A Moment of Silence for South African Internationalist David Hemson

A Moment Of Silence For South African Interationalist David Hemson

A moment of silence to remember David, one of the greatest of South Africa's labour movement activist-scholar-activists, who passed on late last night. His final week was peaceful, his family tells us. He has left us, age 80, after a stroke in July 2024 and then a move to the Glenwood neighbourhood of Durban.

"Durban docks are paralysed" screamed the main local Sunday paper in 1973, thanks partly to how a young labour organiser, David, could get in and out of the harbour and spread the message of solidarity.

That story, and many others, he explained so much, so well, in youtube interviews you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo4P7CL7vY8&pp=ygUOImRhdmlkIGhlbXNvbiI%3D andhttps://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22daid+hemson%22

The term 'racial capitalism' comes from debates within the ANC in the mid-1970s, which were so intense that the small Marxist Workers Tendency was chucked out - thanks partly to the persuasive nature of this analysis with co-author Martin Legassick:https://sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/archive_files/Foreign%20Investment%20by%20%20Martin%20Legassick%20&%20Dave%20Hemson.pdf


David was extremely eloquent in explaining this great old text, as our UJ sociology masters students who witnessed him as a Social Theory guest lecturer in 2022-23, can testify.

Dating to 1979 with some of the same themes, David's 760pp. Warwick Univ sociology PhD thesis can be downloaded here:https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/55808/1/WRAP_thesis_Hemson_1979.pdf

In 2012, an auto-biographical interview was done by some students seeking 'profiles in courage' material at the University of Chicago; see below. But many more ways of remembering David and his legacy remain. One example is Zwelinzima Vavi's statement from the SA Federation of Trade Unions, first.

Hamba kahle, comrade Dave.


Interview with David Hemson by ROAPE's Peter Dwyer on the 1973 Durban strikes (Part 1).
11 months ago

ROAPE Online
In the first part of this interview, David Hemson talks about the wave of mass strikes of 1973 in Durban, South Africa. As a major ...

David Hemson in conversation with ROAPE's Peter Dwyer (Part 2)
11 months ago

ROAPE Online
In the second part of this interview, David Hemson talks about the human wave that arose from the depths of the apartheid ...

1973 Durban Strikes in conversation with David Hemson
2 years ago

1860 Heritage Centre
In Celebration of a Common Society Programme: 14h00 start – 90 mins 1. Welcome – Dr Reddy – Chair of Historical Society 2.

S. Africa Nat Dockers Strike Of Transnet With RTUSA JV Dube, David Hemson & Namibia Workers Struggle
3 years ago
laborvideo
A South African national dock workers strike against the State port operator Transnet has began on October 10, 2022. JV Dube ...

The Struggle Against Apartheid In SA, Namibia & The Working Class Today With David Hemson
4 years ago

laborvideo
David Hemson who was a union organizer and researcher in South Africa and Namibia talks about the struggle against apartheid ...
Introduction | Working with dockers in Durban | Steve Biko | David Hemson | Organisation of unions | The character of the ANC | Society is not moving forward | Privatisation | Deepening Democracy | Socialism In South Africa | Contract Labour | Namibia | China in Africa

OCFLWC David Hemson & Nigel Carter 14 11 2020 Zoom Meeting
4 years ago

Oxford City Living Wage Campaign
OCFLWC David Hemson & Nigel Carter 14 11 2020 Zoom Meeting OCLWC Zoom Meeting "Organise or be Divided" The Situation ...

David hemson, May day event in London
6 years ago
Bakh Pir
David Hemson worker activist from South Africa speaking at the May Day event org

... [many more]

SA Federation of Trade Unions

SAFTU SENDS CONDOLENCES ON THE PASSING OF COMRADE DAVID HEMSON – A LIFELONG FIGHTER FOR WORKERS’ POWER

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) has learned with deep sadness of the passing this morning of Comrade David Hemson. We send our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, comrades and all who walked the long road of struggle with him.

Comrade Hemson was a rare figure: a scholar, a militant, and an organiser whose entire life was dedicated to the self-emancipation of the working class. From his early activism in the 1970s as part of the Durban Wages Commission and the General Factory Workers Benefit Fund, to his frontline organising in the historic wage strikes of 1973, he consistently stood with those who had the least power and the greatest need.

