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Sandra now
by Anthony Fabian
When I first heard the story of Sandra Laing, I was deeply moved — both by the heart-wrenching narrative and the woman at the centre of it. It became an obsession — not only to bring Sandra’s story to the big screen, but also make some kind of reparation to Sandra for all the pain she had suffered due to an accident of time, place and genetics.
Not long after I acquired the screen rights to Sandra’s
story, I was lucky enough to sell the publication rights to
Miramax Books, who commissioned her biography from New York
based journalist Judy Stone.
Sandra and her new home
Sandra’s tuck shop
The next step in Sandra’s rehabilitation was to create a sustainable form of income for her and her family. After many discussions, Sandra decided she would like to start a general dealer’s shop — just as her father had done. With seed money from the Electricity giant, Eskom, brokered by her school friend Elize Lötter, Sandra opened a spaza (corner shop) in her converted garage which she called ‘Sandra’s Rainbow Tuckshop’. 
Sandra recently celebrated her fiftieth birthday, surrounded by family and friends — another milestone for an indomitable survivor. |
Sandra Lang and Anthony Fabian in 2000
I first met Sandra in September 2000. She was living in a Tsakane — a sprawling township East of Johannesburg, in a tiny, two room house which she rented. She was unemployed, her husband Johannes was working part-time in a munitions factory, and the couple barely had enough money to feed and clothe themselves and their two youngest children, Anthony and Steve.
The money from this sale enabled Sandra to buy her first
home — a comfortable, three-bedroomed house with a big
garden and a double garage in a suburb of Johannesburg
called Boksburg (not far from Benoni, where Charlize Theron
was born.)
The
shop was launched early in 2003 to great local acclaim, with
speeches from the ex-S. African High Commissioner to London
(Cheryl Carolus), then Head of South African Tourism, as
well as music performed by children from a violin school in
Sandton (a prosperous suburb of Johannesburg) and a
performance on Sandra’s lawn created by director
Mkhomazi Mashini and his troupe of dancers. It was a fine
day indeed for Sandra, and marked the start of a new life.
Cheryl Carolus
When the film comes to fruition, the dreams of the ‘Sandra Laing Project’ can finally be shared with and inspire millions of people around the world.
Sandra Lang and Anthony Fabian in 2005
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