Liam Nugent's Profile Story Up on The City Varsity Website

http://www.cityvarsity.co.za/news_display_details.php?pnid=0000000032

The Mourning Siren (Creative Writing)

Standing in the ICU of Constantiaberg Hospital, she is holding onto the last shred of the fragile life in front of her. The pipes and tubes invade the bed and the beeping sound of the machine becomes overwhelming. All the small, unimportant things all add up to a moment in time like this and they seem to knock the wind out of you. 

For as long as she could remember, her grandmother had always been around her. There was not a time in her life, where she could look back and say that she was never there for school awards ceremonies, a school play, a sports day or anything remotely important to a young child. Her grandmother fetched her from school, helped her with homework and projects, spoilt her like any grandchild would be spoilt and most importantly, she stood in the place of her recently divorced, working mother when she was never there. On the morning of her seventeenth birthday, she was abruptly woken up by her mother with the news she knew before it was spoken.  

The funeral was something she could not handle. The church was dimly lit and deathly quiet. Family members and friends stalked into the pews, taking their seats quietly. The drone of the organ was feint in the background. The priest was fiddling with the altar, seemingly uncomfortable in his current situation, every few minutes checking his watch and looking interested in the mourners entering the room. The microphone made a few crackling noises, as if to prepare itself for the task it was going to assist in. Standing, in her usual black attire, she faced front, she did not have the courage to look behind her and register all the people who came to say their goodbyes. She thought she could maintain her hard image but the weeping sound of one of her close family members broke down that exterior quickly. All the pain and the anger and the hurt from the previous months of watching her guardian angel suffer slowly, came pouring out like flood gates that had been forced open. With her back to the congregation and the constant reminder of her grandmother’s absence in front of her, she was trapped between two realities, one that she feared and had eventually came true and the other that she had made the subconscious decision to resent and disregard.  

Everyone’s life (but the living family of a dead family member) goes on, after any funeral. The cards, help, meals and constant condolences stopped too quickly and she was faced with the surreal of the true situation. For weeks afterwards, she found herself wanting to ask her grandmother a random question or to sit and have a smoke with her at the kitchen counter, but the blunt and vicious truth hit her hard every time, leaving her with an emotional and excruciating feeling in her chest. Eventually, she learnt to train and master her mind, to think ahead so that she could trick her emotions and the pain and she could make it to the next day in one piece, even if she was being torn at the seams, slowly and surely. 

Weeks went by, and so did life. She went back to school after the June holidays. She got through every class, with minimal attention, always meeting deadlines but no enthusiasm or hard work was put into anything she did. Her marks started slipping and so did her mind. She was constantly tired and her energy levels dropped. She hardly ate because the pain and the suffering were eating whatever she had left inside her, chewing away as if she could physically feel it in the pit of her stomach. She woke up every morning, in tears and it took immense effort for her to get herself ready, to put on a happy exterior and to come up with new excuses why her face was swollen every morning in register.

Eventually she reached the stage of complete and utter anger, her pain was silenced and something deeper and darker took over her. She started hating every little thing possible, and if she did not have a reason to hate it, she made up an excuse to do so.  This all led to her cutting herself. She didn’t cut too deep, but she cut deep enough to leave visible trails to constantly remind her of what she was being faced with. The stinging sensation of relief every time she did it was like a pressure point that slowly released everything that was being build up. It became routine. She had to wear a jersey to school in summer, to cover the scars up. She could not even attempt to wear a bandage. That would scream out for unwanted attention. Maybe she wanted that though? Maybe she wanted someone to notice her and the constant anguish she was experiencing? She would sit on her bed, with the morbid, sickening rock music she listened to and she would slowly drag the razor blade across her wrist, watching the blood surface. She felt a numb sensation and she would lie back, so that she could grasp this feeling with everything she had and hang onto it for as long as it lasted.  

Her relationship with her mother suffered and she had to deal with her own issues as well as her mother’s way of venting her personal pain. The fighting continued. The screaming and the shouting. The whole house was under a depressing and dark haze, everyone to their own and left to get on with it.