Forced into exile by the apartheid regime, he continued the struggle from abroad and deepened it through rigorous research on migrant labour, dock workers, and the anatomy of class exploitation in South Africa. His writing and scholarship were never detached. They were weapons in the battle of ideas, always anchored in the daily realities of workers, the poor, and the dispossessed.
Even in the democratic era he refused to retreat into comfort. He exposed the failures of neoliberalism, the betrayal of working-class hopes, and the ongoing suffering caused by collapsing public services, privatisation, and corruption. He insisted that no society can be free if the working class remains exploited, divided and marginalised.

SAFTU salutes Comrade Hemson because he lived his politics.

He was part of the generation that reignited worker organisation in the 1970s, and his fingerprints remain on every advance made by the modern labour movement.
As we mourn, we also commit.

SAFTU dedicates itself to carrying forward his legacy through:

* rebuilding worker power at the shopfloor

* fighting against austerity, privatisation and the capture of the state

* defending public services and the rights of the poor

* strengthening worker education, class consciousness and socialist alternatives

* building unity among workers, communities and the unemployed

The most fitting tribute we can offer is to continue the work he lived and sacrificed for: the creation of a South Africa where workers are organised, powerful, and able to shape their own future.
May Comrade David Hemson rest in power.

His ideas and his courage will continue to guide us.

A Statement was issued on behalf of SAFTU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi For media inquiries, contact the National Spokesperson at Newton Masuku at: Newton [at] saftu.org.za 0661682157

***

David Hemson

The interview1 was conducted in a team room at NORC at the University of Chicago on April 3, 2012 at 11:18am. The interviewers are Basema Maki and Daniel Lee, students of the George Washington University’s Certificate program who were taking the survey management (course 6238). The format of this chapter is modeled from the book Profiles of Courage2, by John F. Kennedy. The purpose of this project is to find individuals that demonstrate leadership in their fields and specifically during a moment of “crisis” in their life.

Dr. David Hemson grew up in a generation of change. Coincidentally, Dr. Hemson birthday is the same as another South African hero, Nelson Mandela. Growing up in privileged circumstances, he realized that others around him were not as lucky. He was determined to make a difference and bring equality into South Africa, so that his fellow man can experience the same rights as he has been fortunate to enjoy. Dr. Hemson’s leadership was a catalyst to help South Africa bring apartheid to an end.

In South Africa, 1948, apartheid was the official legislation for racial segregation that lasted until 1994. Apartheid brought force removal3 and devastation to African families. Even before then, racial segregation was present since the colonial times. The life of a non-white South African was oppressed. Similar to the civil right movement in the United States, there were leaders that fought for the rights of other. Dr. David Hemson is one of them.

David Hemson, a white man was born on July 18, 1945; three years before apartheid was an official legislation. Born in his hometown of Durban, South Africa as a British4 and South African citizen, he quotes an ideal childhood. He was well off and had all the necessities, but still not able to buy a soda to his leisure. He was he was born into an upper-middle class family in the suburb. Rarely venturing to town, he was sheltered from the reality of what was really going on in his homeland. David grew up in a very strict Christian household. This brought great aid in shaping his morals and ideals.

“When I grew up, I was quite oblivious to what was happening out there. This was in the late 1940’s and my main recollections were an ideal childhood growing up, far away suburbia and I didn’t go in to town very much. I was spending time with African children playing in pools and streams and having an (African) older man mentor me.”

David fondly remembers the old African man that helped raised him. That man was a gentle and caring man that treated David as his own, teaching him to use a knife and climb trees. David vividly recalls his mother telling him,

“He (African mentor) used to take the knife when I was playing (with the dangerous sharp knife), he would point to a bird flying to the trees and would gently remove the knife from my hand. I wouldn’t notice because I was looking at something else. He knew marvelously how to handle a child. I don’t remember that, but I remember how good he was.”

Although the blacks in South Africa were under oppression, white families trusted them as caretakers of their children. The caretakers would raise the white children as their own, and never took any bitterness of the whites towards them.

I ask David if his mentor helped shaped him into the man he is today and his response was “a lot coming it in it because he showed enormous respect for me”, and along with his strict Christian upbringing. David’s advice about life is that it is contradictory, more on that later. When asked whether he ever imagined himself to be in a leadership role, he gave a humble answer “no, not at all. Then I found out the world was a nasty place, particularly for African people. Then I realized something had to be done about it.” He wanted to grow up to be a printer of magazines like his neighbor. Good thing he did not or else this interview would never have taken place.

