Subry Govender's 'Coolie Journalist': A legacy of courage in South African journalism

"Coolie Journalist", the autobiography of Marimuthu Subramoney, better known as Subry Govender, will be launched today.

At 79, Govender's impressive five-decade career in journalism bears testimony to a life dedicated to the fight for justice, freedom, and media integrity during one of South Africa's darkest chapters, apartheid, from the late 1960s to the early 1990s.

Set against the backdrop of state repression, Govender's memoir delves into his formative years in the rural village of Ottawa, north of Durban. Early experiences in the sugarcane fields where he worked as a school boy fostered his strong desire to impact society through journalism, which he viewed not merely as a job but as a vital vocation capable of enacting real change.

Govender, from Umdloti, paid a heavy price for his commitment to truth-telling. He faced harassment and intimidation at the hands of apartheid security police, detention, banning restrictions, the denial of a passport for more than 10 years and a lengthy stint of house arrest, which tragically culminated in the loss of his five-month-old son, Vishen. Due to a banning order that confined Govender to his home during specific hours, he was unable to take his son to seek urgent medical attention.

In "Coolie Journalist", Govender takes readers on a compelling journey; one that spans from his start as a clerk at an insurance company in the 1960s to pivotal roles as a freelance correspondent, a full-time journalist at the Durban Daily News and a senior political correspondent for SABC post-1994. He ran community newspapers and was a correspondent for international print and electronic media outlets.

His narrative also touches upon the establishment of Ukusa, a Durban weekly newspaper he launched with the help of prominent anti-apartheid leaders.

After spending three years completing his autobiography, Govender, said it is the legacy that he would like to leave behind for aspiring journalists and for them to make a contribution to social, political and economic development by ensuring that as a journalist they make a difference for the better in the lives of the people and society.

"I chose to write my autobiography because I wanted to leave behind a legacy where South Africans could learn about the struggles by journalists in the late 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s for a free, non-racial and democratic future South Africa. We had established organisations such as the Union of Black Journalists(UBJ), Media Workers Union of South Africa and the Association of Democratic Journalists. At every turn we were subjected to oppression at the hands of the apartheid security police.

"I wanted the autobiography to be a reminder of what we went through and that now our democracy must be free, fearless, and progressive. Coolie Journalist urges a new generation of journalists to choose courage over compliance, ethics over expediency, and the people over power," he said.

Govender chose the title "Coolie Journalist" purposefully, reclaiming a term that was weaponised against him by the apartheid regime while simultaneously recognising the discrimination he faced as an insurance clerk and journalist.

He said security police kept a watch on him because they disliked his reporting of anti-apartheid activities by sporting leaders, trade union activists and political activists and organisations.

"They saw me as a "coolie terrorist" and when I was detained and banned in 1980s, the security police made it clear that I was nothing more than a "Coolie Journalist" who should be stopped in my tracks," he said.

Govender said the younger and older generations will learn from the book that there were many journalists during the apartheid era who were prepared to pay the highest price in order to fight for a media that was free and democratic.

The book which costs R250 is available from Govender on 082 376 9053 or email subrygovender@gmail.com.

SUNDAY TRIBUNE