A World Apart

- Molly, I have to go. - Where are you going?

Some place.

- When will you be coming back? - I don't know.

Few weeks, maybe a month.

- Are you going out of the country? - Molly, enough.

It's my work.

You know I can't talk about it. You'll hear from me. I promise.

I love you very much.

Be cheerful, my honey.

Dad.

- Wish me luck. - Yes, good luck.

Your sixth position, don't forget.

See you next week. Thank you, girls. Molly, Yvonne, come.

There's my mom. Come on.

- Come on. - I'm going to my mother's office.

- Get in, I'll drop you there. -It's okay. It's only around the corner.

You can't walk on your own. Come on, get in.

Stop it, Yvonne. You make him crazy.

Don't move him! Call an ambulance.

- Why don't we take him? - No, I don't want to get involved.

- Hello, Molly. - Hello.

- Hello, Mom. - Hello, darling.

- Hello, Molly. How's school? - Okay, thank you.

Fiona, ready.

"Thousands of Africans are being kidnapped...

"shanghaied away from their towns and their families...

"to do enforced labor on the farms." Full stop.

"South Africa will not have farm workers with a love and knowledge of the land...

"until they are ensured of a living wage...

"education, and above all...

"the freedom to enjoy the fullness of life." Full stop.

New paragraph. "The farm-labor scandal brings to the fore...

"the worst features of the apartheid cheap-labor state...

"and gives them a new and more hideous form."

That's it. Leave three columns for the picture. Bye.

Mom, can we go now?

In a minute. I won't be long.

The South African government today...

announced the first arrests under the 90-Day Detention Act.

The act confers power on the security forces...

to detain people without trial for up to 90 days for interrogation...

and follows in the wake of the increased underground activity...

by the banned African National Congress.

Opponents of the government fear that the new law will provide further freedom...

to the Security Police to imprison and harass people who oppose apartheid.

Under an agreement between Washington and Moscow...

That's it.

Molly, let's go.

Can you drop them off at the house this afternoon?

Oh, Jesus Christ, Diana.

No, I promised the kids. Marge has made arrangements.

You promised that report days ago. Now I have to work on it over the weekend.

- Yeah? - Don't make me feel bad about this, Harold.

See you later, Saeeda.

You promised we'd get the lace today.

Darling, I may have done, but there's no time.

I'll drop you off at the store and meet you at the hairdresser.

Mom, I need you to help me. The competition's on Tuesday.

Then you'll have to wait. I'll treat you to a hairdo. How about that?

Mom, there was an accident on the corner of Anderson Street today.

It was a Black man, a Black man on a bicycle.

Damn, I've left something behind. Here.

I'll meet you at the car.

I went to the hairdresser. Do you like it?

All right, Molly.

- Granny, guess what? - What?

We've got a letter from Daddy.

Thank you, Milius. There are some things in the back.

What did Daddy have to say in his letter?

"...by the swimming pool.

-"Molly, good luck." - Kept all the lovely tarts for Gran.

"Jude, those were excellent exam marks."

The dustbins were in the way. Why do you always keep them in that place?

I've got some biscuits and some oranges in the car.

You brought us a sack last week. You know we have oranges on the tree.

Hello, darling. That looks nice.

- Hello, darling. - Hello, Nana.

You shouldn't hang about with wet hair, Molly, you'll get pneumonia.

Is he well? ls there news?

Mom, I'm going to be out of town next Wednesday. Can you collect the kids?

- But, Mom, I've got riding on Wednesday. - I've made plans.

- I'll have to cancel them. - I'll find someone else.

It's okay, Diana. It's only an exhibition opening.

I can go on another day.

If you've made plans, then it doesn't matter now.

My plans aren't important, Diana. I'll do it.

- Mom, the letter. - Come, Gran.

- When's he coming back? - Who?

- Daddy. - I don't know.

He doesn't know.

But when do you think?

A week, eleven days, at the end of the month.

I don't know. Neither does he.

- I miss him. - So do I.

He misses us, as well. You know that.

What do you think? How do I look?

You look beautiful.

- Bye-bye, darling. - Bye.

- George. - Go away.

- What happened? - Police at the back.

The wealth of the Reef gold mines lies not in the richness of the strike...

but in the low costs of production...

kept down by the abundance of cheap labor.

Note to myself to check the suppressed 1960 Mines Commission Report.

The majority of workers are migrants...

a system responsible for the most blatant exploitation...

of the largest single labor force in South Africa.

I think I should elaborate on the disastrous social effects.

When the door is closed, you knock. You know that.

What are you doing?

I'm working. I don't want to be interrupted.

- Go have your breakfast. -ls that a hiding place?

Yes.

And you must keep it a secret. Do you understand?

Look at me. Do you understand?

- What do you keep in there? - Molly, that's enough.

What do you want?

One, two, three, four...

five, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, four.

There's some men over there.

- Let's do it again. - But there's men over there.

Get back.

I'm Solomon Mabusa. This is Sipho Dlamini.

- I'm Elsie's brother. - Go fetch her.

- Are you the one who's been in jug? - Yes.

- Come on, Molly. Let's do it again. - In a minute.

Come in the house.

Solomon's here.

Oh, my brother.

All right.

- Come. -ls she here?

- Yes, she's here. - We need to see her.

- We can-- - I'll take you.

Straight down the end.

You dropped something.

Beautiful.

Black for the people. Green for the land. Yellow for the gold.

- Sorry we didn't phone. - That's fine. Come in.

We have decided to give you a new contact.

Will they get in touch with me in the usual way?

- No, something went wrong. - Molly, come on.

We're to get a new procedure.

To boys.

Okay.

Get rid of your drinks.

Quickly.

May I see your warrant?

This is a warrant for the arrest of Gus Roth.

He's not here.

I'm surprised, Mrs. Roth. You're having a party without him.

It's her birthday.

We'll just take a look around.

I don't need a warrant, Mrs. Roth...

to charge you under Section 94 of the Prohibition of intoxicating Liquor Act...

which prohibits the supply of alcoholic beverages to Blacks.

Do you see anyone here with a drink?

We want the names of everybody here.

Why does he want our names? ls he going to take mine, too?

No, we're not old enough.

- Who did that? - Who did what, Abelson?

"Who did what, Abelson?"

Why doesn't your father come back, Molly, and face his punishment like a man?

- You don't know what you're talking about. - Everyone knows he's a communist traitor.

Ivoetsak, you weren't even born here!

I swear, if I get my hands on you...

Do you have anything to say?

That's all then.

Molly, will you stay behind?

Is everything all right at home?

- Yes, ma'am. - Have you heard from your father?

No, ma'am.

All right, child. You may go.

-It was windy yesterday. - Stop that.

- You get all kinds of diseases from animals. - What diseases?

- Leprosy, polio, scabies, rheumatism. - If you say it, Jude...

I will kill you.

- Hi, Diana. Can we talk? - Yes, of course.

Someone's been talking. We think we know--

How are you, Harold?

You're very immature at times, child!

Who was it, Mom?

- Who was what, Molly? - Who's been talking?

Nobody.

- What did Harold say? - Nothing.

The headmistress asked me questions about Daddy today.

What questions?

- What did she say? - Nothing.

This is Nelson. This is Walter.

This is Albertina, and this is Lilian.

This one is Lilian.

The little one is Albertina.

Are you sad?

Yes, I'm sad.

- Mom, where are you going? - To the township. There's a bus protest.

- Can I come? -It's 5:30 in the morning. You've got school.

Please, Mom, let me come with, please.

All right, go put on your uniform. Hurry.

Out of the way, man.

Over the Royals that obscure Alexandra Township...