One experience that was an eye opener for David was when he was drafted for training for the army. At that time, all young white males were required to register for the army, but he recalls being one of the few that was actually drafted in his school. Even though all the boys were treated ruthlessly, David pointed out that it toughen him up and taught him a lot. He took the bad and molded it into a learning experience. One night in the barracks there was a lot of commotion going on. All of these noise and lights, like thunder and lighting. All of the men were shouting “War! War!!” That was when David realized that there was something going on in the country; it seems like the blacks were ready to wage war against the white power.

After the army, David was given an opportunity to take part of a foreign exchange program in the United States, located in a small town of Minnesota. The program was successful in preparing students to become accustomed to the American Society. Shortly before his flight to the U.S., a man named Dennis Goldberg was expected to give an exposition on art. The day before his presentation, it was announced that he would not be making an appearance. David then discovered that Dennis Goldberg was arrested for high treason and conducting secret meetings with Nelson Mandela. The night in heading to the airport to fly to America,

“…we were stopped about three times. The torch shined right in our faces to see who we were. It was such a police state and we were just terrified. I thought there was going to be a revolution to take over. So that shook me up quite a bit, I wouldn’t say I was scared, it wasn’t that. You just realize that South Africa was gonna go through a big crisis.”

Deep down, David knew that there was something wrong in the world he was living in. This started as a young boy. He knew little about it but eventually started finding out more and more. He would talk to the African workers that worked for his father and found out they were being paid horrible wages. The experience of going to the United States in 1963-64 helped him realize that there was a big problem in South Africa.

Going to a small town of in Minnesota really gave David a better sense of what was happening in his homeland. He was able to see the problem from a different perspective and spent a lot of time to reading up on the African National Congress (ANC). By the time he got back to South Africa, he had greater knowledge about everything that was going on. David told me he “knew the way people were being treated was completely wrong, that will have to change. I was a happy boy, but I was part of a generation that was going to change everything. I have to do that.”

David’s activist career began as a student, mainly as an editor writing about apartheid and criticizing the government. Eventually he ended up with joining the National Student Association of South Africa, an anti-apartheid group. However that did not last long, because that group split and David joined other groups. During that time David finished his academic career and completed his honors. All of his actions failed to cause a revolution, because he was mainly focusing on the white student movement.

David had another idea,

“I looked towards going back to what I learned as a boy, which was to go an approach ordinary black people. Instead of trying to mobilize whites, which were a privilege group. I tried to mobilize black people. I was influenced by black people coming to me and saying “look at my wages”. This is terrible, so let’s do something about it.”

Going back to the University where he was a student, He was approached by many black workers about the minuscule wages they were earning. One incident was when a colleague5 of his approached him in need of another job. The pay he was receiving was not enough to survive off of. David kindly declined his request and said, “let’s see how we can work together and fight to see how we can make it a better job.” With that said, David then examined the wages and cost of living using social research and poverty studies to determine fair wages for the people to live off of. In the end, the University gave out considerable wage increase to their black employees.

When that succeeded, David was motivated and decided to take the movement off campus. Since black people held most of the shipping, transport, and manufacturing jobs in South Africa, David thought that if there were mass trade union strikes, apartheid will fall within a year or so. With that idea, David and others started organizing strikes for the union. Sure enough, within a year mass strikes were the effects. Sadly, that did not end apartheid, but it became much more flexible, and blacks started getting more rights.

David’s student activist career did not last long. After six months he received a banishing order or a “prohibition order” which is similar to house arrest. This order meant that he was not to write to or meet with more than one person at a time, and he must be home during certain times. All of this was taking a toll on his mother. Since she was a very conservative Christian, she was not particularly on his side. Eventually, David started meeting other people and was later on exiled from South Africa. Without letting the situation bring him down, he decided to make the best of his time away and began to focus back on his academic career. He went to Britain and received his doctorate in sociology at the University of Warwick.

While in exile, it was a period of social activism in David’s life. Even in exile, David was still fighting for social improvements in South Africa. At that time in Britain there were companies that were invested in South Africa. You would assume that the workers would visit and see what was happening, but workers were not able to because they were boycotting. He argued,

“… you are boycotting the people not the regime and that caused a big crisis in the ANC. They made denounce that I was an upstart and young boy (I was 30 then) that didn’t know anything, or I was too young to understand. But I felt I was right. I was used to being a minority in South Africa, a white liberal radical, I was in exiled. I was part of the ANC but also not. They had some wrong ideas.”

Although the government of South Africa criticized David’s approach, saying he is young child who does not understand, there were also many people that agreed with him. I asked David since the civil rights movement in America was around the period of David’s activist career, whether he took any similar ideas or inspiration from that.

