A deep dive into the jarring situation in South Africa, Julian Jansen puts forth a mind provoking question in his latest book, Seuns Sonder Pa’s.
Cape Town, South Africa (29 June 2021) – Veteran journalist Julian Jansen’s role as an investigative reporter has been shaped by a career that includes senior writer at Rapport, spokesman for the Western Cape Department of Community Safety, a teacher, and author of the thought-provoking book, The De Zalze Murders: The Story Behind the Brutal Axe Attack.
As his multitude of fans will concur, Jansen is a deeply intriguing man. So, meeting him today to chat about his new book, Seuns Sonder Pa’s, makes this a memorable experience.
As we walked down the streets of Strand, outside Cape Town, to meet this fascinating author, we were immersed in our own thoughts about his hard-hitting first book, The De Zalze Murders – a true crime chronicle that relayed the dreadful story behind the brutal axe murders which rocked the student town of Stellenbosch a few years ago.
Jansen had been the first reporter on the scene at the time of the horrible Van Breda murders at the De Zalze golf estate. The impact of this spurred him on to share this story, which was the primary purpose behind his first book. What came to mind was knowing that Jansen had also experienced the pain of losing a loved one – the passing of his wife.
We had reached his door by now. After a few knocks, the author came out clad in sweatpants and a sleek top. It is noteworthy to mention that he is probably the only person we’ve ever seen who looks absolutely classy in sweatpants. His loyal Jack Russel, Jackie, was in labour. After he helped Jackie to give birth to six puppies, I bought a copy of his second book, Seuns Sonder Pa’s.
An engaging conversationalist, Jansen shared that he had done major statistical research, and this work subsequently sheds light on the percentage of children in South Africa who grow up without a father. His intent is to look for a solution to this sociological problem.
Being a South African himself, he spliced his own story into those of the kids in his book who lacked a sense of belonging due to their harsh circumstances. As such, his writing is also a contemplation of how he and his brothers managed to escape their destiny of becoming gangsters.
One of the author’s most notable highlights is about single mom Ma Leen (Magdaleen Adams), from Heidelberg in the Southern Cape. Her husband passed away early and she had to care for their five daughters and a son. But through faith, wisdom and foresight, Ma Leen ensured that her offspring would not suffer from poverty, and she worked hard doing needlework and ironing to secure an income and helped with their homework so that they could get a good education. With a monthly government grant of just R36 for each child, she made ends meet. But sometimes, there was no food in the house, and they all had to eat brown sugar on bread. For 20 years, the family lived in a two-roomed house in a neighbourhood called “Donkey Camp”. To overcome their limiting circumstances, her motto remained: “The world owes us nothing”, and her children went on to become teachers, nurses and principals.
Ma Leen was small in stature, but for Jansen, she became the epitome of resilience and triumphed over disadvantages and obstacles in her path. His observation is that South Africa needs more mothers of this ilk.
Pondering the profundities of all Jansen’s reflections, if asked, we would say that the book is definitely a ‘must read’. And undoubtedly, it is.
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