Simon Zukas: Difference between revisions
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==Early life== | ==Early life== | ||
Zukas | Zukas was born in Lithuania in 1925.<ref name="biography"/> His father emigrated from Lithuania to southern Africa in 1936 in search of work, as the shadow of Nazism was descending on Europe. He settled in [[Northern Rhodesia]], opening a shop in the town of [[Ndola]], and his family joined him in 1938. | ||
Simon Zukas arrived as a 13 year old who spoke only a little English, struggling to adapt to a country where black people were treated as second-class citizens under British colonial rule. | Simon Zukas arrived as a 13 year old who spoke only a little English, struggling to adapt to a country where black people were treated as second-class citizens under British colonial rule. | ||
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Zukas was an important activist for Zambia's independence. After a stint in the army and at university in Cape Town he campaigned against colonial rule, which led to him being deported to England in 1952. He continued to campaign from London, until being invited to return home when Zambia finally won its independence in 1964.<ref name="cnn">[http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/19/world/africa/zambia-jewish-history/index.html CNN, The forgotten story of Zambia's Jewish settlers, January 19, 2012]</ref>. He stayed in exile for eleven years.<ref name="biography">''Simon Zukas. Into Exile and Back'' - Bookworld Publishes, 2002</ref> | Zukas was an important activist for Zambia's independence. After a stint in the army and at university in Cape Town he campaigned against colonial rule, which led to him being deported to England in 1952. He continued to campaign from London, until being invited to return home when Zambia finally won its independence in 1964.<ref name="cnn">[http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/19/world/africa/zambia-jewish-history/index.html CNN, The forgotten story of Zambia's Jewish settlers, January 19, 2012]</ref>. He stayed in exile for eleven years.<ref name="biography">''Simon Zukas. Into Exile and Back'' - Bookworld Publishes, 2002</ref> | ||
As a soldier in East Africa during World War II, he had acquired a profound distance for racism and the assumptions of white superiority that seemed to him part and parcel of the colonial enterprise. Overcoming African suspicions, he helped organise opposition to Federation, one of the few whites to work with African groups. It cost him most of his white friends at the time when it was difficult to be accepted on familiar terms by Africans.<ref name="biography"/> | |||
He went on to hold two posts as a government minister and was chairman of the Forum for Democracy and Development opposition party in 2001. While Zukas may be the highest profile of Zambia's Jews, collectively the small Jewish community helped shape the country.<ref name="cnn"/> | He went on to hold two posts as a government minister and was chairman of the Forum for Democracy and Development opposition party in 2001. While Zukas may be the highest profile of Zambia's Jews, collectively the small Jewish community helped shape the country.<ref name="cnn"/> | ||
Revision as of 18:48, 5 June 2016
Simon Zukas (born 1925) is a Jewish veteran politician in Zambia.
Early life
Zukas was born in Lithuania in 1925.[1] His father emigrated from Lithuania to southern Africa in 1936 in search of work, as the shadow of Nazism was descending on Europe. He settled in Northern Rhodesia, opening a shop in the town of Ndola, and his family joined him in 1938.
Simon Zukas arrived as a 13 year old who spoke only a little English, struggling to adapt to a country where black people were treated as second-class citizens under British colonial rule.
By the early 1960s, around 1,000 Jews lived in Northern Rhodesia. But after Zambia's independence in 1964, numbers began to dwindle, part of a larger exodus of whites from the country. There are now fewer than 50 Jews left in Zambia.[2]
Political career
Zukas played a key role in Zambia's struggle for independence from Britain in the 1950s, and went on to be a government minister after independence.
Zukas was an important activist for Zambia's independence. After a stint in the army and at university in Cape Town he campaigned against colonial rule, which led to him being deported to England in 1952. He continued to campaign from London, until being invited to return home when Zambia finally won its independence in 1964.[2]. He stayed in exile for eleven years.[1]
As a soldier in East Africa during World War II, he had acquired a profound distance for racism and the assumptions of white superiority that seemed to him part and parcel of the colonial enterprise. Overcoming African suspicions, he helped organise opposition to Federation, one of the few whites to work with African groups. It cost him most of his white friends at the time when it was difficult to be accepted on familiar terms by Africans.[1]
He went on to hold two posts as a government minister and was chairman of the Forum for Democracy and Development opposition party in 2001. While Zukas may be the highest profile of Zambia's Jews, collectively the small Jewish community helped shape the country.[2]
