The Department of Arts and Culture is unfazed over the decision by the Puebla International Literature Festival to ban South African writers, questioning their existence and relevance in the creative arts world.
The festival, set to take place from October 4 to 6 in Mexico, was expected to host renowned authors, emerging writers, literary enthusiasts, and cultural afficionados from Africa, Latin America, Europe and Asia.
But on Thursday the organisers of the festival issued a statement indicating that South Africa would no longer be the country in focus where its rich literary tradition was to be a central point of discussion.
They cited the alleged victimisation of Chidimma Adetshina a contestant in the Miss South Africa pageant - who withdrew from the competition following controversy over her citizenship - as the reason for banning South Africans from the festival.
According to the organisers Adetshina was a victim of a climate of mob rule which had been aided by the state apparatuses.
“We cannot in good conscience, honour a country as a focal point of our celebration when it is currently embroiled in such profound injustices as has been currently gathering momentum following the Miss South Africa beauty pageantry,” read the statement.
While the organisers also slammed the silence of many within the cultural sphere on the developments in the pageant, they said that the move was not a rejection of the rich literary heritage and the courageous writers, poets and artists of South Africa who continue to inspire the world.
“Instead it is a statement against the current state of affairs that contradicts the values we hold dear.”
The Department of Home Affairs had found that Adetshina’s mother had allegedly been involved in identity fraud.
Department of Arts and Culture spokesperson Cassiday Rangata Jacobs expressed surprise at the festival’s existence and subsequent action.
“Prior to this alleged festival cancelling whatever it is they think they have cancelled, we had never heard of them. They have not previously done anything, or achieved anything, that we are aware of. If any South Africans are affected by the matter, we have not heard from any of them,” he said yesterday.
Jacobs also cautioned South African performers and artists against any form of distraction that could come from different quarters.
“The only thing that was surprising was to learn of the existence of the Puebla International Festival. Now that we know they exist, we care even less than previously,” he said.
Asked whether the episode from the pageant could have been handled better, Jacobs said the organisers of the pageant should have been more diligent, saying that the allegation of citizenship fraud could have been investigated even faster if that had been the case.
“But we are grateful for the sterling work done by the Department of Home Affairs. We hope that the promised arrests for these uncovered immigration crimes will follow soon,” he said.
South African Writers Guild Association Chairperson Busisiwe Ntintili said she too wasn’t aware of the festival, which seemingly started this year.
Ntintili said while they had not received any correspondence from the festival organisers, she had seen the message on social media.
“This has been a very divisive matter where people have taken certain positions. The unfortunate reality is that a South African woman was robbed of her identity,” she added.
Ntintili noted how the Miss South Africa debacle had generated a lot of publicity, and described the decision as an unfortunate development, adding that the matter should have been handled in a more humane fashion as there were individuals and families affected by the development.