-compressed.png" alt="" width="960" height="320" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Exterior-Cape-Grace-960px-compressed.png 960w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Exterior-Cape-Grace-960px-compressed-480x160.png 480w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Exterior-Cape-Grace-960px-compressed-768x256.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" />
<h3><a title="Cape Grace" href="http://www.capegrace.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cape Grace</a> &#8211; Waterfront</h3>
Located on a private pier with a private yacht basin on one side and the working harbour of the Victoria &amp; Alfred basin on the other, this may be the best Cape Town hotel for those who like to explore their surrounds on foot. The property lives up to her name, offering a gracious hospitality in an elegant environment and has long been a favourite with us. Aside from the luxurious stay, the location offers something of a colourful window into the everyday activity of local life and interplay between the commercial Waterfront space and the working harbour. From the pedestrian commuters traversing the Bascule Bridge and the work teams on a boat in dry-dock, to the resident seals, squawking gulls, dragon-boat racers and morning joggers, the activities play out daily against the backdrop of Table Mountain.
If you aren&#8217;t staying here: Visit the Bascule Whisky bar, overlooking the yacht marina. Locals top up on wanderlust at this bar by gazing at the rigging and marvelling at the workmanship of super yachts.
<h3><a title="Twelve Apostles " href="http://www.12apostleshotel.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Twelve Apostles</a> &#8211; Atlantic Ocean</h3>
We&#8217;re enamoured with sunsets in Africa. It usually involves a glass in hand and has become something of an institution called &#8216;sundowners,&#8217; synonymous with an afternoon game-drive. Location is key to any sundowner for maximum effect. What has this all to do with the Twelve Apostles you&#8217;re asking yourself? Well, sundowners from the terrace of the Leopard Bar (or your room&#8217;s private balcony) at this property rates as one of the top sundowner experiences in Cape Town—not to mention one of the best Cape Town hotels overall. Perched on the edge of the Atlantic and a mere 15-minute drive from the main city, this property is an excellent choice if you want accessibility to the action, but like to retreat away from the crowds. With the sea out front and an entire mountain to explore out back, rejuvenation through nature is inevitable.
If you aren&#8217;t staying here: Sundowners are still available to you – as is the fine dining of the aptly named Azure Restaurant.
<figure id="attachment_20102" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-20102" style="width: 980px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-20102 size-full" src="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Dining-leopardBar01.jpeg" alt="Cape Town Hotels " width="980" height="578" srcset="https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Dining-leopardBar01.jpeg 980w, https://blog.butterfield.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Dining-leopardBar01-320x188.jpeg 320w" sizes="(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-20102" class="wp-caption-text">The Leopard Room at the Twelve Apostles provides the perfect atmosphere for a sundowner.</figcaption></figure>

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