9 November 2009
The SACP dips its banner in memory of Eleanor Kasrils who died yesterday in Cape Town.
Cde Eleanor joined the underground SACP in the late 1950s. She was among the first to join the ranks of MK after the launch of the ANC’s armed wing in 1960. She was part of a Natal MK network that included the late Billy Nair and Eleanor’s future husband, Ronnie Kasrils.
She was the second white woman to be arrested for MK activities in the early 1960s. Subjected to intense interrogation and physical abuse, she eventually managed to escape from the Security Police while in custody in a medical facility. She re-established contact with her underground network. Together with Ronnie, who was on the run at the time, she was able to escape from the country and move into exile.
In the following three decades Eleanor remained an active cadre in the ANC-led movement. She was based at first in Tanzania and then later in London. During this time she worked with the ANC president, Cde OR Tambo. Later she was active in Operation Vula, in particular preparing disguises for comrades about to be deployed into the underground.
The ANC exile period is a remarkable story of perseverance in the face of enormous across several continents, at a time when the apartheid regime was still surrounded by a cordon sanitaire of like-minded white minority and colonial states. Uniquely for the national liberal movements in the 20th century, the ANC emerged from this lengthy diaspora unified and more popular inside SA than ever before.
This achievement was the accomplishment of many thousands of selfless and unsung cadres who succeeded in rebuilding organisation and morale. Eleanor’s work in exile epitomises all of the best features of this remarkable achievement.
Eleanor returned to SA in the early 1990s and was living in St James, Cape Town at the time of her death.
To Cde Ronnie Kasrils, to Eleanor’s daughter Bridget, and to Eleanor and Ronnie’s sons Christopher and Andrew, the SACP sends its deep sense of shared sadness, our solidarity with you at this time, and, above all, our pride in being able to count as one of ours, Cde Eleanor.
Hamba kahle, Cde Eleanor Kasrils.
Issued by the SACP.
Contact:
Malesela Maleka
SACP Spokesperson – 082 226 1802