“Yea. The embassy use to distribute a sort of vinyl of the “I have a dream” speech and I remember listening to that many times, and use get groups of people together and listen to that… So people all knew it was a high benchmark.”

America was influential to the movement in South Africa, but at the same time they were moving ahead of South Africa because there were changes in civil rights in America.

Another source of inspiration to the anti-apartheid movement was the labor movement in Britain. I asked him how that was influential. David explained that,

“…ordinary people inside a big union would be taken care of.

That was interesting and it was a new idea because it means you can have democratic forms of organizations that wouldn’t be bureaucratic. That was our dream to live up too, to have more decentralized democracy.”

The influence of the civil rights movement and the labor party helped David fight for a better South Africa.

There were two ways of fighting apartheid in South Africa; one was internal resistance, which the ANC (African National Congress) did not see as a problem. The other was outright war, or mobilization or guerrilla warfare, to liberate the blacks.

However, David did not see the latter option as appropriate. David saw the potential or internal resistance.

“We looked toward mass mobilization from the unions and community mobilizations and it took place about 15 years after

the idea. So it took place in 1986 is when it really took off. So when it took off in 1986 it was really only four years before apartheid really fell to its knees… So it crumbled from within, which the original idea.”

Throughout South Africa, there were many popular uprising “and internal resistance,” but the government always shut it down and banned the anti-apartheid leaders. As more uprisings started, the government became more repressive and fought back with violence.

The civil rights movement ended much earlier in the United States than apartheid did in South Africa. I asked David how he felt about this, whether he felt accomplished or that his actions directly affected it. He simply responded, “South Africa? Yeah, feel we did.” However that is far from the end of the story.

David did not stay in Britain the entire time of his exile. He mentioned he briefly went to Tanzania to teach history, and then doing the same in Zimbabwe. But the decision of going to Zimbabwe was political so he can be could be in touch easier with South Africa, developing contacts and relations there.

Going to Zimbabwe turned out to be very life changing for David. He was sentenced for three months to a maximum security prison for criticizing the president.

There they threatened to send him back to South Africa, which he thought would be a great idea.

“I spent three months in maximum security. Which was quite a privilege because I met some really marvelous people there and I am very proud to say that the school I started there (I started in March 1985) is still functioning. It was the only school started in maximum security in Zimbabwe. I heard from people it’s still going and I can’t believe it. But it was terrible there because they didn’t even have education for people.”

Even though David was placed in a bad situation, he managed to see the light as the end of the tunnel. To him, helping his fellow man was important. Seeing how there was no education or anything for the inmates, starting a school that is still running today is a big accomplishment.

While it was important fight for his beliefs and career is important, David gave us some advice,

“It was difficult because in your career there is always a personal down and I didn’t understand because I was a rebel. That also puts an enormous strain on your family generally, like personal relations to the wife and so forth. To me that was quite normal but maybe it wasn’t seen like that once you have children. You have to think twice going in and out of prison.”

I would not say he sounded regretful of his decisions that landed him in jail, but now looking back on it he tells us that we should be a bit more considerate. Taking risks is a characteristic of a leader, something that Basema asked him, and he replied, “Yes, an impulsive risk taker early on but a more careful risk taker now.”

But there are benefits of taking risk as David explains further,

“None of us understand risk. Everyone told me and I won’t go into who said what, but they said you are being stupid/crazy for writing that critical article because you’re never gonna to have a future, you’re never gonna have a job. But oddly enough by being more critical and intentionally critical you actually get respect from the people you criticize. So it doesn’t work in a common sense way.”

When not taking the necessary risks you can fail as a leader,

“by compromising and being tidy and saying everything is great when it’s not you are actually selling yourself short, social science short and selling the people short. So you are not helping anybody and you’re actually ending up as a rather unfortunate creature as you get older.”

To me that is valuable advice from an expert. Sometimes in life you have to take a risk, it may lead you to greater fortunes. However, there are times when if you know a risk will lead you to a bad decision you would forgo that risk.

David explains that it all starts with vision; leaders are those who can see what needs to be done and believe that it can be done. This vision is inspired by your principles and values. Everyone has a purpose in life, it is not a task assigned to you, but rather a choice that you can make. Lacking a sense of purpose is like choosing to live like a useless creature.

“You’ve got to have a basic idea of what you would like to see in the world … people expect you to have an opinion. They don’t expect you to say, well I’m available to think anything I want”.

When you are working towards a greater cause, your vision essentially guides your direction (approach) and the choices you make. While your vision is something you don’t compromise, you should always be open to negotiating your approach; for your inner guide will not fail you.

