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Achmat Dangor, an author and political activist who served as ambassador and executive director of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, has died, his brother said Sunday.
“It is with sadness that we announce the passing of our brother Achmat Dangor. His wife Audrey Elster, his children Yasmin, Zane and Zachary, his grandchildren and his brothers and sister mourn him. Achmat will be buried according to Muslim funeral rites later today, ”said Zane Dangor.
Her brother is the ANC’s undersecretary general, Jessie Duarte.
Dangor was born in Johannesburg in 1948.
Pule Mabe of the ANC said the party “bows its flag to this revolutionary.”
“In Achmat Dangor, the country has lost an important voice, but we can take comfort that its light will continue to shine through its books and other writings.”
Dangor’s published novels are Waiting for Leila (1981), The Z Town Trilogy (1990), Kafka’s Curse (1997), Bitter Fruit (2001), as well as two collections of poetry, Bulldozer (1983) and Private Voices (1992) , the play Majiet (1986) and a collection of short stories, Strange Pilgrimages (2013).
He received the Herman Charles Bosman Award for Kafka’s Curse, while Bitter Fruit was shortlisted for the Man Booker Award. Dangor also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the SA Literary Awards (SALA).
Dangor was one of the founding members of the SA Congress of Writers (COSAW) and remained active in the cultural and development sectors even after his retirement.
During the 1970s, Dangor formed Black Thoughts with other writers in opposition to and as an alternative to the slavery of the Bantu educational system. The group promoted books and writings by authors from Africa and other developing countries and did readings in municipalities and schools. Dangor was banned for his political activism and writing.
Mabe said that Dangor had also been a leading light in the development sector, playing a leadership role in a variety of non-governmental organizations, including the Kagiso Trust, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and Foundation, and the Independent Development Trust (IDT), as well. as in the international development sector.
Dangor was also a prominent activist in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
“He also taught creative writing and SA literature at the State University of New York.”
In an interview on writing, Dangor commented in 2002: “Writing is much more dynamic and sensitive and involves human beings in different responses; the reader and the writer relate to each other in different ways. “
On his role at the Nelson Mandela Foundation, where he served as CEO from January 1, 2007 to June 30, 2013, Dangor wrote: “I worked hard, but the cause made it all worth it.”
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