die taal

dit moes 'n misverstand gewees het, ek weet nie. watookal dit was het dit 'n slegte smaak in my mond gelos.


toe die nuwe regering oorgeneem het het hulle stelselmatig ontslaegeraak van alles wat hulle geassosieer het met die ou regering. een van die dinge wat moes waai was afrikaans. volgens hulle was dit blykbaar sleg vir een of ander rede. ek het nie saamgestem nie. so toe ons afrikaanse prof druk op ons uitgeoefen het om net engels te gebruik by alle amptelike vergaderings het ek hom min of meet geignoreer. ek onthou 'n saalrondte 'n maand of twee daarna.

ek was die senior kliniese assistent in die prof se firma. volgens sy nuwe beleid het hy net engels op die rondte gepraat. tussen die pasiente, as hy net met my gepraat het het hy wel afrikaans gepraat. dit was natuurlik sy moedertaal. ek het al sy engelse vrae in afrikaans geantwoord en al die pasiente in afrikaans voorgedra. hoe meer hy probeer het om vir my die boodskap oor te dra dat ek engels moes praat hoe meer het ek volgehou om afrikaans te praat. by omtrend die derde pasient kon hy homself nie meer inhou nie.

"bongi, speak english. why do you refuse to speak english on rounds?"

"prof, my english is perfect. i don't have any reason to practise it." het ek in engels geantwoord.

hy was kwaad, maar hy het dit redelik goed weggesteek.

'n maand of wat daarna was ons almal by een van ons m&m bespreekings. die was 'n gesamentlike m&m met die vaskulere departement. die prof van vaskuler het ook sterk gevoel oor die taal beleid, maar sy gevoel was presies die teenoorgestelde van die prof s'n. hy het gevoel ons moet aangaan om afrikaans te praat in die universiteit, want engels was klaar so dominant in die land as 'n mens nie moeite gedoen het om afrikaans as 'n taal wat op 'n tersiere vlak goed kon funksioneer op daardie vlak te hou nie, sou dit vinnig agteruitgaan. ek het met hom saamgestem. baie van die afrikaans spreekende studente het klaar gesukkel om pasiente in afrikaans voor te dra, self as hulle aan 'n afrikaanssprekende dokter voorgedra het. hulle het medisyne in engels geleer en kon nie mediese afrikaans praat nie.

die m&m het voortgegaan. toe dit die beurt van die vaskulere kliniese assistent was om sy pasient voor te dra het hy in engels begin. onmiddelik het die vaskulere prof iets op 'n stukkie papier geskryf en dit vir sy kliniese assistent gegee. die kliniese assistent het dit gelees en onmiddelik in afrikaans oorgeslaan. dit was nie nodig om einstein te wees om te weet wat op daardie stukkie papier gestaan het nie. sy prof het duidelik vir hom opdrag gegee om afrikaans te praat en hy het wel so gemaak. die res van die vaskulere gedeelte van die m&m het min of meer gegaan soos my saalrondtes met die prof. die prof het al sy vrae in engels gevra en die vaskulere kliniese assistent en prof het albei alles in afrikaans geantwoord. dit was vir my nogal komieklik. na die m&m het ek maar aangegaan met my lewe.

omtrend 'n uur later het die vaskulere kliniese assistent vir my gebel.

"bongi, daar is groot kak in die land," het hy gese. "die prof het my vaskulere prof ingeroep en ordentlik in sy broek gekak oor die feit dat mense in sy departement weier om net engels te praat by enige bespreking of saalrondte. hy het drie kliniese assistente uitgesonder. dis ek en jy en dr b (ek het al van hom geskryf). natuurlik het my prof vir ons al drie opgekom en toe ek uitgejaag is was hulle amper op die punt om mekaar te lyf te gaan. hoe dit ookal sy dis blykbaar ons drie wat die prof se woede gaan voel. hy het self gese dat as ons volhou om te weier om engels te praat gaan hy bedank as hoof van die departement."

ek kon dit nie glo nie. in een opsig het ek amper trots gevoel dat ek so 'n invloed gehad het oor die prof dat hy 'n persoonlike beroepsbesluit sou maak gebaseer op my doen en late. maar eintlik was dit nooit my plan om soveel aandag van die grootkoppe te lok nie. daardie tiepe aandag was nooit 'n goeie ding nie.

"hy kan seker bedank as hy wil." het ek vir my mede beskuldigde gese, maar toe onthou ek wie in sy plek sou oorneem. ons prof het sy probleme, maar tog was hy beter as die moontlike alternatief. moontlik was die beste ding om maar engels te begin praat.

die volgende week by die m&m was ek 'n bietjie verbaas om te sien dat my vriend en kollega, dr b sy gevalle in afrikaans voorgedra het. dit was weer die geval van die prof wat sy vrae in engels gestel het en my vriend wat alles in afrikaans geantwoord het. tog as dit die prof geirriteer het, het hy dit goed weggesteek.

onmiddelik na die bespreking het ek met my vriend gaan praat.

