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Ruth First
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==Exile and assassination== [[File:Ruth First and Joe Slovo (5021266886).jpg|thumb|Plaque in [[Camden Town]], London]] In March 1964, First went into exile in [[London]], where she became active in the British [[Anti-Apartheid Movement]]. Ruth edited the biographies of Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, and Oginga Odinga in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. She travelled across Africa between 1964 and 1968 to study independence struggles in Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, and Sudan. As a result, she was established as a scholar of international standing.<ref name="gariwo">{{cite web |title=Ruth First |url=https://en.gariwo.net/righteous/apartheid/ruth-first-25320.html |website=en.gariwo.net |access-date=29 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref> She was a Research Fellow at the [[University of Manchester]] in 1972, and between 1973 and 1978 she lectured in development studies at the [[Durham University|University of Durham]]. She also spent periods on secondment at universities in [[Dar es Salaam]] and Lourenço Marques, [[Maputo]]. In November 1978, First took up the post of director of research at the Centre of African Studies (Centro de Estudos Africanos), [[Universidade Eduardo Mondlane]] in Maputo, [[Mozambique]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Why Was Ruth First in Mozambique?|date=December 2014|url=http://www.unive.it/media/allegato/dep/n26-2014/03_Bridget_O_Laughlin.pdf|publisher=Deportate, Esuli e Profughe [Deported Exiles and Refugees], no. 26, pp. 26–41|access-date=8 January 2017|archive-date=8 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108191327/http://www.unive.it/media/allegato/dep/n26-2014/03_Bridget_O_Laughlin.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> She was assassinated by the order of [[Craig Williamson]], a major in the [[South African Police]], on 17 August 1982, when she opened a parcel bomb that had been sent to the university.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov.za/trc/media/1999/9902/s990222a.htm|title=TRC hears eye witness account of Ruth First bomb blast|website=SAPA|agency=South African Press Association|date=22 February 1999|access-date=22 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Ruth First: Williamson given amnesty|date=1 June 2000|url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/ruth-first-williamson-given-amnesty-39251|publisher=Independent Online (South Africa)|access-date=22 January 2025}}</ref> Bridget O'Laughlin, an anthropologist working with First, was in First's office when she was murdered, and testified to the [[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Bridget O'Laughlin testimony to TRC (half-way through the file)|date=22 February 1999|url=http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/amntrans%5C1999/9902220304_pre_990222pt.htm|publisher=TRC|access-date=8 January 2017}}</ref> Presidents and ambassadors from 34 different countries were at her funeral in Maputo on 24 August 1982.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite web |title=Ruth First {{!}} South Africa, Apartheid, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ruth-First |website=www.britannica.com |access-date=29 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
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