A BED CALLED HOME, life in the migrant labour hostels of Cape Town, photographs by Roger Meintjes

152pp., illus., paperback, Reprint, Cape Town (1993) 2017

Dr. Mamphela Ramphele documents the life of the hostel dwellers of Cape Town.

Illustrated with black-and-white photographs taken by Roger Meintjes in the townships and hostels.

"This is an excellent book: it is easy to read and provides a deep analysis of apartheid and its consequences by homing in on one particular kind of institution. It provides a means to self-examination for both black and white readers which is so much needed in South African writing now … A work which is among the best recent South African publications.” Sarah Nuttall, Journal of Southern African Studies

South African politician, anti-apartheid activist, medical doctor, academic and businesswoman Mamphela Ramphele is a former Vice-Chancellor at the University of Cape Town and a former Managing Director at the World Bank. She founded the political party Agang South Africa in early 2013 but withdrew from politics in mid-2014. Her books include Uprooting Poverty: the South African challenge, A Passion for Freedom, my life, Restoring the Land: environment and change in post-apartheid South Africa and Laying Ghosts to Rest: dilemmas of the transformation in South Africa.