This is the story of love, commitment and the flowering of the human spirit against the background of South Africa’s apartheid.Frightened that their baby sister Dineo will die, thirteen-year-old Naledi and her younger brother Tiro run away from their grandmother to Johannesburg to find their mother, who works there as a maid. Their journey illustrates at every turn the grim realities of apartheid – the pass laws, bantustans, racism, the breakdown of family life.The opulence of the white “Madam’s” house contrasts starkly with the reality that Naledi and Tiro face – that their baby sister is suffering from starvation, not an incurable disease.This edition of Beverley Naidoo’s classic story includes a special “Why You’ll Love This Book” introduction by Michael Rosen, the Children’s Laureate.
Оглавление
Beverley Naidoo. Journey to Jo’Burg
Copyright
Why You’ll Love This Book By Michael Rosen
Map
Chapter One. NALEDI’S PLAN
Chapter Two. THE ROAD
Chapter Three. ORANGES
Chapter Four. RIDE ON A LORRY
Chapter Five. THE CITY OF GOLD
Chapter Six. A NEW FRIEND
Chapter Seven. MMA
Chapter Eight. POLICE
Chapter Nine. THE PHOTOGRAPH
Chapter Ten. GRACE’S STORY
Chapter Eleven. JOURNEY HOME
Chapter Twelve. THE HOSPITAL
Chapter Thirteen. LIFE AND DEATH
Chapter Fourteen. WAITING
Chapter Fifteen. HOPE
Footnotes. Chapter One – Naledi’s Plan
Chapter Two – The Road
Chapter Three – Oranges!
Chapter Four – Ride on a Lorry
Chapter Five – The City of Gold
Chapter Six – A New Friend
Chapter Eight – Police
MORE THAN A STORY
About the Author
Also by the same author
About the Publisher
Отрывок из книги
In memory of two small children who died far away from their mother … and to Kentse Mary Sebate, their Mma, who worked in Jo’burg.
When Beverley Naidoo wrote Journey to Jo’burg, South Africa was a place that had a very special kind of political structure:it was ruled by a white elite that had its origins in two countries – Britain and Holland. So, the two languages of those who ruled were English and a form of Dutch called Afrikaans. There was also a big minority of people of Eastern European Jewish origin, they tended to speak English rather than Afrikaans. But the large majority of people living under this rule came from the many nations of Africans – people like the Tswana and the Zulus – who had been living on the continent of Africa long before the British or Dutch had come to settle and rule there. The system of rule was called Apartheid, an Afrikaans word meaning something like “separateness”. However, this makes Apartheid sound as if it was just a matter of living separately; it was far from it. It meant something much more stark and cruel: the white people of European origin were the only ones who benefited from the system. They invented hundreds of rules that tried to ensure that white people and black people were kept apart. This meant that there were many places – like the best swimming pools, shops, schools and colleges – where black people were not allowed to go. But in the end it was Apartheid itself that fell apart! Nelson Mandela who had fought against the system was released from prison and the black people of South Africa won the right to vote.