Months after her grandmother had passed, the family had decided they could cope with going through her personal items and slowly get rid of everything that had to go. If it was up to them, they would have left it all in its place and gone on with what was needed to be done. She sat in the lounge, with the television on, the sound of the latest music video filtering the room, while her aunts arrived to help her mother go through all the cupboards and drawers. She decided she did not want to get involved; it was way to close to home for her. It took them the whole morning to go from room to room, the sewing room, to the computer room to her bedroom. Personal items, sewing material and clothing. They put everything in different boxes, with the intention of donating or giving away the things that could not be used again or kept. She lingered around the boxes, with her family too busy to notice. She picked up certain items she remembered from her childhood. Her grandmother’s turquoise night gown, this had always been around as far as she could remember and it reminded her of nights that they would sit together in the lounge and watch a movie or whatever was on the television.  She smelled it, it had her smell and she wasn’t sure if she was ready to let that go. Tears started to swell and she quickly placed it back in the box, shaking off any weakness that was about to appear. On the Kitchen counter was a smaller box. In it were her personal items, such as her perfume, her rosary, her ID book, her bible and an ornament she had never seen before. It was a mermaid. With a rough touch, her tail was badly chipped, the edges sharp. She was an opaque color, with bits of silver paint swaddled in her hair. Her face was blank and bowed, her arms were dropped and she looked sorrowful and vulnerable. For some reason, the mermaid appealed to her in more than one way. She was transfixed. Would anyone notice if it went missing? She contemplated asking her family if they would mind, but that thought quickly escaped her as she subconsciously grabbed it out of the box and headed for her room.

She had placed the ornament on her wall, with the best attempt of hammering in the nail. The perfect spot was over her bed. For a reason unknown to her, it gave her a sense of comfort, as if her grandmother was there with her in some way. She had hoped no one would notice it, this was her secret now and she didn’t want to let go of it. 

Weeks went by, she would glance at it before she went to sleep and she would wake up every morning taking a quick glance at it before she left the house, her sense of comfort for the day and she started to feel like something inside of her was evolving. 

Over a period of time, she found that she had become able to express herself. This came as an unnatural and utter shock, as she was so used to keeping everything inside of her that she was not sure how she would channel or deal with her new found power. She decided to write it all in a diary. She sat down every night, with the mermaid on the wall in full view, (her inspiration) and she would just write. She wrote until her fingers were sore from the skin being rubbed raw from the pen. She put everything else in her mind to the side and she went with it. She stopped cutting herself, assisting the scars to heal in their own time and throwing away their accomplices. She didn’t need that form of mutilation anymore and she made a promise to herself that she would never do it again. She also promised herself that as long as she was writing, she would not look at what she had written, she would leave it and read it one day when she could look back at it all and feel that she was finally at the finish line.  Over the space of a year, she went through six diaries. She kept them hidden away and she told no one. Through writing, she came to the realisation that she needed help and overall she needed someone to talk to. She managed to break the black ribbon tied between herself and her mother and sought professional advice. 

The therapy went on for a year, sessions twice a week. She secretly looked forward to it because she knew her confidant would never repeat what was said, she had the utmost trust in this women and it was her chance to completely break down and express herself, other than the writing, it helped and she started to head in the direction she needed to go. 

She had had a dream. Her grandmother was sitting on her bed, right in front of the mermaid. She was in her turquoise night gown and she sat with a sense of peace and happiness surrounding her. Her smile was warm and loving, as it always was and remembered for. She couldn’t see herself in the dream, it was vague, but her grandmother and the slight haze of turquoise behind her were the prominent visions in the picture. “I love you” were the words her grandmother spoke, “Always remember that. You are my first born grandchild and I will always be looking out for you”. She turned and glanced at the ornament, her head tilting upwards and she turned back. The smile was still held tight on her face and she closed her eyes. She looked like she was at peace, someone who had been suffering and was finally where they longed and needed to be.

She woke up the next morning, tears running down her cheeks. She needed that so badly, it ached from within and she climbed under her duvet and sobbed for endless hours. 

I have the mermaid hanging on my wall to this day. She is among all my photos and memories of my grandmother and my family. She sits there and she reminds of what I have been through and where I still need to be. 

(Written by Gemma-Louise Wright, assessed and critiqued by Karen Jayes) 

The SABC & It's Role In South Africa's Politics (Journalism History Final Essay, May 2011)

The South African Broadcasting Commission is currently South Africa’s state-owned broadcaster. 

