Reflections of a Wayward Boy: The ABC of getting from D dailymaverick.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymaverick.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Shortly before Easter of 1965, I effectively vanished. Inasmuch as I had a plan for leaving the country, this was it: hint at heading for Swaziland and then, after a few days, join the annual Easter “rush” across the northern Beit Bridge border post into what was then Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) using my dubiously acquired Protectorates Travel Document.
So, the night after I hitchhiked out of Johannesburg, I walked the last few miles into Amersfoort and slipped into what was then the Indian ghetto of shops and homes in the centre of town. Baboo Bilai, one of those who had earlier illegally crossed into Swaziland with me and members of the Fordsburg group, was happy to put me up. His and the other families understood the need for a white friend to remain out of sight while staying in the ghetto. For “memory’s sake” Baboo snapped a picture of me sprawled on his bed in my “James Dean pose” which he posted to me more than 50 years later.
Wayward Boy: Stumbling into exile on a wing — and a prayer from Dominee Du Toit msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.