Danois, Jacques --- "International Symposium - Bioethics and the Rights of the Child" [2000] HRightsDef 10; (2000) 9(2) Human Rights Defender 19

Donald Woods: Still Going Beyond Himself

Carolyn Cerexhe

Donald Woods spoke at the Clancy Auditorium at The University of New South Wales on 20 July 2000. Carolyn Cerexhe was present at his talk, and spoke with him afterwards.

It was the Donald Woods Guide to Happiness and Successful Leadership. The theme projected overhead on the wall was actually `African Crisis -- despair or hope in South Africa', but what emerged from the talk was something very personal, something which reflected a long and thoughtful working life. He was there to help publicise the work of the Fred Hollows Foundation, in its extraordinary work against blindness in Africa. Woods was nearly at the end of a ten-day whirlwind tour around Australia and New Zealand, which he had been asked to do because of his well-known profile in the field of human rights. The timing of the tour, however, seemed scheduled so that it coincided with the various international rugby matches that were being played at the time, so that Woods could combine two things that he particularly enjoyed doing.

`Life gets nicer and nicer the older you get.' It sounds a bit like something you would hear on the kids's program Teletubbies, just before the cuddly creatures give each other a big hug. Still, Woods has been based in London for over 20 years, so it's likely that he would reflect an English sensibility. His talk was sprinkled with a number of such reflections.

The main reflection, to which he kept returning, with different applications, was: `The happiest people, the most fulfilled people, are people who do something way beyond them.' Like bringing sight to the blind, the quest pursued by Fred Hollows. According to Woods, what Hollows did was so special that it was also `acting in the highest definition of religion.'

He expanded this into a reflection on leadership. He summed it up, drawing on his life experience. Briefly, he believes, if you wish to be a successful leader you have to:

• go beyond what the followers will tolerate;
• break new ground;
• inspire people to follow you.

Unfortunately, Australia comes across as deficient in its leadership. Woods thought that the situation of Australia's indigenous people is `intolerable', and a lot of this appears due to poor leadership. He found it amazing that Australia's newspapers were continually headlining the plight of indigenous people here, a plight which continues even though they are only 2% of the population. `It should not be a problem,' he said. And it should not be left to the indigenous people to remedy the situation, for `it's when the non-victims get involved, that you can best end injustice.'

He contrasted this with South Africa, which he feels has been lucky in its leaders, having people of stature such as Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Steve Biko (who was killed in custody). On the issue of saying `sorry' to the Stolen Generations, he asked, `What does it cost?' Returning to his adage, he commented, `It is better to go beyond what you have to do' -- and it certainly helped in South Africa. Woods commented that reconciliation in South Africa has worked brilliantly. He was in South Africa during the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and emphasised that the media played an invaluable educational role. He particularly remembered a brilliant television program that was on each Sunday, providing coverage of what had happened during the week. One of the real difficulties in South African society has been that blacks and whites could not live in the same suburbs and had little opportunity for getting to know each other. Consequently, many white people did not appreciate the full extent of the atrocities. But he enthusiastically remarked how the program had managed to open the eyes of many, including his conservative brother.

Another of his concerns is freedom of the media. During the apartheid years he experienced the ultimate restrictions on press freedom. For example, there were 22 laws governing what could be published. I asked him what difficulties journalists faced nowadays in South Africa. Under apartheid, journalists could be locked up, and worse, for addressing human rights issues. What was it like now? He said that all the press laws have been removed and there is full freedom of the media. And they are slowly getting to appreciate this. The apartheid years put a real dampener on the media, because of the restrictions and climate of fear. But he stressed that having a free press `included the right to do bad journalism'. In a culture of democracy, society should be able to tolerate even the `most unfair extreme criticism' by the media. If one is not able to sue or prosecute over something, then one should not use governmental pressure instead.

Recently, in South Africa, there was a furore when the Human Rights Commissioner in South Africa issued subpoenas against editors, for certain material that had been published. Woods has no hesitation in stating that the suitable response for the editors was to tell the Commissioner to `go to hell'. While clearly there is still much racism in South Africa, he does not believe that it is right for the Government to be applying pressure in this way. Yet, he also appears to have a dilemma. On the one hand, he is a forceful, white, educated man, with strong opinions. On the other hand, he is also aware of the need for sensitivity and that he has to let the new, post-apartheid society find its own way, without too much criticism.

Donald Woods' philosophy of life is inspiring, and it explains why he has pushed himself to do so much. The call to do something way beyond yourself could lead to many great achievements. It could also be taken as a formula for becoming a workaholic, never happy or content where you are and never having peace of mind. Workaholics can be out of touch with people who lead ordinary lives, which is one reason politicians can pass so many unworkable laws. Such people often do not know how to achieve a balanced life. Woods offered no counterbalancing philosophy for the many who would not be able to keep their personal life intact, while `going beyond' themselves.

There is also a personal echo for Woods. He has reached the age of retirement: the age when many people sit back, feed biscuits to their grandchildren, and wait for the next Royal wedding. Instead of this, he is charging around the world, catching long-haul flights, energetically talking his way through interviews with the media, and standing on platforms giving speeches to help make the world a better place. At the same time, his own health is in crisis: a year or so ago, following a diagnosis of cancer, he had surgery to remove his right lung and left kidney. He jokingly told the audience that he was hoping he made it back home to England after his exhausting itinerary. When I spoke with him after the talk he indicated that he would have further check-ups when he returned to England to see if he needed chemotherapy. He is plainly facing life and death issues. Yet he is living up to his own philosophy: Donald Woods continues to do things that feel way beyond him; he keeps fighting for other people's basic rights.

Carolyn Cerexhe is an Editor of the Indigenous Law Bulletin at the University of NSW.