Trackers Journal Update: Author's Note & Revised Introduction
Board of the Nyae Nyae Development Foundation of Namibia
Two significant additions are being made based on reader feedback about cultural appropriation, credit to the San people, and historical context for my South African background.
1. NEW: Author's Note (Pre-Introduction)
I'm adding an Author's Note that will appear before the Introduction begins. This note:
Acknowledges my debt to the San peoples and their tracking traditions
Establishes that my relationship with the San was not distant observation but through direct involvement—practicing law in Namibia, representing San communities, and chairing the Nyae Nyae Development Foundation
Includes a quote from Kxao Moses #Oma's 1995 letter on behalf of the Nyae Nyae Farmers Co-operative: "I cannot speak too highly of John and his belief in and support for community development at the pace and direction decided upon by the community themselves."
States clearly that the San's tracking traditions are not mine to claim, while explaining what that encounter opened in me
Directs readers to organizations supporting San communities: the Kalahari Peoples Fund (https://www.kalaharipeoples.org/) and the Nyae Nyae Development Foundation of Namibia (https://www.nndfn.org/)
The Author's Note will appear after the table of contents and before the Introduction epigraph.
Website placement: I've added this to the "About the Book" page as well.
2. REVISED INTRODUCTION: Conscription & Historical Context
The revised passages now include:
Explicit statement that conscription was mandatory under apartheid, with conscientious objection meaning prison
Reference to the rooi gevaar ("red danger")—the Cold War propaganda narrative that framed South Africa as under siege from communist forces
Context for the 1985 hitchhiking journey: "That year, the apartheid government deployed the army in Black townships for the first time—a signal that what had been oppression was becoming civil war."
These additions ground my personal story in political reality without duplicating the fuller reckoning that appears in Chapter 11 (Forgiveness Forged in Fire).
Feedback welcome, as always.