Litnet

"All the public talks and podcasts in Russia, all the conversations with friends and family, come down to just a few topics: Will the metro be a safe place to hide in case Moscow is bombed by NATO? Is it the right time to withdraw all cash from our bank accounts? Is it too late to buy US dollars and sell the stocks? Will our young male family members be mobilised and sent to war, most of them against their will? Will the government start mass repression of its own citizens, those who dare to speak up?"

"With the sun reaching nearly 40 degrees, some of the uncles are not singing from the flat-surfaced rock, and instead they sit under a gazebo, serenading the beachgoers with their velvet voices."

"The war began today (24 February 2022) ... Today represents the world’s failure to find peace for Ukraine. Unfortunately, tomorrow won’t be any better."

"The need for comfortable multilingual interaction from childhood is crucial in establishing respect and a sense of community in a country of diverse people." – Marguerite Poland remembers Benjamin Mahlasela, her Xhosa language tutor at Rhodes University 50 years ago.

"He was one of the greatest the country has ever seen, iconic beyond description, who stood up for the rights of all South Africans, and whose legendary status reached the rooms, offices, courts of monarchs, heads of nations and spiritual leaders of virtually every country in the world."

"I accept this on behalf of so many disadvantaged women, persons with disabilities and also people who have no voice in life. I started my life in what can be seen as a cycle where you are born into poverty and would ultimately die in poverty."

"On Sunday, 5 December more than 500 people met at Surfer’s Corner on Beach Road in Muizenberg to protest against seismic blasting off the South African coast."

"What my friend failed to mention was that the gevaarlike Jordanian couldn’t help us both at the same time, and due to my impatience, I landed in the chair of Abbaas Sylvester."

"This book allows one to understand how the arbitrary discourses of colonial subjugation and racial repression changed and took on new grammars of human degradation and regression."

"A unique challenge presented to us, and specifically Stellenbosch University, is that the New Policy Framework excludes Afrikaans as an indigenous language. This is something Stellenbosch University would like to see amended." - Wim de Villiers, SU Rector and Vice-Chancellor.

"And what would South Africa be without its biggest export: corruption? A popular anecdote says that if corruption were an Olympic sport, South Africa would win the gold, silver and bronze medals."

"After each global convulsion, the world is flooded with ideas of how to make and manage what amounts to a new normal. The present confluence of COVID, climate change and the collapse of the West’s 20 years in Afghanistan is such a moment."

"Yet the very legitimate criticisms of American actions are not being applied to South Africa’s present involvement in Mozambique’s civil war ... South Africa should not replicate America’s grievous mistakes."

"What we talk about immediately is looting, groceries and medication. Durban, the city where I live, is in the throes of violence and looting such as never seen before in South African history."

"The debris I see outside at the looted Thokoza Park Shell garage and the nearby Supa Store lies on the ground like an unbearable weight on the township. This is not the Soweto that I know."

"Amid the panic for food, though, a strong narrative of the resilience of communities is playing out. We have all seen and heard of communities having to mobilise into security cells to protect their communities. That communities have been forced to do this is nothing short of a disgrace."

"My brother has just sent me a message saying that most shelves are empty and he hasn’t even made it into the store yet. Perhaps rationing will still be necessary."

"The SACC urgently appeals for an end to the violent protests spilling into criminal acts of wanton vandalism and looting that should not be sustained in a constitutional democracy."

"Currently, Afrikaans is being spoken by an ever-increasing 7,2 million people across the board. Some Afrikaans speakers are white, some are brown, some are black."

"Even today, 27 years later, it is still hard to find a vaccine against the virus of racism, because of those many daily new variants."