Nan Cross
Encyclopedia
Nan Cross was a South African anti-apartheid and anti-conscription activist.
for the Pretoria City Council. Cross was a lifelong member of the Baptist Church, though the church had no history of social activism.
Cross graduated from Pretoria Girls' High School. She graduated from Rhodes University
with a degree in social science. Cross was a social worker by profession.
for the Johannesburg City Council, which ran the Orlando sheltered employment workshop. She became trapped by the start of the Soweto Uprising against the Apartheid-era South African government. She described her escape from the Soweto riots as a "terrifying experience."
Nan Cross was described as quietly, but bravely, committed to social justice
.
Cross was a resident of Kensington, Johannesburg
. Her home in Kensington was often used as a meeting place for anti-apartheid and anti-conscription activists.
, until the very late 1970s, when other activists, such as Nan Cross, began to campaign against the draft
.
Nan Cross became active in the movement in the very early 1980s. In 1980, Cross helped to found an organization called the Conscientious Objector Support Group
. She would later become a founding member of the End Conscription Campaign
in 1983 as the conscientious objectors movement slowly began to gain increased support.
Nan Cross and her supporters offered both practical and moral support
to South Africa's conscientious objectors. She was applauded by the anti-conscription activists for her stance against the government. Her actions were not as well received by the South African government. She was interrogated several times in her Kensington home by South Africa's security police
, though never officially detained. Her home was also broken into several times during the 1980s. It is believed the burglaries were perpetrated by the security police. Cross and her allies were even spied upon by the police during their meetings. This came to light when a member of her conscientious objectors support group
was found to be a spy
for the police.
Cross was not a very visible public figure
for the movement and usually stayed out of the public eye. She preferred to work behind the scenes to accomplish her goals of abolishing conscription. She and her volunteers worked to actively assist South Africa's conscientious objectors with their legal difficulties. She often authored pamphlets to spread the news of her cause. She often helped objectors write their appeals arguing against serving in South Africa's military. Cross visited jailed objectors and worked to counsel and support their families.
Nan Cross worked helped to rally support for the anti-conscription movement by the late 1980s. South African young white males began to question their mandatory military service and increasingly saw it as an immoral war to defend apartheid. Cross helped almost 2000 young men apply for military conscription exclusion to the Board for Religious Objectors. Many more left South Africa to avoid the forced military service
. Their numbers steadily increased by the end of the decade. In 1987, there were 23 conscientious objectors. The number of objectors rose to 143 in 1988 and increased very rapidly in 1989, reaching a high of 771 objectors.
Conscription was ultimately ended in 1993.
Nan Cross was known to be more public with her campaign to end the arms trade. She once climbed a tank
at a South African weapons exhibition and attached stickers to it which read, "Arms are for hugging, not killing".
in order to earn a better pension
. She worked with the Johannesburg
library service to deliver books to the homebound and elderly.
She died at Nazareth House
in Yeoville, Johannesburg
, South Africa
on July 14, 2007. She was 79 years old. Cross's health had deteriorated in the months before her death. However, she was honored by family and friends at a tea party just a week before her death. Nan Cross never married. She was survived by two sisters, Betty and Marjorie, and her nieces and nephews.
Laura Pollecutt, acting coordinator of the Ceasefire Campaign, said of Nan Cross,
Early life
Nan Cross was born on January 3, 1928 in Pretoria, South Africa before the Apartheid era, when racial segregation was less formalised. Her father worked as a lawyerLawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
for the Pretoria City Council. Cross was a lifelong member of the Baptist Church, though the church had no history of social activism.
Cross graduated from Pretoria Girls' High School. She graduated from Rhodes University
Rhodes University
Rhodes University is a public research university located in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, established in 1904. It is the province’s oldest university, and is one of the four universities in the province...
with a degree in social science. Cross was a social worker by profession.
Social activism
Nan Cross worked held a number of positions at various projects during her career as a social worker. She actively worked African Children’s Feeding Scheme. On June 16, 1976, Cross was working in SowetoSoweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
for the Johannesburg City Council, which ran the Orlando sheltered employment workshop. She became trapped by the start of the Soweto Uprising against the Apartheid-era South African government. She described her escape from the Soweto riots as a "terrifying experience."
Nan Cross was described as quietly, but bravely, committed to social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
.
Cross was a resident of Kensington, Johannesburg
Kensington, Gauteng
Kensington is a hilly suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was established in 1897 by Max Langermann...
. Her home in Kensington was often used as a meeting place for anti-apartheid and anti-conscription activists.
