Ivan Toms
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Ivan Peter Toms (11 July 1952 – 25 March 2008) was a South African physician, who battled the
Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
era government as a prominent anti-Apartheid and anti-
conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...
activist. He opposed conscription by the
South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Fo ...
, and was a co-founder of the
End Conscription Campaign The End Conscription Campaign was an anti-apartheid organisation allied to the United Democratic Front and composed of conscientious objectors and their supporters in South Africa. It was formed in 1983 to oppose the conscription of all whit ...
. He ran a clinic in the
Crossroads Crossroads is a junction where four roads meet. Crossroads, crossroad, cross road(s) or similar may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a ...
shanty town where he was the only physician for 60,000 people. He went on a
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
in 1985 after the government decided to bulldoze the settlement. Toms was also involved with
gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...
activism in South Africa and was a founding member of the Lesbians and Gays Against Oppression. At the time of his death in 2008, Toms was serving as the Director of Health for the city of
Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
.


Early life and education

Ivan Toms was born in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
on 11 July 1952. He attended Glenwood High School in Durban from 1965 to 1969. He was Deputy Head Prefect and captain of the second rugby team. Toms was a medical student at the
University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...
(UCT). He participated in a demonstration against the Bantu Education system, during which he was beaten by police with batons and received a broken nose. He received his
MB ChB A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...
from UCT in 1976. He interned at Kimberley Hospital. Later, Toms earned a BA in theology.


Conscription

Toms was drafted into the
national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
in the
South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Fo ...
(SADF), as a
non-combatant Non-combatant is a term of art in the law of war and international humanitarian law to refer to civilians who are not taking a direct part in hostilities. People such as combat medics and military chaplains, who are members of the belligerent arm ...
doctor in 1978. He opposed the goals of the SADF, but refused to leave South Africa. He spent much of his six months as a doctor in
Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
, which was then known as
South West Africa South West Africa was a territory under Union of South Africa, South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, Independence of Namibia, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. ...
and was controlled by South Africa. Once he returned to Cape Town, Toms was asked by the South African Christian Leadership Assembly to set up a medical clinic in the squatter settlement of
Crossroads Crossroads is a junction where four roads meet. Crossroads, crossroad, cross road(s) or similar may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a ...
, which is located about 15 km outside of the city in the
Cape Flats The Cape Flats () is an expansive, low-lying, flat area situated to the southeast of the central business district of Cape Town. The Cape Flats is also the name of an administrative region of the City of Cape Town, which lies within the larger geo ...
area. He was the only doctor who served the Crossroads' population of approximately 60,000 people. In September 1983, Toms witnessed a three-week-long confrontation between the Crossroads community and the South African police and security forces, who were trying to tear down "illegal" buildings in the settlement. After witnessing the violence and brutality of the raid, Toms vowed never to serve in the SADF again, even in a non-combatant capacity. He went public with his opinions on what he had witnessed and became a founding member of the
End Conscription Campaign The End Conscription Campaign was an anti-apartheid organisation allied to the United Democratic Front and composed of conscientious objectors and their supporters in South Africa. It was formed in 1983 to oppose the conscription of all whit ...
(ECC) in 1983. Toms' co-founders of the ECC included other prominent anti-conscription activists including
Nan Cross Nan Cross (3 January 1928 – 14 July 2007) was a South African anti-apartheid and anti-conscription activist. Early life Cross was born in Pretoria, South Africa before the Apartheid era, when racial segregation was less formalised. Her father ...
. As part of the "Fast for a Just Peace" campaign, Toms went on a three-week-long
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...
in February 1985 to protest the government's decision to bulldoze the Crossroads
shanty town A shanty town, squatter area, squatter settlement, or squatter camp is a settlement of improvised buildings known as shanties or shacks, typically made of materials such as mud and wood, or from cheap building materials such as corrugated iron s ...
. The destruction of Crossroads resulted in violence and the deaths of several people as residents tried to resist the destruction. Toms commented during his hunger strike that, "As a
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, I am obliged to say no, to say never again will I put on that SADF uniform." The SADF officially took control of Toms' health clinic in 1986. The following year, in July 1987, Toms defied the SADF when he refused to join a conscription camp for one month of compulsory service. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison in 1988 for defying the order and ultimately served nine months in
Pollsmoor Prison Pollsmoor Prison, officially known as Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison, is located in the Cape Town suburb of Tokai in South Africa. Pollsmoor is a maximum security penal facility that continues to hold some of South Africa's most dangerous c ...
.


