One of my many memories of Graeme Bloch is when my wife and I bumped into him and his wife, Cheryl Carolus, probably a decade ago while hiking in the Wilderness. We were walking towards each other and, when we recognised each other, we greeted in the way you always greeted comrades you might not have seen in a long while.
That is how I choose to remember Graeme, as the fit and active man who was always doing outdoor stuff, along with his equally fit wife.
Graeme passed away last week at a hospital in Cape Town at the age of 65 after battling a debilitating neuro-degenerative disease for many years.
I choose to remember the young and fit Graeme, as opposed to the man I saw a few years ago coming to speak at a conference, of which I was one of the organisers, being pushed in a wheelchair. Or the man who I bumped into a few months later at Rosebank Gautrain station, being pushed in a wheelchair by a nurse.
We would normally talk quite a bit, but this time he was only able to say a few words.
I prefer to remember the brilliant input Graeme made at the conference where we were reflecting on the progress of the National Development Plan and he had come to talk to us, as an expert, about how education was being dealt with in the plan.
He had an amazing mind and continued to be one of the country’s leading experts on inclusive education, despite his illness.
It was difficult to reconcile the image of a frail Graeme with the young UCT student and academic who introduced me and many other leaders of the Cape Youth Congress to the works of the Italian philosopher and revolutionary Antonio Gramsci and got us to read and discuss Ben Turok’s seminal work (at the time): Revolutionary Thought in the Twentieth Century.
I remember the study groups where we discussed what we had read, even though quite often what was discussed went over my head. I would never admit it at the time, and I am sure there are many others who endured the study groups with the same difficulty I did. Graeme’s influence was felt very widely in the Cape Youth Congress ranks, because he put many of us through the intellectual mill.
I prefer to remember Graeme as the young National Education Crisis Committee (NECC) and United Democratic Front (UDF) activist and leader who defied the apartheid security police so many times with his bravery. Despite being harassed, detained and imprisoned, and being banned for five years (from 1976 to 1981), Graeme never waivered in his commitment to the struggle.
I prefer to remember his marriage to Cheryl, in the late 1980s, I think, and at a time when such marriages were not popular or common. The picture on this page was taken at their wedding. I do not know who took the photo, but I found it in my collection of old photographs from Grassroots community paper, a paper in which both Cheryl and Graeme played a role as activists in the 1980s.
I prefer to remember the young student who was banned by the University of Cape Town to edit their student publication (or any other student publication on campus, for that matter) and who eventually served on the Council of the university.
I prefer to remember the academic who continued to impact on education policy in South Africa, but also played a role in activist organisations such as Equal Education, where he served as a board member. Graeme was a prolific writer and commentator on education policy and other issues.
The last time I saw Graeme was, I remember, at a concert in Kalk Bay a few months before the start of the lockdown. He was sitting quietly in his wheelchair and enjoyed the music, despite his body already being quite broken down. It was difficult to talk to him because he could barely respond.
The younger and fitter Graeme, I remember thinking, would have been up and dancing.
I am probably selfish, but I prefer to remember him like that: full of life and energy, with an engaging mind and a defiant streak.
May his soul rest in peace.
Graeme’s official memorial and funeral will be held at St George’s Cathedral at 10am on Friday, 16 April, while there will be a second memorial, organised by former student activists who were inspired by Graeme, at 4pm on Saturday, 17 April. Both memorials will be livestreamed.
(Written especially for this website on Wednesday, 14 April 2021.)
