21 Questions with Iman Rappetti

What is your full name (and we mean full name)?
Vanessa Lena (groan!) Rappetti (Iman)

Date of birth?
4 May

Where were you born and raised?
Phoenix, Durban

Family ties…husband, kids, dog?
Three gorgeous children and four schizophrenic, mongrel dogs. I am the youngest of five children. One Rasatafarian brother (passed away), one ex-con brother (who can dance the pants off any woman and has a wicked sense of humour!), another brother who’s a big shot in the marine engineering industry (he makes a mean curry), and a sister who has the thankless task of staying at home and raising the rugrats (she has a way with words, and also makes a kick-ass briyani)

Which schools did you attend?
Lenarea High School (Phoenix), ML Sultan Technicon

Where are you based right now (which place do you call home)?
Hursthill Golf and Equestrian Estates (that’s French for “on the arse end of Auckland Park”)

Have you always wanted to be a journalist?
Always. I was always politically and socially conscious. It was either that or join MK, needless to say I was too young for the latter.

What were your ambitions/ career goals while you were growing up?
I always wanted to make a difference in the world, to help create change and a better life for all people. I thought of joining the UN and traveling around Africa’s refugee camps helping on the ground. I also wanted to be a cabaret singer (you know, draped over a grand piano, singin’ the blues).

What was your path to getting onto E-TV?
I worked as a young journalist in SA and then abandoned it (along with all my worldly possessions) when I became Muslim. I lived in the Islamic Republic of Iran for two years, where I also worked on a current affairs TV show for the state broadcaster. Returned to SA and worked at the SABC for three (long) years. Moved on to Businessday as a sub and layout editor. Then on to Talk Radio 702 as a senior reporter. Then was invited to ETV, and I have stayed for the last two years, still loving it!

Which Journalist do you most admire?
I admire many journalists, both in SA and abroad who work at great risk to their lives. I won’t single out any particular one, but the list includes photographers, camera people and reporters.

What are the challenges you face in your career?
Working in hostile environments, where people are resistant to being exposed, like one angry businessman whose company I shut down (I am sure he has a voodoo doll with my face on it!) In general though, the biggest challenge is dealing with futility and sadness. Once the work is done and the pictures are taken, the families that have witnessed tragedy and loss must still sit with their grief. It’s very hard for me to just walk away. I try to offer some words of comfort and to be very sensitive when trying to ask the hard questions. But worst of all, is dealing with senseless violence and the loss of life. In my job I have to try and make some sense of this madness, and it’s impossible. It’s made me cynical and has affected my belief in people. On the political front though, watching the corruption and self-enrichment has left me with a deep sense of regret. Regret for those who died fighting for liberation only to have left this legacy vulnerable to crooked people.

What projects are you working on right now?
Every day is different, I could be covering Jacob Zuma one week and then the Scorpions the next. It’s like getting to work and opening a present, some days though, it’s tough, especially if it’s not a story you are keen on.

Which are your favourite places to hang out?
I have only just started exploring Jozie on my own (long story). It depends on my mood. I enjoy sitting on my friend Sherwin’s back porch, sipping a nice glass of wine or sherry (heavily dashed with OJ, I am not much of a drinker.) Him and I have great conversation and laugh from the gut. Other times I would be driving on the highway trying to dice with anyone that’s game (love cars and speed) or towards a nature spot, places to contemplate and plan for the future.
I like dancing, actually love dancing, out with friends who don’t give a s**t about who is watching. Just letting it all hang out.

Words of wisdom for all aspiring journalists?
On the technical side, be extremely factual, don’t get duped by ‘sources’. Be fair and don’t stop asking questions. But also have a heart for people, don’t tell YOUR story, tell THEIRS. Sometimes you can conflate the boundary between the two and completely miss the point. Call it like you see it, don’t invent or embellish reality!

This far, which story of yours would you rate as being a defining moment for you? The day I doorstopped President Thabo Mbeki. The look on his face was priceless! I asked him whether he had seen the warrants of arrest for Jackie Selebi and the man was floored. Needless to say it made headlines! I like the story not because I was thrown out of the union buildings, but because it epitomizes a period in our history where our leaders think they are unaccountable to us, and that we are crossing a line if we challenge them, it’s a status quo that I refuse to buy into!

Any stories that really tugged at your heartstrings?
I got a call one morning during my first months at ETV. I arrived at the scene in Roodepoort. A woman had hung her two little children and then herself in their apartment. On the bed she laid out their funeral clothes, from underwear to shoes. She had written inscribed a birthday card for her thirteen year old son, who was celebrating the day the following week.
On the table were the funeral policies and ID books. On the fridge was a magnet with the words ‘I love you mommy’ written on it.

The place just overwhelmed me with sadness, and sorrow for a woman who must have felt so hopeless that the only escape she could find was death. I imagined the trauma of the children when they must have realized what was to happen. Did the one witness his brother being tied up to the doorframe? Did he cry? Did he try to run away? Anyway, by the time I left several hours after interviews with cops and her family, I just sobbed. I can still feel the hopelessness of that place.

And then the Jeppestown massacre. I was there, and I have returned to the house several times. The worst was dealing with the families of the men who were killed, especially their young children who now grow up fatherless.

What is a typical day like, in the life of a high profile journalist?
Well the phone stays on night and day. But if there is not a breaking story, you go to diary meeting at 8:30am till 9am. Then it’s off to whatever story you are on. Hopefully don’t end up fighting with anyone and get back in the afternoon. Organise the visuals taken by the cameraman, write a script and then voice and edit the piece (this is called packaging) Hours of work that goes into the 90seconds you see on TV.

You are quite well known now….do you regard yourself as having celebrity status?
It depends on your definition of celebrity. If it means that more people recognize you than before, then maybe. But if it means trying to be this persona, this icon, this person that is adored by all and coveted by others then, hell no. I work in news, in the real world, one of the key attributes of the job is being real. I can’t be bothered trying to be someone that has to constantly worry about what people think. Besides, it’s too much hard work trying to live up to other people’s expectations, I have a hard enough time trying to live up to my own.

Have you lived in any other country besides SA…and what was that like?
Iran, amazing country and even more amazing people. The eight year war with Iraq really damaged the infrastructure and the economy but it has made the people more resilient. They are warm and down to earth and deeply religious. I loved the time I spent there. The language is beautiful, I still speak Farsi with my Iranian friends and I am hankering to go back and visit this year.

If you have the time,……… what are you reading right now?
I have dusted off Hillary Clinton’s Memoirs, only because of the looming elections. But it is a tedious read. Trying to get my hands on a copy of the Kite Runner. Want to see it before I check out the movie, hear it’s awesome!

Most hair raising experience, being a journalist on the frontlines.
When someone threatened to bliksem me during a strike in the CBD. They mistook my report on the radio for someone else’s and they were the moer-in. I talked my way out of it… and ran!

Thats all for now……………….and by the way……if you wanna know anything else about me…………….YOU WILL HAVE TO BUY ME A CHOCOLATE MARTINI…..shaken, not stirred…..???