“…I’m starting from here but I’m prepared to listen and I’m prepared to go in other directions”.

David certainly is one of those who found the path to greatness. His commitment to making a difference did not end with the fall of apartheid. He continued to pursue a career that contributed directly to reducing the suffering of deprived people in South Africa and beyond.

David has dedicated the last twenty-one years of his life to changing water policy and impact evaluation of municipal service delivery; primarily with the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in South Africa . His research has actively supported the under privileged in achieving a better life through accessing life sustaining household services including: water, sanitation and energy. He pioneered the innovative “implementation research” project Accelerating Sustainable Water Services Delivery (ASWSD), which brought together seventeen
scientific bodies and implementation agencies to rapidly deploy infrastructure development for delivery of safe drinking water in the most remote areas of South Africa.

He also served as the water expert in the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Lesotho impact evaluation project6 since 2009 which involved developing the water module for the Impact Evaluation Multipurpose Survey, designing impact evaluations for urban and rural water projects, and analyzing baseline data.

While at HSRC, David led fourteen water-related research projects, wrote numerous research reports, and published peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Together with co-researchers he undertook evaluation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in the water and sanitation sectors in Malawi, Botswana, Tanzania and South Africa. He
co-edited the book Poverty and Water, and his research on cholera has been featured in the award winning film FLOW.

He is currently working with engineers in South Africa, Germany and the United States to produce new packaged water plants and other innovations to meet the water and energy needs of the rural poor by using solar-voltaic designs.

The notion of contradiction: David explains that his journey through life, including his career, is a paradigm that illustrates the “notion of contradiction!” He explains that he did not plan to arrive at the point he is now. It has been as if his life was calling him to do something and his response to that call created the story.

“To understand my career you have to understand the notion of contradiction. Because, actually, I did nothing that was intended for me, really, apart from having an education.”

David pointed to the first and the primary influence that his parents imprinted and that greatly helped him to form choices later in life:

“My father wanted me to join his company which was architecture, and quantity surveying and doing things with numbers. That horrified me. My mother actually denounced it, oddly enough. She felt all contracts were based on corruption. She came from Plymouth brethren. She believed that any business was corrupt. Professions had to be virtuous. She would tell me that openly. My poor father would just have to smile, because he had to bring the money home. There were always lively debates at home.“

Hearing this story, you won’t find it surprising that David ended up using the scientific approach “the intelligence of his father” to materialize the virtuous vision “the spirit of his mother”

David says that passion is vital to success but it is not enough to bring your vision to life. Passion has to be followed by a map that takes you to your destination, it is your methodology, for “Your passion guides your interest in a subject material; it drives your idea but then by rising out of that, your methodology develops. "

Seven Lessons Learned From David Hemson

David’s view of transforming vision into reality in the research field can be summed up in seven tips: (1) Adapt to a robust scientific method; (2) Diversify your knowledge ; (3) Make your research finding available to all (4) Secure your funds. Above all that you have to; (5) Surround yourself with the right crowd; (6) be an Inspirational Leader and an effective manager; and (7) Be Courageous- voice your beliefs.

1. Adapt a Robust Scientific Methodology: David’s approach in applying scientific method is based on innovation. Great leaders create they don’t reproduce.

“If you want something different, something new, you have to find a new approach, and then push it to its limits, so you must think through, if you can, all the logical connections between what you’re saying."

He adepts the mixed method approach in his research, incorporating a wide range of research techniques, including statistical analysis of small and large-scale survey datasets, focus groups and key informant interviews, cost-benefit analysis, and questionnaire design. David quotes, John Phillips’ book Statistical Thinking in extracting meaning from numbers:

“To understand the meaning of any measurement in the social sciences, you must come to know at least two things about it. First, you must be able to describe the operations by which it was obtained, and second, you must be able to place it in relation to other measurements that have been obtained in the same way.”

While answering your research question, he advises that you should challenge your ideas, your approach and your interpretations.. Anticipate “critical appraisal” and be sure that your work is defendable. Justify and explain every statement by footnotes:
“…Every single statement needs a footnote, everything you say has to be justified, and that’s actually a proven scientific method.”

2. Diversify your knowledge As a researcher in the water field and as a leader, David considers diversifying skills and knowledge as a key for success:

“Now, I’ve done a range of things from planning, studying the value of money, and to developing a methodology for doing work on service delivery, which is statistical analysis.”

