Adopted during apartheid: The Bitter Olive' author recalls childhoodIn an exclusive interview, Ronald Samuels details his remarkable journey which unfolded when he was adopted during apartheid.
by Carmen Coetsee
26-09-2022 22:21
in Books
The Bitter Olive' by Ronald Samuels. Image: Supplied/ Ssali Publishing House
South African businessman, farmer and now author Ronald Samuels sat down for an exclusive interview with The South African to talk about his incredible life as told in his memoir, The Bitter Olive.
--
The Bitter Olive has sent shockwaves throughout the country as Samuels shared his story of being torn away from his adopted family at the age of nine because he was not white. Samuels invites readers into his tragic childhood, his challenging teenage years in apartheid South Africa, and shares what life lessons he has learnt along the way.
Using the olive tree as an example, with fruit that starts out as too bitter to eat, Ronald recounts how he made the choice to never let bitterness ruin his life.
ADOPTED DURING APARTHEID: FROM PRETORIA TO CAPE FLATS A week after his birth in 1969, young Ronald was adopted by a white family in Pretoria. Despite his curly, black hair and darker skin than his siblings, his family never treated him differently.
--
He lived happily with this family until the clouds of apartheid that had been gathering, cast a shadow over their lives. Convinced by the church and others who told them that it would be better for nine-year-old Ronald to grow up in a coloured family, his parents made a truly heartbreaking decision.
They sent Samuels from his idyllic and familiar home in Pretoria to the Cape Flats, believing that this was what was best for him.
Confused, lonely and utterly displaced, the author grew up in the dangerous climate of apartheid South Africa in the Cape Flats. Years later, he eventually reconnected with his adopted family back in Pretoria and he was told that he was never sent away because they didn't want him.
--
Adopted woes and tribulations After years of doubt, fear and deep sadness, Samuels finally understood exactly why he was sent away in the first place. However, he still had a nagging question of who and what he really was?
Throughout his military service, he was frequently racially reclassified. At certain places, he was classified as white and at others he was classified as coloured.
But how could this be? After years of questioning, Samuels found out that both his biological parents were white, but he, their son, simply looked coloured. The colour of his skin and the racist government of the time meant that the young Ronald was denied a normal childhood.
But The Bitter Olive is not a tale of woe. Even though it was written by someone who has had to endure more sadness in his life than most, his memoir is a celebration of life. His life story is not recounted with bitterness, but with humility and love.
RONALD SAMUELS: I NEVER WANTED BITTERNESS AND HATE TO WIN' At 07:35, Ronald Samuels give us a taste of the Bitter Olive in the new book. @SABC_2 #MorningLive#SABCNews pic.twitter.com/z44PrsFYeU
MorningLiveSABC (@MorningLiveSABC) May 22, 2022
Samuels never let his past dictate his future. He made his own path, and he has built a wonderful life filled with love and hope. His is truly a remarkable story.
He doesn't deny that his life has been difficult.
You don't get through what I got through without scars. I went to hell and back .
He never allowed anger and bitterness to rule his life, striving to be thankful under all circumstances, no matter how difficult.
Samuels is very passionate about sharing his story and encouraging others who have endured difficult times. He is also a firm believer in not holding on to the past and letting it control your present.
ALSO READ: Risking it All': Elon Musk biography explores the enigmatic mogul
THE BITTER OLIVE': LESSONS FOR YOUNG SOUTH AFRICANS Samuels has always been outspoken about his beliefs. Even though he is someone who has had a life deeply affected by racist ideologies, he still maintains that his generation hasn't done enough for the current one. He hopes that The Bitter Olive will start uniting our broken nation.
He says that South Africa today is too filled with hate from the past. Samuels believes that young South Africans are fighting their parents' and grandparents' battles and not their own.
You are fighting for their past and not for your future .
When asked what he wants young South Africans to know, he had the following to say:
Our diversity is what is ripping us apart, when it should be the thing that unites us. We have to embrace out diversity. Be glad the person next to you is different to you. Leave your parents' baggage behind.
Ronald Samuels One of the most touching things Samuels said in his interview, was: I believe in the goodness of people . As someone who had more than enough reasons to hate the world, he maintains his faith in the goodness of humanity.
AUTHORS ON AUTHORS: WHAT SAMUELS HAS ON HIS BOOKSHELF When he is not farming or travelling for business, Samuels loves to relax around a good braai.
I don't have that much time for reading but when I do read, I like self-help and leadership books. John Maxwell is a favourite .
His idols include Nelson Mandela, his teachers at school, and the people of South Africa.
THE BITTER OLIVE' WHAT TO EXPECT Filled with history, poems and true heart, The Bitter Olive is not one to miss. As a lover of history and a believer in the power of knowing your history, Samuels has taken great pain in including South African history within his own story. The Bitter Olive is not some boring history book, however. It reads easily and Ronald's writing voice makes it seem like he is talking to a friend
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
29/10/2025
ESPN said it will produce animated telecasts for NFL, NHL, NBA and WNBA games across The Walt Disney Co. and ESPN platforms during the 2025-26 season under an a...
29/10/2025
WASHINGTON Despite the government shutdown, the Federal Communications Commission has passed, with some revisions, a previously announced Notice of Proposed Rul...
29/10/2025
29 10 2025 - Media release SBS, NITV and Screen Australia announce 2025 Digital Originals Shortlist
The 2025 Digital Originals shortlisted teams. Photo credit...
28/10/2025
ESPN Announces Monsters Funday Football', Its Latest Real-Time Animated Bro...
28/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Catherine Chalfant, Manager, Remote Operations, ESPNThe Ole Miss alum is an operational force behind ESPN's extensive college-football catalo...
