Saved by the Lion?

Stories of African children encountering outsiders

“I wanted her to love me, yet every time she would turn away and leave me to her husband’s horrible clutches.” (Brookes, 1970s)

“The Bushmen will kill their children without remorse on various occasions.” (Kicherer, 1804)

“I have never known in Africa an instance of a parent selling his own offspring.” (Livingstone, 1857)

“I had not realised the full scope of the calamities that could overtake a people simply on account of their blackness. I was trying to analyse the white mind. Was it human? Christian? Did it recognise principles? Was it capable of compassion?” (Goonam, 1950s)

“I made up my mind that I could never love anyone but a white man, a blue-eyed blonde, a Frenchman.” (Capécia, 1948)

“I am terrified of Africa. I don’t want to be from this place. In my darkest heart here on this pitch black African night, I am quietly celebrating the passage of my ancestor who made it out.” (Richburg, 1997)

“I am African. My family has been in South Africa for 320 years; nowhere else is my home.” (Parker, 2004)

“My own ancestors had created a system that would ensure that there should be no need for a single child to be orphaned or destitute.” (Rukuni, 2007)

Voices from all over Africa and beyond, past and present, discuss the interaction between African children and “outsiders”. Together they grapple with the allegation that Mama Africa is unable to nurture and raise her children. A rich store of information about, and a good introduction to key issues of African childhood, this book is a vital resource for anyone living and working with the continent’s greatest asset – its children.

Technical details:

Title: Saved by the Lion? – Stories of African children encountering outsiders

Author: Johannes Malherbe

Copyright: Johannes Malherbe, 2011

Publisher: ChildNet, Mogale City, South Africa

Cover design, art & illustrations: Ydi Coetsee

ISBN: 978-0-620-51386-9

363 pages, includes bibliography of 27 pages with 455 items