Barely hours after saying “I do”, Peter Present and his
bride left home to join the armed struggle and to live a double life where not
even family or friends knew their secret.
On 29 November, Present’s book, Quiet Activists: A Memoir of
Love, Purpose, Family and Fighting for Justice in South Africa, was launched by
the McGregor Museum in Kimberley.
In this book, Present shares what prompted him and his bride
to make this decision, and he shares his journey of learning to trust again and
of overcoming the last-remaining shackles that held him hostage in his mind,
long after freedom had been won.
The book is described as offering another perspective on the
armed struggle – what it was like as a young married couple to join Umkhonto we
Sizwe; the training they undertook outside South Africa, and how, decades
later, the effects of having to operate secretly took its toll on the author.
The photo on the front page of the book was taken in
Kimberley with the launch of the United Democratic Front in Kimberley in July
1984.
At the launch, Alistair Andrews introduced Present to the
guest, telling them that he met Present on the morning of 4 January 1982 when
they reported to start their draughting
course at the De Beers Draughtsman Training Centre.
While Present originates from Elsies River in the Western
Cape, his political consciousness was honed in Kimberley.
Although a qualified draughtsman, Present also completed
several qualifications in education, and started his career in Education
Administration at the Western Cape Department of Education in 1996.
Amongst
other, he was the advisor to the MEC for Education, chief director responsible
for policy coordination, infrastructure planning, human capital planning and
strategic planning, and also joined Deloitte to support provincial Education
Departments to improve their administrative systems.
Since 2019 Present is a partner in a software development
company, HashData, and he continues to contribute towards improving education
in the country. He is also a director in JobAbled, an non-government
organisation whose focus is to find job opportunities for people with special
needs.