They provide the country with eighteen radio stations (AM & FM) and three television broadcasts (SABC 1, 2 & 3). Providing  South Africa’s majority with news, sport and entertainment, the commission has had a history intertwined with South African politics, along with numerous criticisms and accusations of favouritism with the each of the changing political parties. 

During its earlier years of broadcasting in the Apartheid era, the SABC was the mouthpiece for the National Party. The political party used the radio and television channels to keep forced segregation in motion and to suit the white minority. Most of the SABC’s managers at that time, belonged to the secret Afrikaans society, the Broederbond, who pushed for Afrikaner interests. Christian religion was pushed vigorously with church programs airing on a constant basis and censorship was monitored heavily. Music stations were banned (particularly in the 1960’s) from playing famous pop music, such as the Rolling Stones and The Beetles. 

After the unbanning of the ANC and the release of Nelson Mandela in 1994, the National Party released its hold of the SABC, providing the ANC with the stage to take over. Senior members of the ANC created many policies on how the broadcaster should be managed. This led to a debate – Should the SABC broadcast the interests of South Africa or should the SABC be used as a tool for the South African government? 

Cyril Rhamaphosa, the ANC Secretary General gave the following speech in November 1992, regarding the ANC’s unhappiness with the way the SABC was used by the National Party, during apartheid (regarding political gain): “The ANC believes that unquestioning loyalty by a public broadcaster to a ruling party is incompatible with democracy…The ANC is committed to public broadcasting which is independent of the government of the day, and which owes its loyalty not to any party, but to the population as a whole.” (Cyril Rhamaphosa, 1992:1)

Nineteen years later, the tables have turned and many politicians from opposition parties of the ANC believe that the SABC is the main media representative for the ANC, especially in the commission’s area of news broadcasting in Johannesburg. 

In relevance to this criticism, the SABC fell into the hot seat in August 2005, when it failed to broadcast the controversy regarding Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka being publicly humiliated offstage by members of the ANC Youth League, who were passionately showing their support for the then ex-Deputy President, Jacob Zuma. The broadcaster’s rival, Etv, publicly accused the commission for their failure to broadcast the footage to South Africa’s viewership. The Head of news and ex-ANC spokesperson, Snuki Zikalala, returned with the defence that the station’s cameraman was not present at the meeting. This claim led to Etv later releasing footage of the cameraman in fact being present at the public meeting. (In an earlier instance regarding Snuki Zikalala, he interviewed Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe. After the interview was aired, vast comments and accusations were made against him and the commission for sidestepping critical issues and controversial questions, regarding the human right’s violations and the radical land-reform policies, faced by Mugabe. The SABC’s government connections were under a continuous examination and investigation after this occurrence.)

In May 2006, accusations of self-censorship were made against the SABC, regarding a documentary based on Thabo Mbeki. (They had formerly decided not to air the documentary and requested the production company to keep quiet on the matter.) This action led to a chain effect. The public and media groups recognised an apparent trend of self-censorship within the commission and became vocal about it. The International Freedom of Expression Exchange released an alert concerning the SABC’s inclination to ‘self-censorship’(IOL News 2006, FXI Press Release 2006:2)and later in June of that year, journalists from the International Federation of Journalists, made the decision to denounce the cancellation of the Thabo Mbeki documentary, claiming self-censorshipas a prominent motive. 

Along with the above opinions, the SABC has been accused by critics of favouritism towards certain ethnic groups, through their choice of entertainment offered by the SABC stations. 

Throughout its history, the SABC has faced numerous accusations of biased reporting and favouritism to whichever political party has been and is currently in power.  It comes to show just how strong the media’s role has been in a country which still endures racial division and how politics can rule these mediums. 

