South African writer and anti-apartheid activist Breyten Breytenbach has died at the age of 85

Renowned writer and anti-apartheid activist Breyten Breytenbach, who was jailed for his beliefs in South Africa in the 1970s, has died at the age of 85, his family said.

He died in his sleep, with his wife Yolande by his side in Paris.

The dissident poet, novelist and painter was “a great artist, a fighter against apartheid, he fought for a better world until the end” , a statement from his family reads.

Breytenbach’s sharp intellect earned him widespread admiration, leading the British satirical puppet show Spitting Image to describe him as “the only good South African” in a song during the darkest days of the regime. racial discrimination.

Jack Lang, former French minister of education, shared his sincere gratitude about X.

“A rebel with a tender heart, he was part of all struggles for human rights,” he wrote.

Born in the Western Cape on 16 September 1939, into a family of five, Breytenbach lived most of his life abroad, but always remained loyal to his South African roots.

He studied at the University of Cape Town and joined a group of Afrikaans poets and writers known as the Sestigers, who wanted to highlight the beauty of the language while critiquing apartheid. clan.

Afrikaans evolved from white settlers and is derived from the Dutch word for African.

With Afrikaners in power during the apartheid era, the language became increasingly associated with oppressive regimes.

In an interview with The New York Times, he said: “I will never reject Afrikaner as a language, but I reject it as part of the Afrikaner political identity. I no longer consider myself is an Afrikaner too.”

In 1960, he left South Africa to live in exile, mainly in Europe, but he continued to be a vocal critic of the apartheid regime.

He worked in London for a while before settling in France, where he met his Vietnamese wife Yolande Ngo Thi Hoang Lien.

Breytenbach tried to return to South Africa with his wife in the 1960s, but she was denied a visa because she was “non-white”. Interracial marriage is against the law.

In 1975, at the height of his literary fame, he secretly returned to South Africa, where he was arrested for trying to support resistance groups in the country.

He was sentenced to seven years in prison for terrorism, but continued to write poetry during his imprisonment.

Then-French President François Mitterrand helped secure his release in 1982 and he became a French citizen.

His years in prison led to one of his most influential works, the novel True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist – a harrowing account of his seven-year prison sentence, two among them he was placed in solitary confinement.

After the end of apartheid, he became a vocal critic of Nelson Mandela’s liberation government. He felt the African National Congress (ANC) had turned into a “corrupt organization”.

The poet not only uses his pen to fight against those injustices in South Africa but also around the world.

In 2002, he wrote an open letter in The Guardian newspaper to then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

He writes about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Israel: “Why should we look the other way when Israel commits crimes? A viable state cannot be built on the expulsion of another people who have as many claims to that territory as you do.” Palestinian.

Breytenbach published more than 50 books during his lifetime and some were translated into multiple languages.

He is also known for his surreal paintings, often depicting people and animals in captivity.

He was later awarded the Order of Arts and Letters, France’s top cultural award.

Breytenbach is survived by his wife, Yolande, daughter Daphnée and two grandsons.