DETAILS ABOUT ASSAULTS IN DR. ALEXANDER CASE
In our last issue we reported that Dr. Neville Alexander and two of his comrades, who are among the political prisoners held in the Robben Island prison off Cape Town, had been assaulted by warders. We are now able to supplement this bare report with the fol-
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lowing additional information.
Fikele Charles Bam was assaulted, kicked and slapped by a head warder June 10 because he asked for a second helping of food,
He reported to the authorities the next morning. He- was told that he is a Kaffir and that he should be thankful for the food the Department of Prisons is wasting on him,
Fikele was prepared to run the risk of making a sworn state~ ment. The authorities gave him the chance to do this,
During the week of June 22-27 Dr. Alexander, who is one of South Africa's most distinguished intellectuals, was assaulted, This happened when he objected to the way the warders carry out their search of prisoners by forcing them to do the “tauza dance." One of his ear drums was damaged.
Since his comrades Ian Leslie v.d. Heyden, Lionel Basil Davis, and Marcus Solomons were witnesses, they have been placed in isola~ tion. .
No further information was available about Don Davis, who was also reported to be.,the. victim of an assault at the hands of Robben: Island's sadistic warders,
In addition to the above, the following report has reached us about conditims at Robben Island, South Africa's version of a Nazi concentration camp:
(1) <All political prisoners are automatically classified in the lowest group on arrival without consideration to individual men's characters and contrary to the regulations,
(2) All political prisoners and those criminals who do not collaborate with the warders are given the most difficult jobs in the stone quarries,
(3) Groups of political prisoners who arrive together are split up and scattered among cells of habitual criminals. Dr, Alexander is in a cell exclusively occupied by criminals and has complained that his life is in danger as a result of gang fights among them,
(4) The greatest complaint is starvation. Not only is the standard of food ridiculously low, but the quantities served are meager, This is partially due to the fact that all kitchen jobs are given to criminals who openly smuggle huge amounts for their own use, When complaints are made, they are told that the food received is.
their ration, The most appalling consequence of the starvation is that some of the youth are exposed to exploitation by criminals for immoral purposes, namely, sodomy, They are offered food smuggled from the kitchen,
(5) When coming from work all prisoners are searched, They are made to strip completely, open their mouths, and worst of all do the "tauza dance," exposing their sexual parts. Dr. Alexander and his comrades have been warned several times and threatened with strokes for refusing to do this,
(6) There are numerous instances of assaults, but care is always taken not to leave marks.
In his book South Africa's Rule of Violence (Methuen, 1964), Patriok Duncan gives on pages 79-61 an example and picture of this "tauza dance,"
“Prisoners, but only non-white prisoners," he writes, "are made to strip naked when they return to jail, They are made to jump up in the air, clapping their hands, opening their mouths, then turning around, This is known as the 'tausa! or the Zulu dance,"
In reality this is a way of inflicting humiliation and indignity on politioal prisoners in an effort to demoralize and degrade
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The committee which has been seeking to collect funds to aid the families of the prisoners and to finance an appeal by the end of 1964, reports that an encouraging response has been received as a result of the publicity transmitted through World Outlook, The committee expresses its appreciation,
Send any checks or letters to Franz J.T,Lee, 74 Ttibingen, Schwabstrasse 22, West Germany.
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