Out of step
War resistance in South Africa

From the age of 18, under apartheid, every white South African male was called up for military service: the penalty for refusing was six years in jail. 'Out of step' tells the story of the End Conscription Campaign (ECC) and the young men who, in growing numbers, refused to be conscripted. The book is based on material researched, written and collected by many former ECC activists.

As South African military power and aggression grew in the 1970s, some young soldiers began to realise they were defending apartheid injustice. When resistance erupted in South Africa's black townships in 1984, conscripts found themselves face to face with fellow South Africans. Now it was civil war. The ECC and its young supporters brought a special brand of creative campaigning to the broad anti-apartheid struggle while walking a legal tightrope. The ranks of conscientious objectors swelled; so did popular support for the ECC.

The ECC was banned in 1988; by then, war resistance had come to stay.

1989 ISBN 1 85287 053 2
141pp 271 x 210mm