28/10/2025
Elevating the experience: AI and data take Ryder Cup to the next level By Joe OHalloran
Tuesday, October 28, 2025 - 10:25
Print This Story
NBC produced th...
28/10/2025
Conquering the Air (waves): Taking a close up look at the IBC Accelerator Priva...
28/10/2025
World Series 2025: Spectrum SportsNet LA Brings Dodgers Fans Closer to the Actio...
28/10/2025
Dylan Southern and Benedict Cumberbatch at the premiere of The Thing with Feathers (photo by George Pimentel / Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
28/10/2025
For three weeks in Lagos, Spotify's Greasy Tunes Caf pop-up brought the cit...
28/10/2025
Once a niche subculture, German rap has evolved into an influential cultural movement. Now, Spotify is giving the genre a new home with OFFCULT, a playlist dedi...
28/10/2025
Shane Delia's Malta serves up the Mediterranean this summer
28 October, 2025
Media releases
Feast on 9,000 years of culinary history Mondays from 24 No...
28/10/2025
SBS's global sporting festival continues with the FIVB Beach Volleyball Worl...
28/10/2025
Bilbao, October 28, 2025 - AgileTV, a leading technology solutions company for t...
28/10/2025
Disney, NBCUniversal, FOX, Paramount Each Achieve Double-Digit Monthly Growth
...
28/10/2025
CINCINNATI The E.W. Scripps Company has announced an agreement to sell WRTV, its local ABC-affiliated station in Indianapolis, to Circle City Broadcasting for $...
28/10/2025
Berklee College of Music and Berklee Valencia Named to Billboards 2025 Top Music...
28/10/2025
NEW YORK As AI usage continues to spike, a new study from IAB delves into an important aspect of how AI is transforming the advertising business with new data s...
28/10/2025
Charlie Jablonski, a broadcast tech pioneer who helped shape the modern era of Olympics television coverage, died Oct. 25 at his home in Lake George N.Y., the N...
28/10/2025
VIENNA, Austria Bitmovin has launched Bitmovin Observability, a new stand-alone video data solution that delivers real-time insights into video playback. The so...
28/10/2025
LOS ANGELES LucidLink, the file streaming platform, has announced a Frame.io integration and expanded mobile capabilities at Adobe Max....
28/10/2025
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced that it has joined the Ama...
28/10/2025
Lightware, an industry leader in connectivity and signal management solutions, has announced a major update to its Taurus
platform, which now delivers flawless...
28/10/2025
Following a successful mid-September International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam, Hiltron Communications will promote its full range of satellite communi...
28/10/2025
Open Broadcast Systems has chosen MC&S (Media Consulting & Services) as a reseller to help strengthen its presence in France.
With over twenty years of experi...
28/10/2025
Bitmovin, leading provider of video streaming solutions, has launched Bitmovin Observability, a new stand-alone video data solution that delivers real-time insi...
28/10/2025
Ease Live, the leader in interactive TV technology, today announced the successful launch of interactive graphical overlays for UEFA Champions League matches fo...
28/10/2025
LucidLink, the file streaming platform, today at Adobe MAX announced a Frame.io integration and expanded mobile capabilities, streamlining collaboration and hel...
28/10/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has promoted Nick Hasenecz to general manager of WNDU, its NBC affiliate in the South Bend-Elkhart, Ind., market....
28/10/2025
Applications Open for Berklee Fenway Neighborhood Improvement Grant Boston nonprofits can apply by December 12 for funding to support community projects that ...
28/10/2025
Governments everywhere are racing to harness the power of AI - but legacy infras...
28/10/2025
AI is moving from the digital world into the physical one. Across factory floors...
28/10/2025
NVIDIA is delivering the telecom industry a major boost in open-source software for building AI-native 5G and 6G networks.
NVIDIA Aerial software will soon be ...
28/10/2025
The race to bottle a star now runs on AI.
NVIDIA, General Atomics and a team of international partners have built a high-fidelity, AI-enabled digital twin for ...
28/10/2025
Along the Pacific Ocean in Monterey, California, the Naval Postgraduate School (...
28/10/2025
To democratize access to AI technology nationwide, AI education and deployment c...
28/10/2025
Leading technology companies in aerospace and automotive are accelerating their ...
28/10/2025
28 Oct 2025
VEON's JazzCash Wins Silver Award for Innovation in Lending at ...
28/10/2025
Guests include Wayne Rooney, Maya Jama, Dame Laura Kenny, Chloe Kelly, Chris McC...
28/10/2025
The two-hour special, recorded live from the iconic Dolby Theatre in LA, will ai...
28/10/2025
Eutelsat upgrades teleports with Rohde & Schwarz satellite uplink amplifiers High efficiency and resilient Ku-band amplifiers for excellent RF performance
...
28/10/2025
These appointments come at a pivotal time for ABC, as the organisation continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of a digital-first media ecosystem. The ne...
28/10/2025
Scripps Research awarded $4 million to advance platform for neurodevelopmental disorders The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) grant support...
27/10/2025
You can touch this: Haptics becoming central to the virtual live experience By Adrian Pennington
Friday, October 24, 2025 - 09:12
Print This Story
The vid...
27/10/2025
A tale of two trailers: France's Stop & Go doubles up with its new hybrid tr...
27/10/2025
Pro Padel League Stages City's Cup Finals Inside NYC's Hammerstein Ballr...
27/10/2025
World Series 2025: Sportsnet Delivers Made-in-Canada' Moment for a Nation U...
27/10/2025
ESPN Extends Partnership With Sony's Beyond Sports To Expand Animated Altern...
Adopted during apartheid: The Bitter Olive' author recalls childhoodIn an exclusive interview, Ronald Samuels details his remarkable journey which unfolded when he was adopted during apartheid.
