Chameleon

The Chameleon is the tale of Rorke Wilde, who grows up in Rhodesia. Rorke's need to mimic his pet chameleon, if he is to survive the racial discourse in a country divided by apartheid during the 1970s. Rorke's father works in the British South Africa Police while his mother is a clerk in the tax office. His best friend and father figure is the family's domestic worker, Themba Dube, an AmaNdebele of Zulu descent. Whom guides Rorke through the turmoil of civil bias. Themba introduces Rorke to his nephew Lucky Ndlovu, who lost his parents in the AIDS pandemic and who lives with his grandmother in a squatter camp (informal settlements) in Johannesburg. The old man and boy share their experiences of a life of poverty post-independence where Rorke learns about the real Africa that he once saw through Panglossian glasses. A fictional biography that challenges the norms of history. Of apartheid, colonialism, heartbreak, love, and compassion. Many, if not all of us, have experienced the good and bad in the worldwide diaspora because of politics, greed, and opportunity.