Playwrights Note
I had no idea at first what I was writing. I wrote with fear, grief and shame - but also with love, joy and a well of remembrance. At first I wrote autobiographically.
And then I began to love the freedom of combining those events with the poetry of language and imagery. It developed as a more fictional story, deeply invested with aspects
of my life.
The Syringa Tree has been the most profound and surprising gift of my life. It has called me to be the best of myself as a person and as an artist. Carried
in this story are my deepest feelings about a hauntingly beautiful place caught in sorrow. It is also a story filled with joy and wishes. Some might come true.
- Pamela Gien
GLOSSARY & HISTORICAL NOTES
| DUMELA: |
Hello. |
| PICANNINI: |
Never used pejoratively - a term of endearment for children, like "kids". |
| PASS: |
Identity document. Blacks required to carry it at all times, especially in desig-nated white areas. In 1950, the South African government implemented
strict residential segregation: whites, "coloureds" (government term for mixed race), blacks and Indian people were only permitted to work and
reside in their respective areas. Anyone working in an area not designated to them had to register and carry a "pass" for access and permission
to remain overnight. Children would not be issued a pass to remain overnight with a black parent in a white area. Blacks found in white areas at night
without a "pass" would be arrested. |
| DOMINEE: |
Afrikaans word for minister - usually in the Dutch Reformed church, which was originally brought to South Africa by Dutch settlers. |
| KAFFIR: |
An ugly, extremely derogatory word for a black person, used by white Afrikaans. |
| SPECIAL PAPER: |
The "pass" required for blacks; also special permission from the police for whites to enter the township areas. |
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