I

So I finally connected with Tjankie again at Braamfontein Cemetery. 

He had the record of Dad’s cremation (and Frank’s, and Rosemary’s) 

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But in Dad’s burial record there’s no mention of a plaque or columbarium stall,

which Tjankie said there ought to have been, if his remains were put in the wall. 

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Tjankie’s first theory is that Dad’s ashes are lost. That the clerk at the time was a no-good

incompetent - who couldn't record the location in the wall, as he couldn't be bothered to look.

 

When he feels more charitable, Dad’s ashes were scattered in the memorial garden at the cemetery

- which would be consistent with no plaque being recorded in the book. 

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I have a distinct memory of Mom talking about Dad being put in the wall, so it should have been in Tjankie’s book. 

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But after all these years, nothing is reliable. Anyway, it was worth a look. 

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II 

The wall was vandalized not too long ago, then repaired, new columbariums and all. 

In following the trail of Dad’s ashes to Braamfontein Cemetery (it’s small): 

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I found that Enoch Sontonga is buried there and now has a proper monument erected

At Mandela's behest, he was the author of ‘Nkosi Sikelele i’Afrika,’ and died age 32. 

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There are many unmarked black miners' remains buried nearby. And 

in the paupers' section unmarked graves of white miners killed in the Strike of 1922;

The graves of the dreaded Foster gang, killed in a shootout with police in 1914;

There are 71 victims of a dynamite explosion in 1896; 

There are Anglo Boer War Graves. 

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There are two passive resistance victims who had been imprisoned after resisting with

Gandhi, that “forced Generals Botha and Smuts to negotiate a settlement for the Indian

community,” and whom Gandhi declared heroes: A 16-year old girl and a swami; 

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Also the grave of Mohammed Renzi Bey, general consul to the Ottoman Empire;

Jews, Muslims, the grave of a Roman Catholic bishop - behind a Hindu pyre,

(The former surrounded by an array of nuns and friars). 

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Perhaps the most touching of all for me was learning of a grave in the 

“very small Chinese laborers' burial section,” 

of a young man who unwittingly brought shame on the Chinese community that was protesting

racial categorization: 

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“In the small Chinese burial ground lies Chow Kwai-For, 

who registered under racial registration law, 

unaware of the protest in the Chinese activist corps.” 

When he saw what he’d done, he killed himself, age 24. 

His grave stands with his letter of apology (in Chinese) 

engraved on his headstone, under the fever trees.” 

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Tjankie hawked and he spat and he took off his hat, 

and said ‘Ag, what a sad thing to see.’ 

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Dad’s ashes are in illustrious - if afflicted - company.