Cocktails of Liberty, the observations and recollections of a student activist at University of Western Cape in 1976, takes the reader on a dizzying journey into hearts, minds and deeds of students at a black South African university in the year Soweto exploded, For many, the book will be a startling revelation about what actually happened in those heavily censored years, when government and media conspired to hide the truth about student protest and boycotts in the Western Cape and elsewhere, in an attempt to divide communities and create a semblance of normality in an abnormal society. Through the writer’s use of anecdotes, memories and extracts from various publications of the time, the reader is given the sense of “being there”, and every detail of student protest action is revealed, warts and all. It is a most welcome reminder of the contribution made to the struggle by the courageous students of UWC, and is bound to become essential reading for anyone studying the history of those turbulent times.
Published and launched in January 2009 in partnership with Vivalia Press.