Blood Fruit | movie | 2014 | Official Trailer - video Dailymotion

The story of 11 young Irish Dunnes Stores workers who went on strike following their refusal to handle South African pro | dG1fWDk0cnNSVDl1ZGs

Transcript

00:00My name is Nimrod Sajake. I was born in Johannesburg in 1920. All my life I have witnessed the pain

00:24and misery inflicted on my people for no reason other than the color of our skin.

00:31I come from a very beautiful land richly endowed with wonderful resources. There is enough for

00:49everyone but Apartheid has proved an evil and selfish system I saw the woman come up she'd actually

01:11had a basket and she had I could see she had two Elspan grapefruit in the basket and I said to her

01:16I'm sorry I can't serve the South African grapefruit. There was a manager standing behind my register

01:22and she came over and just said to me close off your register and she said right you're suspended.

01:27The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.

01:34The first time I ever met Nimrod Sajake was on the picket line I'd say we were about 10 days on strike

01:42at this stage and I had actually never met a black person in my life.

01:47He had very sad eyes but when he was talking to you about South Africa he was very animated.

01:55He told us about sharing his cell with Nelson Mandela and of the stories that they used to share with each other.

02:02He had to leave his country because he was on trial for treason and this was for organising a picket in his country.

02:15I have family there, a wife and children whom I haven't laid eyes on for over 20 years.

02:26We as white people living in Ireland with freedom of being able to go on strike

02:35and Nimrod telling us that if we went on strike and we were black in South Africa we would be killed.

02:41And at that stage I think that's what really brought it home.

02:44The worst thing that could happen to us is that we lose a job.

02:48If we were over there we would be dead.

02:52The hostility that we got from people that had passed the pickets which were our colleagues

03:03up to the time we went on strike.

03:05The abuse we got from them when they were walking into the shop was just horrendous.

03:10Some of them had called you we were nigger lovers, we were dopes and we were eejits

03:15and put your pride in your pocket it's not going to feed you.

03:18At that point it just seemed like no one was willing to do anything for us still.

03:23We were left on our own.

03:25There were days that we really felt we'd had enough.

03:29But Nimrod was down there rain, sun, shine.

03:32And when he would tell us the stories of what would happen in his country

03:36it was Nimrod that kept that strike going through those really dark hard times.

03:44So I say to you strikers please do not give up on this picket.

03:52Please keep going.

03:56Your actions are sending a message to all who are aboard the apartheid system.

04:03That someone is bearing witness.

04:06That someone is telling the truth.

04:09I ask you to please stay strong.

04:13No matter what they throw at you.

04:16No matter what they throw at you.