Freedom Is Living Unconventionally It is encouraging others to be free, open and transparent. By Divinia Pillay
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perfect job, perfect house, perfect car, perfect spouse, perfect children ... For many these are the epitome of freedom. For a few others, however, freedom is living life unconventionally. Gertrude Fester relishes such freedom. She was imprisoned for two years, convicted of treason in what is known as the Yengeni Trial. She lived for two years in a cell in which sunlight only reached the top right hand corner of the wall for only five minutes each day. She understands and relishes what freedom means. Born in 1952, Fester is one of the Yengeni 14 who were arrested in 1988. While in solitary confinement for five months, she composed in her mind a onewoman play titled “The Spirit Cannot Be Caged.” In a documentary titled “Freedom is a Personal Journey,” Fester described how freedom is something that one creates for one’s self. Because her own mind was free of discrimination and prejudice, and because this is what she was fighting, she was free in prison because her mind was free. She was in prison for opposing discrimination and oppression during the era of apartheid in South Africa, but she believes that she was and always will be freer than those who have never spent a day behind bars. While watching “Freedom is a Personal Journey,” produced by Akhieda Mohammed, I reflected on what freedom means to me, and I realised that my pursuit of personal freedom and ultimate happiness needed to be redefined. During this period of redefining, I was privileged to be with a group of students traveling through three post-conflict areas: South Africa, the state of Mississippi in the United States of America and Northern Ireland. A constitution has legalized freedom in each of these nations, but personal freedom is a personal journey for each resident. Clearly, personal freedom does not have a time limit, and it does not happen in a structured format. It allows one’s mind to open, encouraging others to pursue their own freedom. It is a journey that allows you to learn about who you are, who you want to be and who you should be. As Gertrude Fester has demonstrated, freedom is unconventional.
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Reflections on Freedom 2013
