Etienne van heerden biography of mahatma gandhi

South African author

Etienne van Heerden, born 3 December 1954, is a South African author.

Biography

Van Heerden was born in 1954, six years after the official advent of apartheid.

His mother was an English speaking mathematics teacher. His father, an Afrikaans speaking merino stud breeder, farmed the family farm in the Karoo. Van Heerden was reared Afrikaans, with English reserved for use at home on Tuesdays, and learned from comics ordered from London.

Due to being born blind in the right eye, he was not called up for combat duty, but served as a dog handler, playing his alsatian at major festivals.

Etienne van heerden biography of mahatma gandhi

Van Heerden initially studied law, and was admitted to the South African Side Bar as attorney. He freelanced as deputy sheriff for the Civil Court, and moved about in the townships around Cape Town, dispensing civil summonses and learning a great deal about life in these suppressed communities.

As a young practitioner, his clients were mostly from the