Earlier this month, the South African blogosphere lost a blogger, writer, artist and poet, Busisiwe Sigasa (25). She started her blog, My Realities, at the end of last year with the help of Sokari Ekine.
Busisiwe, whose name means “the Blessed One” in Zulu, was also known as Latifah. She was born in Soweto, South Africa. After finishing high school, Busisiwe obtained a diploma in computers. She also studied Ceramic Design.
According to Sokari, Busisiwe was hoping to become a professional photographer/photojournalist:
Despite much hardship and disadvantage, Latifah is determined to attain her dream of becomming a photographer/photo journalist and hopefully she will soon be able to publish some of her photos on her blog. It will not be easy due to cost of internet access but I believe she will do her best.
Busisiwe went public about her HIV positive status in 2006, which resulted from a rape incident. She encouraged others to do the same. South Africa has one of the most severe AIDS epidemics in the world and some people have dubbed it the “rape capital” of the word.
She posted poems on her blog about her experience as a person living with HIV, her belief in God and the difficulty of being a lesbian in South Africa.
The Fact Remains
- By Busisiwe
The fact remains….
I’m not looking for sympathy or feeling sorry things happened this way
Nothing anyone can say will change anything because
The fact remains….
I am now counted in the statiastics because
The fact remains….
Dont tell me i should have never allowed my story to be published
because….The fact remains….
You dont know how i feel-no one does and the
The fact remains….
Dont tell me what people might say or think because
The fact remains….
Its not going to change anything
Dont ask ask me who was my rapist because it makes me mad
But mad as i can be and for everyone’s sake and my own
Life goes on and still
The fact remains….thatI AM INFECTED!!!
This week some Bahraini bloggers took part in an evening regarding the role of blogging in cultural development, and the literary aspect of online writing in particular. Hisham Khalifa has posted his introduction to the evening:
Culture is not created by governments, kings, queens or presidents. It’s not created by corporations either. Culture is you and me. And in today’s world of fleeting electrons, culture is not about ceremony, there’s no need to speak or wax eloquent as was done in days past in order to define ourselves, or to gather traditions of a pedantic nature. All we need is a keyboard and a willingness to share our experiences to make them part of our culture. Be it in the arts, literature or the humanities in general, blogging enables each and everyone of us to contribute in an almost instant way to the cultural development of our own peoples.
Continuing in a cultural vein, aMaL is deeply disappointed with a concert given by the renowned Bahraini oud player and singer Khalid Al Shaikh, but makes some allowances: (more…)
Ishtiba on Mauritian soccer following their recent loss agains Sudan, “So much frustration among Mauritian supporters today …but 1 thing that many persons dont understand is that : how can we get good /quality football, how can “we deliver the goods” when there is no effective structure put in place to assure that we get some good players with a minimum of intelligence! So that they can use their brains when playing n not just do anything with a ball when u r a pitch!!”
Andrew Heavens blog has been blocked in Ethiopia: Surprise, surprise…meskelsquare.com is now out of sight here. Why would they block a blog which publishes stories about Miscalls and Kenyan web watchdogs? Ahunis enezih sewotch cherkavhewin tilew abedu
Of course, blogs on blogspot.com have disappeared once again.
Dili-gence describes the campaigning for the upcoming presidential elections in East Timor.
Details are Sketchy has a post on a reporter from Sexerati.com visiting Cambodia as a part of her coverage for a video podcast on sex in South East Asia.
Mungkol in Cambodia says blocking of mobile SMS during the elections is funny and unreasonable.
Publiuspundit has a post on pro-democracy protest in Thailand and the military appointed prime minister's reluctance to declare a state of emergency in Thailand.
A flower market in photographs at Trivial Matters. “A kaleidoscope for your senses. Dadar Phulgalli [flower-lane] takes your traditional Bombay smells of sweat, toil, paint, iron and turns them into the smell of marigolds.. Wipe your brow and you find petals in addition to sweat.”
Indian Muslims on the shariah, law, state and culture. “I firmly believe that in this present day world shariah laws cannot be enforced on people because Muslim society in general has diverted away from religion. Concepts which invite death punishment in Islam are now acceptable in many cultures, like live in relationships and extra marital affairs.”
Light Within on the history of Rawalpindi. “The bustling city of Rawalpindi has a lot more to offer than a traffic mess, broken roads and haze-filled atmosphere. The city’s history spreads over several millennia. Archaeologists believe that a distinct culture flourished on this plateau even 3,000 years ago.”