"b, is jy mal?" vra ek toe. "na verlede week se storie, hoekom weier jy om engels te praat." hy het effens geglimlag toe hy geantwoord het.

"ek weet nie wat die prof se fokken probleem is nie. voor verlede week het ek nooit afrikaans gepraat by al die amptelike besprekings nie. ek het wel engels gepraat. en tog is ek een van die ouens wat in die kak beland het. wel, nou het ek klaar die straf gekry omdat ek afrikaans gepraat het al het ek dit nie eintlik gedoen nie. omdat die straf klaar uitgedeel is moet ek dit darem die moeite werd maak. daarvoor se ek nou vir jou, ek sal nooit weer engels in hierdie plek praat nie!"

en volgens my kennis het hy nie.

good old boy setup

i thought of not telling this story at all. recently when it was in the news here it seemed wise to rather bury it altogether. but it is something i experienced and, after all, this blog is about my experiences, so...

six years in a department gives you enough time to do a few things that can be legendary (like this story). this was one that most at the time thought was one. however, at the time it impacted me on a different level.

the surgery department had a fairly intensive academic session every tuesday. the highlight was a discussion delivered by one of the registrars on some or other topic. he was required to reference the absolutely newest literature and the standard was very high. it was a big deal. most guys spent a few months putting their talks together.

on the day in question the discussion was going to be about bariatric surgery (surgery to help obese patients lose weight). what was interesting was that the consultant (a private guy with a part time post at the university) who was designated to be the moderator of the talk was a surgeon whose practise consisted of quite a lot of small bowel bypasses. now the literature was extremely condemning of this particular operation. at the time i was rotating with the laparoscopic guru who did a fair number of gastric bypasses (an operation which the literature favoured for obesity). in passing i mentioned to the boss that it would have been more fitting if my senior had been designated the moderator of this particular discussion for obvious reasons. the boss seemed to give it some thought.

the day before the discussion the boss took me aside. he told me that he thought i was in a good position to make a comment about the gastric bypass operation verses the small bowel bypass operation because i was the one registrar at the time who had been involved in the favoured operation. he then basically instructed me to comment during the discussion. the command had been given. what could i do but obey? that night i reviewed the literature.

during the talk the registrar dedicated very little time to the small bowel bypass. he simply stated that it was an operation that has been relegated to the history books due to its dangers and the fact that there were better operations available. his moderator didn't flinch. i noted that he didn't add that the literature also stated it was unethical to even do that operation. on the whole, his talk was good. then came time for questions and comments. he fielded most questions quite well. finally the room fell silent. i stood up. i had been instructed to do so.

i started by mentioning the literature was more condemning of the small bowel bypass than the registrar had stated. and yes, i did use the word unethical. i then went on to explain that a gastric bypass causes a change in lifestyle because the patients can no longer eat so much and that their sugar intake is also curtailed whereas the small bowel bypass causes exactly the opposite. because it causes a malabsorption the patient has to make sure he eats just as much if not more just to maintain baseline health. my choice of words could have been better.

"with this operation you are actually giving the message to the patient, you are a pig and now you must really eat like a pig."

all the registrars squirmed in their seats. they seemed to be trying to quietly slip under their respective tables to avoid the accusing eyes of all the professors and consultants. they needn't have bothered. even the consultants could not maintain eye contact with me. they looked around uneasily. only the moderator maintained his steady gaze directly at me. i remember thinking i'm quite glad that looks can in fact not kill. otherwise i'm sure i would have gone up in a puff of smoke. my task was done. i sat down.

one of my colleagues leaned over.
"what have you done?" he asked. "are you completely mad? do you realise these are the guys that are going to be in your final exam in just a few short months?" i looked around. the registrars whose heads still protruded enough from behind their desks to be visible seemed to all be shaking said heads slowly. the room was absolutely dead quiet. i held my head high and gazed forward. but i also started hoping that the meeting would adjourn so that i could flee. although looks couldn't kill as i had just demonstrated maybe they could maim to within an inch of life and i wasn't willing to find out.

the next morning meeting went as morning meetings go. but just before the prof dismissed everyone he turned to me.
"bongi, you stay behind!" again the heads of all the registrars shook almost imperceptibly. sh!t!! i thought.

"bongi, dr d took me to his practise yesterday. there are fat people that he is trying to help." i considered saying that help and exploit can sometimes easily be confused with one another, but i thought better of it.
"never again will you or for that matter anyone in my department speak badly about or against any one of my consultants, in public or in private." again the thought went through my mind that i should defend myself and say that the literature backed me up with everything that i had said. i also considered pointing out that he himself had instructed me to speak and i'd just assumed he wanted me to tell the truth. fortunately i remembered something about the better part of valour and that i could not win this fight. even though it was a setup, i had hurt one of the good old boys and they would stand together, right or wrong. all i could do was hold my head high and once again prove, this time unfortunately, that looks can't kill.