(Written by Gemma-Louise Wright)

References:

• 1.       The Nudge of Nation Building by Steven Lang, RJR Magazine, September 2008 and Not the Sisulu Report(or how the ANC extended control over the SABC) by James Myburgh(27.03.2006) – ever-fasternews.com

• 2.       IOL News Article – World Journo Body Slams SABC FOR Documentary – Staff Writer, June 19, 2006

•  FXI Press Release: FXI Concerned About “Growing Trend Of Self-Censorship” In The South African Broadcasting Commission – 26 May, 2006

Research:

• www.ifex.org/South_Africa/2006/05/26fxi_concerned_abour_growing_trend/

• www.ever-fasternews.com/index.php?php_action=read_article&article_id=214

• www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/world-journo-body-slams-sabc-for-documentary-1.282165

• Mg.co.za/article/2009-03-10-sabc-cash-problems-under-spotlight

• Mg.co.za/article/2009-03-10-sabc-to-go-before-complaints-commission

• En.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Broadcasting_Corporation

www.bizcommunity/Article/196/17/34939.html

http://www.gauteng.net/attractions/entry/the_south_african_broadcasting_corporation_sabc/

http://www.rjr.ru.ac.za/rjrpdf/rjr_no28/nation_building.pdf

Liam Nugent - 1st Year Film Student @ City Varsity - Student Profile Story (June 2011)

As the morning flow of people bustle onto the busy train carriage, Liam Nugent sits enthusiastically next to me, eager to get started on our interview. He has a smile that never fades and a distinct laugh. He places his hands on his knees and jokes with me in between the interview questions.

Liam is a first year film student at City Varsity. He plans to major in producing and script writing.

“I enjoy my course, but sometimes I feel like I have chosen the wrong one and then something exciting will
happen and it makes it worthwhile.”

Liam was born in a small town called Grey Town in KwaZulu-Natal and he grew up in an area called Berea in
Durban. He currently resides in Cape Town for the duration of his studies.

At the tender age of 22, he already boasts an impressive CV of experience in the film industry.

In 2007, Liam went abroad to South Cardiff, Wales where he started working in theatre for the Stage Daze
Theatre Company.

“I enjoyed working on stage, it is a lot more pressure because your call times are a lot tighter, you are
constantly on the go. It’s live, unlike film.”

After working in theatre for two months, he went on to work for Space Studios as a continuity editor in the
post production field, editing raw footage. He then moved on to BBC Wales, where he assisted with the
castings for productions, dealing with mainly background actors and working on the occasional set.
Afterwards he returned to South Africa and took a gap year, before deciding to enrol at City Varsity for 2011.

Liam wasn’t quite done yet. During his gap year in 2010, he worked on the set of Spud, a film adaption of the
book written by South African author, John van de Ruit. He was offered the position of the production
assistant. It didn’t take long before he was promoted to a casting assistant, where he worked from the set,
Michael House School, in the KwaZulu –Natal Midlands for eight weeks.

“It was stressful, I wasn’t used to the onset hours required and the last-minute mentality but if I could do it all
again, I would. I learnt a lot about the industry during this time.”

Liam also had the opportunity of meeting and working with British star, John Cleese.
“He’s very people friendly. You wouldn’t think he was a star off set. On set, he had to get into character.”

This year, the film students were required to do two shoots a week for the previous six weeks. Liam has had
the opportunity on more than one occasion to produce, direct, edit and take on the position of Director of
Photography.

“From doing these shoots, I have realised that I am a better producer, than I am a director.”

After Liam graduates at City Varsity, he hopes to go into casting, producing or script writing. When asked what influenced him to take these career routes, he replied: “I enjoy interacting with different people. I am good at writing and I am also very organised.”

“Had I not chosen film, I would have wanted to go into performance or journalism.”

“People inspire me. I have met so many different people and the little things about them are what inspire me.”

When asked how he deals with stress, Liam replied: “A hot bath and a cup of tea.”

“I have realised that the creative industry is not for the faint hearted. It’s a high pressure environment, where
a lot is expected of you in a short space of time.”

(Interview and story by Gemma-Louise Wright, edited by Karen Jayes)

Local Shark Safety Initiative Needs Extra Funds To Stay Afloat (June 2011)

The local shark safety initiative, the Shark Spotters are continuously trying to raise extra funds through a series of fundraising events.

‘It makes a big difference to our budget when we have that extra money’ stated Sarah Titley, the Project Manager for the Shark Spotter’s Program.

The fund raising process started last year with a series of live comedy events, titled Comedy Legends in the Valley. With the likes of Mark Sampson and Barry Hilton, the first shows were very successful. The next show is due to take place on the 11th of June, with comedian Mel Miller, followed by another event featuring Peter Dirk-Uys in early July. This month’s show will be their fourth fundraising event.

