ANTI-APARTHEID ACTIVIST
Born in Boksburg on the outskirts of Johannesburg, Adelaide grew up in Barberton, South Africa. It was a very rural upbringing. Her family were committed Christians of Indian origin. They were traditional and very conservative.
Her father was Manikum Ramiah Changelryan, who was a gold miner – an unusual occupation for the Indian community. Her mother was Salome Sebastian, a homemaker, who died when Adelaide was just fifteen.
Adelaide went to the local Indian high school and then trained to be a nurse in Barberton Hospital, where she worked for a few years before transferring to Johannesburg.
Whilst working at the hospital, Adelaide started a petition, protesting about the bullying of a black nurse by a junior white nurse.
Adelaide was hauled before the hospital Superintendent and questioned at length. She refused to withdraw her complaint and threatened a full walk out of the nursing staff. The white nurse was ultimately dismissed.
In 1957, Adelaide met Paul Joseph – and her life changed.
She had always felt aggrieved by the unfairness of the apartheid system but had never been politically active until she met Paul.
He was a prominent member of the Transvaal Indian Congress, and also of the South African Communist Party. Paul had just been arrested when he met Adelaide and was out on bail.
Their first ‘date’ was when Paul invited Adelaide to his trial at the Drill Hall. He was accused of ‘high treason’ alongside 155 other defendants including Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu.
Luckily, Paul was released and the couple married soon afterwards. By now, Adelaide was becoming increasingly politically active. She joined the South African Federation of Women and became a close friend of Winnie Mandela, Nelson’s wife.
Paul and Adelaide used to ride buses, deliberately sitting on ‘Whites Only’ seats. More than once they were threatened with arrest.
Life was hard. They had twins, a boy called Anand, and a girl called Zoya. Anand was disabled with brain damage caused by forceps being used at his birth. He needed continuous care.
Two more girls followed, Nadia and Tanya. Paul was rarely at home, often away on ‘secret’ missions. He was regularly arrested, beaten up, or even imprisoned.
In 1961, the Sharpeville massacre took place. This prompted the ANC (African National Congress) to create an armed wing known as ‘Umkhonto we Sizwe’ (Spear of the Nation). Paul was instrumental in starting it – which made him a wanted man with the South African authorities.
After spending another spell in prison, Paul was put under continual house arrest. Their home was just a shack in a black township, with extremely insanitary conditions.
In 1965, Adelaide took Anand for specialist treatment to a clinic in East Germany. The trip was scheduled for three weeks. She did not realise it would be twenty-five years before she was able to return to South Africa.
Whilst in East Germany, she was contacted by the ANC. Paul had been arrested again and was being tortured. The ANC suggested, for her safety, that she move to London.
Adelaide was joined there a few months later, by her three daughters. The ANC had managed to smuggle them out of South Africa.
The following year, they were joined by Paul, who had managed to escape by fleeing over the border into Botswana.
The family applied for political asylum in Great Britain and were sponsored by both the local Liberal MP and Amnesty International.
They lived in Notting Hill, moving eventually to Mill Hill East. There, Adelaide set up her own catering company. She and Paul continued to campaign for a free South Africa, joining the London branch of the ANC.
Anand died in 1970.
Adelaide maintained correspondence with Winnie Mandela (whose husband Nelson was still in prison). Winnie’s two daughters Zenani and Zindzi considered Adelaide as their aunt. They regularly came to London for their holidays, staying with the Joseph family.
In the summer of 1988, their daughter Nadia took part in the Nelson Mandela freedom march from Glasgow to London. It culminated in a rally at Hyde Park where Archbishop Desmond Tutu was the keynote speaker.
In 1990, after the ban on the ANC was lifted, Adelaide returned to South Africa, but only for a short stay. She considered her home was now in London.
When Nelson Mandela was free, he came to London with his wife Winnie, and they visited Adelaide and Paul.
Adelaide died after a short illness.
She is survived by Paul and their three daughters.
After her death, Paul donated their archive to the University of London. This includes photographs, diaries, official documents and personal letters – including some from Nelson Mandela himself.
The University of London was chosen because their daughter Tanya, attained her Masters degree there, studying South African History.
Nadia Joseph said, “As a family we feel no monetary figure should ever be attached to their archive. Education is the key to freedom – both physical and spiritual.”
The University of London hosted Adelaide’s memorial service.
RIP – Resisting Intense Prejudice
