Simon Zukas
Simon Zukas (born 1925) is a Jewish veteran politician in Zambia.
Early life
Zukas's 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.[1]
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.[1]. He stayed in exile for eleven years.[2]
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.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 CNN, The forgotten story of Zambia's Jewish settlers, January 19, 2012
- ↑ Simon Zukas. Into Exile and Back - Bookworld Publishes, 2002
