Born To Belong Nowhere

Born to Belong Nowhere is an odyssey that recounts the wanderings of a young African girl who was compelled by an oppressive apartheid regime to leave her country at a fairly young age and travel alone into the unknown continent of Africa. The story sets off on the scenic mountains of the Eastern Cape where a young Xoliswa describes in vivid detail, how the brutal and oppressive laws of the apartheid regime began to shape all aspects of life in South Africa. Parts of the memoir read like a series of cinematic montages that intricately alternates between the rich historical tapestry of South Africa’s past and Xoliswa’s struggles to come to terms with the destabilising practices of a hegemonic administration in an uncertain period where the spectre of death shadowed young black men and women. Of particular interest however, are the spellbinding and heart-wrenching chronicles of her escape from South Africa to Lesotho and her experiences in Nigeria where she spent the bulk of her years in exile.

Born to Belong Nowhere is written with great attention to detail and narrated in a manner that makes it easy to read but it is also pertinent to point out that some of the stories in the book are so humorous that it would be a shame not to share them with a younger generation of South Africans who will not only find value in the book’s historical exposition but also appreciate the fact that it has been recounted by the rank and file of freedom fighters.

About the Author
Xoliswa (Margaret) Skomolo is a retired university teacher, researcher, and community development practitioner with a passion for story-telling and a keen eye for observing different cultural and human behaviours, and these traits are well illustrated in this book. Born and bred in a political family in the era of apartheid, and introduced into the politics of liberation at an early age, she fled South Africa and lived in exile for 28 years across four different African countries.