A Passage to Africa Quotes

“That Nohle consented to appear before the commission at all was a testament to the willingness of thousands of black South Africans to set aside their deep yearning to see their abusers put behind bars. I remember standing with her in one of the cells where Biko had lain damaged and inert. I asked her then, a year and a half before the commission set to work, whether she could ever be reconciled with the people who had so mutilated her life. She turned on me, her eyes cold and piercing, her body taut with controlled anger, and said: ‘There is hatred in me, and it is for them to try to rub out that hatred. You must have the truth first and then you can think about reconciliation. I don’t agree when they say, “Let bygones be bygones, let’s try to forget about the past and try to reconcile.” Reconcile what?”
― George Alagiah, A Passage To Africa

“In Zimbabwe, what it meant was that you spent your money as soon as you got it - delay and prices would have gone up. London’s Guardian newspaper reported that pension funds were not sending some clients statements because their savings were worth less than the price of a stamp.”
― George Alagiah, A Passage To Africa

“I learned from half-heard conversations between my parents that Ceylon was not somewhere that we Tamils would prosper. So Ceylon was bad; Africa was good.”
― George Alagiah, A Passage To Africa