He point out two avenues he had to pursue in his field as a water expert researcher, explaining that his choice of which skill to develop depended on whether it is appropriate and usable in a given time:

“A research vocation consists of: public administration and statistical analysis, which is literally research [and more] literary criticism…”

Applying that to specializing in water he says:

“Water specialization, for example, is actually a combination of data analysis and a social commitment to change. This is public administration because all of the systems have to be managed by a regulation of public service and other aspects such as human development, training, and systems analysis”

He explains that having knowledge in all these areas does not by any means suggest that you are an expert in them. However, when you read intelligently and critically in a field, say technology, and approach specialists to enhance your understanding, you will be aware when something is incorrect and you will be able to assume a position and intelligently question and argue your stance...

David adds that information is always attainable; so one really has no excuse to complain about the lack of it. It’s pretty straight forward: refer to those specialists in the field, or just “Google” the information:

"for example I would Google: ‘what is the appropriate diameter for a pipeline up to the household level’. You want it to be the most economical (and such and such) pressure. You’ll find out [that] all the information’s there. And even in a digestible form. And often, you must read abstracts, you must read simple explanations and manuals and so forth, because the information is often better presented if explained verbally and has a picture.”

Demonstrating, probably unknowingly, his approach to deepen and diversify his knowledge, David shares with us his next plan. He wants to take advantage of being surrounded by the finest “superb statisticians” here in the U.S. and “bump up against the limits of statistics and maybe understand the math”

David explains that one way to expand your knowledge is to use your mistakes as a fuel to go forward. Leaders see mistakes as opportunities to improve. When he makes a mistake he says “I feel like I’m being punished,” jokingly laughing. But it doesn’t end there, he uses the challenge that the mistake offers, as a stimulus for growth.

“… and then I think, I’m not doing that again. I’m not allowing myself to be hit between the eyes and I’m gonna brush up about that and I’ll get it.”

3. Make your Research Finding Available to all: David believes that all the data

and the entire research conclusions must be available to the public either free or at a very cheap price. This is important to “spread the ideas, the findings, and to confirm its validity” During his career he fought for public access to research and he succeeded, “that was a huge battle,” David professed.

4. Secure your Funds: Given the challenges you face in funding projects related to policy work, when you adapt a robust methodology in your work you will attract funders. And that is the blood of any research to keep it going. “Money is a part of life, it’s something you got to have.” But with money you have to be responsible and create products that have value. He criticizes the popular practice of investing in poor research “it’s just not very creative."

Money is just the natural result when you establish a good reputation. You can’t go wrong when you constantly perform premium work with honesty and high standards. Universal lows guarantee that!

“You should be doing work in the best way possible so that people will feel that it was fair… This is how to establish a good reputation”

“When I worked for the Human Research Council, I was given a top position not only based on my publications, but also based on the fact that I was able to bring in contracts. I could actually build up a whole team based on the funding that I could attract."

5. Surround yourself with the right crowd: David is particular in choosing who he allows into his inner circle; understanding that who he hangs out with has a huge influence on who he becomes:

“Choosing people who are interested, committed and hold high standards is the type of people you want to reward yourself with having in your life… There are so many bad eggs out there and you need to avoid those people”

“My mother always said I’m a lucky boy,” he says with a gracious smile, “and I am very lucky because I’ve met people who have been very generous to me and that is also an explanation of our success”

6. Be an Inspirational Leader and an Effective Manager: Part of the people you surround yourself with, is the team you lead. David believes that you are not a leader if you can’t inspire others, especially your team, to believe in your vision, and work towards it. As a manager you have to have the ability to communicate your expectations “break it down” and always provide rapid feedback. And when things don’t go well, “you have to help them increase their moral, that’s not by punishing them but strutting.”

When David talks about his employees you would think he was talking about family members, sharing their private occasions.

“We had birthday parties, and the leadership within the organization would attend and sing the employees ‘happy birthday’.”

He says that as a leader, you have to think carefully about every step, for now you are not a researcher in your “little box” you can’t act recklessly. You are responsible for a team “they’ve got to bring home some bacon; this is the kind of a leader he is; considering his employees “assets” not “liabilities.”

It is not surprising, with his style of leadership, David was able to build a team with synergy, enthusiasm, and commitment.

7. Be Courageous- Voice Your Beliefs

"Two roads diverged in a wood. . . I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
— Robert Frost

Nodding at what the crowds believe or what the powerful will approve, will only turn your voice into useless noise. But facing the storms of controversy, in order to do the right thing, is what will distinguish you from the crowd, and that is David’s principle.

