Park in Muswell Hill renamed after long time local resident Oliver Tambo
In present circumstances it could only be virtual but I was pleased to see the renaming of Albert Road Recreation Ground in Muswell Hill after O.R. Tambo today.
Oliver Tambo lived for many years just a short distance away after he had fled apartheid South Africa and he co-ordinated and led the eventually successful struggle against apartheid from there.
As the Mayor of Haringey Cllr Adam Jogee reminded us there has been a statue of Tambo in the park since 2007.
It was personally a rather poignant moment as I went to school at Alexandra Park in the first half of the 1970s which is one corner of the park and it was used as the school playing fields.
The meeting was chaired by Council leader Joseph Ejiofor and heard from the South African High Commissioner in the UK Thembi Thambo, Oliver Tambo’s daughter. Her recollections of using the local 134 and 102 buses in her youth underlined just how close and long-lasting the connection between the area and the fight against apartheid has been.
The meeting also heard from Lord Hain, himself a veteran opponent of apartheid, who reminded us of the sacrifices and the (armed) struggle that had been part of the fight to get rid of the racist system.
It was a brilliant prelude to the UN World Anti-Racism Day, marked on 20th March but will no doubt not go unremarked by sections of the Tory press and probably Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden who doesn’t like renaming things…
Leave a Reply