Author Description

In 1985 Andrea Durbach was appointed solicitor on the notorious Upington trial in South Africa in which 25 people were arrested for the murder of a local policeman. Fourteen were eventually sentenced to death. For the ensuing four years, Andrea's life was inextricably linked with those of the defendants as it was to the barrister on the case, Anton Lubowski, who became her closest friend. After the largest court case in South African legal history, eleven defendants had their sentence reduced. Four months after the remaining fourteen defendants were sentenced to death by hanging, Anton Lubowski was assassinated.Shortly afterwards Andrea moved to Australia - a move that she considered temporary and found extremely painful, separating her, as it did, from the country and people she loved, and the struggle she supported. In 1991, after the successful appeal against the Upington 14's death sentence, Andrea settled in Australia permanently. Only now, several years later, can she begin to understand the extraordinary events which overtook her life.At the time, journalists and publishers chased Andrea to write her story, as did several leading Australian filmmakers but she felt too close to events to put into words her remarkable personal and political journey. Now, from the relative safety of Australia, this extraordinary woman feels able to share her story, describing both the events of the time and the remarkable personal price she had to pay for the struggle. It is also an exploration of emigration, and the meaning of home. And it is - dare I say it - a story of the triumph of the human spirit.