‘We are left with the budget shortfall that we have to raise every year, so I started doing these fundraisers last year. The upcoming one looks like it will be successful, hopefully we will sell out as well’

Funded by the City of Cape Town and the Save Our Seas Foundation through an operating budget, they receive the bare minimum. Anything extra needed, (has to be funded by the program itself), with the assistance of different equipment sponsorships. They receive funds from various companies but it is not consistent.

‘We do get companies that come in and give us a bit of money every now and then. It’s not permanent funding though.

They are not official primary sponsors, they just give us funding when they can’ she stated.

The Shark Spotters program is Cape Town’s primary shark safety initiative. Their aim is to improve beach safety through a shark warning system and provide emergency assistance in the event of an attack in the Southern Peninsula. New radios were needed this year due to communication problems. With the assistance of the City of Cape Town and the Lifesaving Club, they should be receiving the expensive equipment shortly. The fundraising will help replace the money spent on the new radios.

According to Sarah, the program is running well, despite the budget constraints.

‘We’d also like to expand the program onto other beaches but without the money, there is just no way. A lot of other beaches have said that they are interested as well.’

Monwabisi Sikweyiya, the Field Manager for the Shark Spotters was one of the first original spotters. He has been with the program since it started in 2004. When asked if he thinks the program benefits the community, he replied: ‘Yes, it reassures the people that there is someone watching and the program itself has actually proven that it is the only effective system that we have in place, given the fact that we are now 968 shark sightings since the program began and only one fatality’.

‘We are so short and the management team is so small, to try do fundraising on top of making sure that everything runs properly, is really tough on us. There are lots of opportunities that we can’t reach so if people want to help, that would be great’ stated Sarah.

(Interviews and story by Gemma-Louise Wright, edited by Karen Jayes)

Housing Troubles For Recovering Informal Settlement ( June 2011 - My 2nd News Story)

It’s been nearly three weeks since a fire rapidly spread through the informal settlement,
Masiphumelele, leaving an estimate of 5000 people homeless. With immediate plans to help the
community recover, officials are facing numerous challenges regarding housing.

Wilfred Solomons-Johannes, spokesperson for the Disaster & Risk Management Centre for Cape
Town stated: ‘In terms of the constitution, we cannot refuse to provide assistance, as part of the
humanitarian belief and our constitutional obligation. We will look at alternatives in providing
accommodation’.

The first challenge the department encountered was the rapid growth of an illegal invasion of
squatters on site. This interfered with the assessment of damage, leaving the officials to work on
estimates.

The community was reluctant to evacuate the site and use the necessary relief options offered to
them, in fear of losing their plots and their personal belongings. The Mayor of Cape Town, Dan Plato
attempted to speak to the residents, but they were hesitant to listen. “It’s a very volatile situation.
The people were already rebuilding their shacks. After they have rebuilt them, we can’t break them
down. It’s inhumane’ stated Wilfred.

‘The ultimate in any informal settlement fire is the provision of homes’ he went on to explain, which
has been introduced through a long-term plan currently in effect, known as Housing Plan Phase
Four. This will address the housing needs of the Masiphumelele community, but according to the
spokesperson, some of the residents do not wantto be accountable for the water and rates accounts
that come with owning these houses.

‘There are some people willingly wanting accesses to affordable housing and some don’t actually
want to live like that. They say it’s a decision to be there’.

Gertrude Mhlabeni, a pensioner and resident of Masiphumelele, lost her four-room shack and all of
her possessions in the fire. She is one of the many residents whohave received relief aid from the
department, friends and family, as well as the Anglican Church. Her shack is in the process of being
rebuilt. When asked if she was happy with the way the council has assisted her, she stated: ‘I can’t
say I’m unhappy. They’ve tried to help; there are a lot of us’.

Alderman Felicity Purchase stated that the prevention of fires could not be avoided due to the close
proximity in which the shacks are placed, but as many preventative measures possible are being
implemented.

‘They’ve done an exceptional job. There are problems, it’s never a perfect job, but every time there
is a fire, there are things to improve on.’

‘From every experience, you learn something new’

(Interviews and story by Gemma-Louise Wright, edited by Karen Jayes)