“You might not receive their approval, but you will always receive respect,” he assures. David’s career is a proof that you can make it without giving up on your beliefs, discarding your principles, and re a g annur money. People will remember you, they might not agree with your views, but they will respect your truthfulness and your commitment… well of course there are also people that believe that the ANC never achieved what it set out to achieve in the first place and we’ve got someone sitting right here… and I ask you to please stand up and receive our applause.” David says that was such a privilege because all what he said was all true.

“I had always been of a different point of view, but if it’s intelligent, committed, and not linked any way to racism or to some other hidden agenda, people are quite happily put on."
“It’s nice to be right, but it’s nice to be accepted that you made a view, even if not perceived as right, which is fitting into a spectrum when you’ve never expected it to be.”

Is it courage or recklessness that describes your actions? A reckless person is one who is controlled by the craving for quick results, blinding himself from seeing the whole situation. Guided by misperception and misjudgment, a reckless person usually gets caught by surprise when things don’t turn the way he intended.

On the other hand, a courageous person is he who does not crave results but creates them. He plans his moves in the light; he is never caught by surprise for he anticipates the consequences of his actions, and willingly embraces them.

David’s life exemplifies courage in its purest form. When making a choice, he takes his life as a whole into account. The choice has to be integral with everything else; with his vision, his role and the people involved. When it comes to true leaders there is no compromise with principles.

"You see, you’ve got to think of everything, especially as you get older: you’ve got a family, you’ve got a sort of standing in society, you’ve been given authority, which is a surprise to me. And then, what do you make of it? Do you make a mess and just burn out, run with the car, with your foot flat until your fuel runs out and say, “well I had a go?” Or do you actually manage to go carefully so that you can actually reach a destination and then show that you’ve done a good job? "

As a leader and as a researcher in the water field, David critiques policies, practices and beliefs. His role is to scientifically prove how a specific factor can directly cause or influence a problem. Evidently, this process fosters resistance and sometime conflicts. David shares with us what made him successful in this area:

a. Admit Your Intent

Your intent behind providing critiques drives the whole process. One way to know your true intent is to ask yourself where your voice is rising from. Is it rising from your wisdom or from your ego? Do you want to prove that the other side is wrong or show that you are better, or do you want them to rise and break through their limitations? For David the intent was always clear, to make a difference in people’s lives, and to convince others to buy into that vision.

Even when David was part of the government, he used his influence and his gifts to change the system from within.

“A state body is not going to become a loudspeaker for the government. But actually, it’s got to be a loud speaker for the people and amplify the social trends, the needs of the people, and speak through it.”

b. Avoid pointing the finger

When a person or an institution is under attack it is only natural that it will go into the defensive and/or cut off all avenues of communication and go about their practices as they always did. If you want your critiques to be effective and to be heard, present them in a way that offers an opportunity for improvement, not in a way that shoots the other party down. How do you do that? By looking for the positives, as well as the negatives, and by being sensitive; knowing when to advance and retreat. Blaming others for shortcomings and failures might allow you to win the argument but it will prevent you from making the changes you are seeking.

“Bring together a combination of ideas to show that you’re not entirely negative and be “bold” on what you need to push forward.”

Another piece of advice David gives in that regard is: when you find that people are wrong, or not telling the whole truth, you provide your argument as a set of

questions and let their answers bring about the conclusion. This way you can achieve the same results without putting them in a situation where they feel they have to deny or defend their position. He provides a hypothetical situation of technologists providing misleading information:

“…if they come and say that everything is fine, I say “Hold on guys, can we just check out a few things here? So, are there other damages of the pipes? Can that really serve twenty thousand people? I’m just asking, please tell me.”

“…and I know they’re wrong , but you never say that they’re wrong. You just ask intelligently so that you’ve got it down, and they’ll come back and change.”

c. Prepare your argument intelligently: When it comes influencing and persuading others, it is not enough to state the facts and pass the “logic test”, David indicates, every element of your argument must also be supported by evidence.

“I found if you have a minority opinion, don’t change it but think carefully of how you are going to argue it. In other words, my passion is to denounce wrongs in the world. But I also need to stand back a little and think about how to prepare the argument. Apart from just stating the facts, the methods are very important. So it is actually an intellectual exercise to engage in issues.”

When evidence is based on science, no one can claim that it was driven by a personal agenda, for science is not subject to personal agendas. Eventually, the energy will be channeled towards finding solutions and not endless arguments.