Gay rights activism

Toms was involved with
gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...
activism in South Africa. He was a founding member of the Lesbians and Gays Against Oppression (LAGO) in 1987. Toms was also subject to homophobic attacks by his enemies.


Post-Apartheid

In 1991, at the end of the Apartheid era, Toms became the national co-ordinator of the National Progressive Primary Healthcare Network, which developed health programmes in informal settlements. The
AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
virus was beginning to sweep through South Africa at the time. Toms, as the national co-ordinator, began to implement a series of programs to combat the spread of AIDS and
HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...
in the country. He was considered a pioneer in the advocacy of the use of
antiretroviral drugs The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of mult ...
to fight the disease. He became director of the Students' Health and Welfare Centres Organisation in 1993, which is a
non-governmental A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
organization which runs mobile medical clinics staffed by students in poor areas. He continued to work for non-governmental charities until 1996, when he became the Health Director in the City of Cape Town. He was appointed executive director of the health department in Cape Town in 2002. His name is remembered in the Ivan Toms Centre for Men's Health in Greenpoint, Cape Town, which works in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
South African President The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence Fo ...
Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served as the 2nd democratic president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Cong ...
awarded Ivan Toms with the bronze
Order of the Baobab The Order of the Baobab is a South African civilian national honour, awarded to those for service in business and the economy; science, medicine, and for technological innovation; and community service. It was instituted on 6 December 2002, and i ...
in 2006 for his stance against Apartheid and his public service for South Africans in need.


Death

Ivan Toms died unexpectedly of
meningococcal meningitis Meningococcal disease is a serious infection caused by ''Neisseria meningitidis'', also known as meningococcus, a gram negative diplococcus. Meningococcal disease includes meningitis, meningococcal septicemia, or a combination of both, which c ...
at his home in Mowbray on 25 March 2008, at the age of 55. He was honored by prominent South African political figures, including Archbishop Emeritus
Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...
and the
Mayor of Cape Town The mayor of Cape Town is the head of the local government of Cape Town, South Africa; currently that government takes the form of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan municipality (South Africa), Metropolitan Municipality. The mayoral position w ...
,
Helen Zille Otta Helene Maree (''née'' Zille ; born 9 March 1951), known as Helen Zille, is a South African politician. She has served as the Chairperson of the Federal Council of the Democratic Alliance since 20 October 2019. From 2009 until 2019, she w ...
. Archbishop Tutu described himself as "devastated" by the news of Toms' death and paid tribute to him saying, "I thank God that I knew him. Knowing him makes (one) feel proud. This is a prime example of someone who had
ubuntu Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed primarily of free and open-source software. Developed by the British company Canonical (company), Canonical and a community of contributors under a Meritocracy, meritocratic gover ...
. He was utterly selfless." His funeral, which was attended by hundreds of people including Archbishop Tutu, was held at St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toms, Ivan 1953 births 2008 deaths South African anti-conscription activists South African activists People from Cape Town University of Cape Town alumni South African healthcare managers South African Christians South African conscientious objectors Neurological disease deaths in South Africa Infectious disease deaths in South Africa Deaths from meningitis White South African anti-apartheid activists South African anti-apartheid activists South African military doctors South African prisoners and detainees Recipients of the Order of the Baobab Alumni of Glenwood High School (Durban) Prisoners and detainees of South Africa