Conscientious objectors movement
South Africa introduced universal military conscription for young white South African males in 1967. The penalties for refusing to serve could be severe. Originally, the penalties for refusing service ranged from 10 to 12 months in prison when the law was initially created. The jail sentence for conscientious objectors was later increased to six years by 1983. The anti-consciption movement was largely confined to South African "peace churches," such as the Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
, until the very late 1970s, when other activists, such as Nan Cross, began to campaign against the draft
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
.
Nan Cross became active in the movement in the very early 1980s. In 1980, Cross helped to found an organization called the Conscientious Objector Support Group
Conscientious Objector Support Group
The Conscientious Objector Support Group , a support group to conscientious objectors in South Africa, was formed in 1978. The organisation grew in the context of South African resistance to war, at the time of Apartheid....
. She would later become a founding member of the End Conscription Campaign
End Conscription Campaign
The End Conscription Campaign was an anti-apartheid organisation allied to the United Democratic Front and composed of conscientious objectors and their supporters in South Africa...
in 1983 as the conscientious objectors movement slowly began to gain increased support.
Nan Cross and her supporters offered both practical and moral support
Moral support
Moral support is a way of giving support to a person or cause, or to one side in a conflict, without making any contribution beyond the emotional or psychological value of the encouragement....
to South Africa's conscientious objectors. She was applauded by the anti-conscription activists for her stance against the government. Her actions were not as well received by the South African government. She was interrogated several times in her Kensington home by South Africa's security police
Security police
In some countries, including the United States, security police are those persons, employed by or for a governmental agency, who provide police and security services to those agencies' properties....
, though never officially detained. Her home was also broken into several times during the 1980s. It is believed the burglaries were perpetrated by the security police. Cross and her allies were even spied upon by the police during their meetings. This came to light when a member of her conscientious objectors support group
Support group
In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic...
was found to be a spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
for the police.
Cross was not a very visible public figure
Public figure
Public figure is a legal term applied in the context of defamation actions as well as invasion of privacy. A public figure cannot base a lawsuit on incorrect harmful statements unless there is proof that the writer or publisher acted with actual malice...
for the movement and usually stayed out of the public eye. She preferred to work behind the scenes to accomplish her goals of abolishing conscription. She and her volunteers worked to actively assist South Africa's conscientious objectors with their legal difficulties. She often authored pamphlets to spread the news of her cause. She often helped objectors write their appeals arguing against serving in South Africa's military. Cross visited jailed objectors and worked to counsel and support their families.
Nan Cross worked helped to rally support for the anti-conscription movement by the late 1980s. South African young white males began to question their mandatory military service and increasingly saw it as an immoral war to defend apartheid. Cross helped almost 2000 young men apply for military conscription exclusion to the Board for Religious Objectors. Many more left South Africa to avoid the forced military service
Military service
Military service, in its simplest sense, is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft . Some nations require a specific amount of military service from every citizen...
. Their numbers steadily increased by the end of the decade. In 1987, there were 23 conscientious objectors. The number of objectors rose to 143 in 1988 and increased very rapidly in 1989, reaching a high of 771 objectors.
Conscription was ultimately ended in 1993.
Arms trade
Nan Cross also founded the Ceasefire Campaign in 1994. The Ceasefire Campaign has worked for an end to participation in the arms trade by the government of South Africa.Nan Cross was known to be more public with her campaign to end the arms trade. She once climbed a tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
at a South African weapons exhibition and attached stickers to it which read, "Arms are for hugging, not killing".
Later life
Nan Cross remained involved in activist causes well into her 70s. She briefly returned to work before her retirementRetirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
in order to earn a better pension
Pension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
. She worked with the Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
library service to deliver books to the homebound and elderly.
She died at Nazareth House
Nazareth House
Nazareth House, also known as St. Andrew's Parish House, is a historic building located at Rochester in Monroe County, New York. It is a three story, brick institutional building built in 1893 and enlarged in 1911. The original section is a three story, five bay, red brick structure in the...
in Yeoville, Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
on July 14, 2007. She was 79 years old. Cross's health had deteriorated in the months before her death. However, she was honored by family and friends at a tea party just a week before her death. Nan Cross never married. She was survived by two sisters, Betty and Marjorie, and her nieces and nephews.
Laura Pollecutt, acting coordinator of the Ceasefire Campaign, said of Nan Cross,
"She was a tiny little woman, but she wasn't afraid of anything. She kept us all going...if we became a little battle-fatigued ... she was there for us...Many of the young men who became conscientious objectors drew inspiration and strength from her. She regularly attended court when the law came down on them and gave support and solace to their families...Her ability to integrate her religious faith with her commitment to social justice and non-violence drew her into anti-apartheid activity. She had a strong personality and an incredibly sharp and honed intellect."