Book Review: Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

 About a year ago, I read about Ruby Bridges, the first African-American child to attend an all-white elementary school in the Southern United States. There is a movie about her, which I couldn’t source, but I remember thinking what a fantastic story it would be to read. Recently, I had the opportunity to read just

Positive Hospital: Public is not the Devil

During my second year, I almost lost my thumb due to an unfortunate oatmeal incident (yes, really). Because I have medical aid, my friends rushed me to the nearest private hospital, a fifteen minute drive. Upon arrival, the hospital would not accept my completely legit medical aid number: they insisted on having the card. Which

Mind the Gap: Protest State of Mind

17 September was the one-year anniversary of Occupy Wall Street – the beginning of a movement. I find celebrating the anniversary of a protest weird. I live in South Africa. We have protests practically every day. In the Struggle against Apartheid, opposition movements encouraged citizens to “make this country ungovernable”. And though Apartheid fell, the

TTT: Books to Movies

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday from The Broke and the Bookish is a little counter-intuitive for me. My first love was, and will always be, books. I always watch movies based on books, but I am more often than not disappointed. It’s great that non-readers get to enjoy these stories too, but often they don’t get the deeper

Doctors: Guardians of Human Rights

Today is Human Rights Day in South Africa, in memory of the Sharpeville Massacre and the many other human rights violations in this country’s history. The Truth and Reconciliation Committee reported that “[h]ealth practitioners […] have a unique responsibility in society, as healers, to understand and alleviate causes of human suffering, and to promote health.” This being the

Same Wolf, Different Coat

Latest news regarding Eastern Cape Health regards the MEC of the department discovering a separate entrance for HIV-positive patients at the Sundays River Valley Hospital yesterday. Enraged, he ordered it to be locked and never opened again.