Abstract
The African National Congress (ANC) liberation archives were created in countries all over the world. These liberation archives form part of the national archival heritage of South Africa as they bridge the gap of undocumented history of people who were previously marginalised by the apartheid government. After the ban on liberation movements was lifted in South Africa, the ANC embarked on the process of identification and repatriation of the records that were fragmented throughout the world. This study investigated the approaches followed by the ANC in identifying and repatriating its liberation archives from the trenches to make them accessible. Qualitative data were collected through interviews with purposively selected employees of the African National Congress, MultiChoice, Africa Media Online and the Nelson Mandela Foundation who were involved in the repatriation of the liberation archives. Interview data were augmented through content analysis of ANC documents such as policies, websites and annual reports, as well as observation of the storage conditions of the liberation archives. The key findings revealed that the ANC established an archives management committee that played an important role in the identification, repatriation and, ultimately, digitisation of liberation archives. The committee utilised former liberation struggle members to identify records in ANC hosts in various countries. It was established that, although the ANC was aware of where its records were abroad, not all its records were repatriated to South Africa after the unbanning of the liberation movements. For example, there were host nations, like Italy, that disputed the return of the ANC liberation archives to South Africa. The liberation archives are in the custody of the Fort Hare University as a chosen official repository for the ANC. It is concluded that the repatriation of the liberation archives is an ongoing process, as not all records have been repatriated to South Africa. As the ANC is in power at the time of writing, this is the opportunity for the organisation to negotiate with countries that still have custody of its liberation archives, such as Italy, to repatriate such records to South Africa. A further study on legal ownership and copyright, digitisation and ensuring the authenticity of the ANC liberation archives is recommended. This study can be extended to other liberation movements in southern Africa.
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Notes
The Freedom Charter was the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance, which consisted of the African National Congress, and its allies the South African Indian Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats and the Coloured People’s Congress. It is characterised by its opening demand; The People Shall Govern! The Charter was officially adopted on 26 June 1955, at a Congress of the People in Kliptown. The meeting was attended by roughly three thousand delegates but was broken up by police on the second day, although by then the charter had been read in full. The crowd had shouted its approval of each section with cries of ‘Afrika!’ and ‘Mayibuye!’ (http://www.anc.org.za/kids/freedom-charter).
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Appendix: A list of ANC missions (Pfister 2003)
Appendix: A list of ANC missions (Pfister 2003)
Countries | Cities | Period |
---|---|---|
Africa | ||
Algeria | Algiers | 1962–1993 |
Angola | Luanda | 1975–1995 |
Botswana | Gaborone | 1984–1994 |
Egypt | Cairo | 1964–1994 |
Ethiopia | Addis Ababa | 1980–1995 |
Ghana | Accra | 1960/1961–1989 |
Kenya | Nairobi | 1987–1994 |
Lesotho | Maseru | 1975–1994 |
Libya | Tripoli | 1987–1994 |
Madagascar | Antananarivo | Early 1980s–1994 |
Morocco | Rabat | 1962–1991 |
Mozambique | Maputo | 1975–1995 |
Namibia | Windhoek | 1990–1994 |
Nigeria | Lagos | 1976–1994 |
Senegal | Dakar | 1975/1976–1994 |
Swaziland | Mbabane | 1976–1994 |
Tanzania | Dar-Es-Salaam/Morogoro | 1962–1995 |
Uganda | Kampala | August 1989–1992 |
Zambia | Lusaka | 1964–1993 |
Zimbabwe | Harare | 1980–1994 |
America | ||
Canada | Ottawa | 1969–1994 |
Cuba | Havana | December 1978–1994 |
USA | New York | 1974–1994 |
USA | Washington | 1989–1994 |
Asia and Pacific | ||
Australia and Pacific | Sydney | Jan 1984–Jan 1993 |
India | New Delhi | 1967–1996 |
Japan | Tokyo | May 1988–May 1994 |
Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | 1991–1995 |
Europe | ||
Belgium | Brussels | 1981–1994 |
Denmark | Copenhagen | Jan 1985–May 1994 |
Finland | Helsinki | October 1988–July 1993 |
France | Paris | 1981–1994 |
Germany and Austria | Bonn | Jan 1984–January 1993 |
Germany (East) | Berlin | November 1978–1989/90 |
Hungry | Budapest | Existed in 1990–1994 |
Italy | Rome | 1972–1994 |
Netherlands | Amsterdam | 1988–1994 |
Norway | Oslo | 1970s–1992 |
Romania | Bucharest | 1982–1992 |
Spain | Madrid | 1987/88–1994 |
Sweden | Stockholm | 1977/78–1994 |
UK Ireland | Belfast | Year not provided |
UK | London | 1960–1995 |
USSR | Moscow | 1987–1994 |
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Ngoepe, M., Netshakhuma, S. Archives in the trenches: repatriation of African National Congress liberation archives in diaspora to South Africa. Arch Sci 18, 51–71 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10502-018-9284-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10502-018-9284-9