Courage does pay off: In the year 2000, David was appointed director of research in the National Research Volume in South Africa, mainly on the basis of writing an article
of critical areas of the government in the water sector. He wrote that women in rural areas were struggling in conditions similar to those under apartheid and that the efforts that the government had invested in these areas have not yet matured. The article ended up with the minister of water affairs, when he had injured his foot and was in the hospital, so he had time to read! He was very angry,

"... but instead of taking it negatively, actually he thought this was good because he was under a lot of criticism and he thought I was able to provide intelligent, informed and committed criticism.”

Response to Attacks

As a leader you will always be the subject of public attacks, criticism or disapproval knowing how to respond to these condemnations is a crucial skill that one has to develop in order to achieve desirable results. Great leaders never feel that they are victims, for they know that they are in charge of their situation.

We analyzed David’s responses to when he faced attacks, and drew lessons that illustrates his approach:

a. Don’t take it personally, don’t allow your ego to take over, even when you know that the attacks are targeting you unfairly.

“...You have to be prepared to take the tough stuff and then to fight with it intelligently-not to get upset and to say “How dare you ask me".

Note that David didn’t say fight the attacker but fight with it (the attack)! His focus is on what has been said not who said it. Also he says “fight with it” not “fight it” which shows an initial acceptance of the challenge at hand.

b. Listen with tolerance; show a desire to understand the other person’s point of view. David says that for him, one way to attain this is to take notes of what is being said.

“… instead of getting angry, you’ve got to think, “okay, why? Why are you saying so?” And then you listen to it carefully and write it down .. take every criticism that comes, even if it’s the most outspoken, vicious, and stupid criticism, you should make notes of it.”

c. Wait until you have clarity to answer and then come with your reply:

“When you’re sober and in about twenty-four hours, you can actually reply and come back and say: “thank you for those points, I appreciate the points, and now I’d like to reply if
I may.” And then you come back with your new points. "

Remember that when you apply strong methodology, it will always defend itself

“The lesson I learned from that whole exercise was that your methodology has to be impeccable.”

My attitude and my method protected me from losing my job: You should on choose the path of courage, unless you are ready to embrace the consequences, nor nhu co suqeu cus aru on always “lollypops and roses.”

David nearly lost his job when he gave a presentation in March, 2005 regarding putting numbers to the school card, looking at the presidential towards the state of delivery. The president sent a person to attacks the findings7, while he was not given the chance to reply.

In an attempt to defend the research findings, he approached his journalist friend (who also knew that the presidency was “telling stories”) who published an article that included his responses to the attack. The president of South Africa, a mentally active person, knew him and knew he was a critical person -he didn’t like that at all - he sent a message through to him CEO and who in turn, asked to deliver a complete explanation of every phrase that I used in that article. I did that, and again it was the robust method that he used that saved him from losing my job.

Future Plans

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” John C. Maxwell
David has a desire to go back to writing about social history after leaving it for twenty- five years.

“I feel there is a lot of action now about the displacement and crimes against humanity and the displacement of people from one area to another, due to the period of apartheid.”

Inspired by his friend, who has written the first book about this subject and has just passed away, he feels keen to write this book to honor him and to preserve something from the past.

“I’d like to return to history to re-examine how the course of human social movements have changed in the past few decades. Unfortunately, South Africa has a weakness as it appears it has very little interest in history at the moment, something that should never be forgotten. Perhaps then we can recognize the misunderstandings of our past and make a better future."

***

The authors of this paper, Basema Maki and Daniel Lee are students of the George Washington University’s Certificate program who were taking the survey management (course 6238). This project was a semester long assignment; consisting of an interview, transcription, and paper (which will all be available electronically). The “leaders” that were chosen by the class are all unique and excel in their profession. Dr. David Hemson was picked, not only because he is an expert in his field, but fought the oppression of apartheid. His struggles made him into the man he is today. His leadership helped him during his “moment of crisis.” Both Basema and I hope you enjoy this paper, and learn David’s experience as much as we both did.

Notes
1 "David Hemson." Personal interview. 3 Apr. 2012.

2 Kennedy, John F. Profiles in Courage. New York: Harper & Row, 1964. Print.

3 Hemson, David. "The Crime Which Went Away." Mail & Guardian Online. 5 Apr. 2012. Web. .

4 David’s father was a serviceman, and during that era service men and their children were given British citizenship.

5 David was also a substitute lecturer within the University.

6 Exploratory Baseline Study: Lesotho Water Sector, February 28, 2011. Millennium Challenge Corporation. NORC

7 Monare, Moshoeshoe. "Researchers Slam Mbeki on Service Delivery." IOL News. 1 Nov. 2005. Web. .


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