a lot has happened since the last time i posted on this. i spent best part of the month of december driving across this wonderful country in a Nissan Almera with Andrew... from Cape Town to the Transkei to the Drakensberg Mountains to Swaziland to Mozambique and back again. And then i spent New Years in hospital with Andrew after our December 30th car accident... crumpled bonnet, through the windshield, fractured ribs for me, broken face for poor Andrew. And then there was the surgery, and ICU and we found out Bas had been in hospital in Durban for the past few weeks with malaria and double pneumonia. And then there was Aaron's trip here, and the misery and confusion of relationships and knowing ourselves and love and friendship. And then Melissa stayed here at 8 Herschel for a few days and we had good times, Diva's food and lazy days. And now it is slowly getting back to life. I had dinner last night at Melody's house in Langa... Uzi and Mihlali just started school back up again (Uzi in grade 1, Mihlali grade 5). Melody's husband is still missing in action... and she's still unemployed, praying for a job so she can finally divorce him. I'm not with CSVR anymore, and so I've started the proces of looking for something new to do during my remaining time in CPT, not to mention looking for a job for once I get back home. I've submitted an application to serve in Haifa, and I really do pray that that happens for me. It would be such a blessing. Nava has sent one in as well, and truly I can think of nothing better than the idea of serving in Haifa with my dear, sweet Navajoon.
Anyhow, back to the road trip... Really only photographs and my more creative writing can express the beauty of the places we saw and times we had. It was wonderful... So, I'm going to post some of the stuff I journaled while we were traveling. Feel free to comment and critique...
Sunday, January 21, 2007
traveller
I want to escape to the ocean’s shore, to stand at the breaking waves and watch for whales, breaching in the distance. I am chasing the eternal nowhere, that romantic place where life is raw and real, an orb of hot light, painting itself across an orange sky.
sweets
Children chase cars
down backwater Transkei roads
calling out for sweets.
Twenty years ago
it was payment—
they opened gates
for white baas.
“Sweets,” says John,
“In Transkei,
first English word.”
down backwater Transkei roads
calling out for sweets.
Twenty years ago
it was payment—
they opened gates
for white baas.
“Sweets,” says John,
“In Transkei,
first English word.”
sangoma dancers
the sangoma dancers
are drunk off umqoboti
they swallow it
by the bucket-full
before painting their faces,
tying beach towels
around their waists
and dancing for the
white folk.
the sangoma dancers laugh—
silly white people
think this dance is real
but we sing freedom songs
and we will never show them
our spirits.
are drunk off umqoboti
they swallow it
by the bucket-full
before painting their faces,
tying beach towels
around their waists
and dancing for the
white folk.
the sangoma dancers laugh—
silly white people
think this dance is real
but we sing freedom songs
and we will never show them
our spirits.
business
“Please lady,
don’t you want
painted African pig?
Hand-painted just
for you.
Please lady,
cheap, cheap,
just to buy bread.
I very hungry.
Don’t you want?
Painted, from
Africa.
I hungry,
from Africa.
No work in
Eastern Cape these days—
all gone to the cities,
Port Elizabeth,
Cape Town,
Johannesburg.
Only come home to Transkei
for funeral, these days.
Please lady,
don’t you want
painted African pig?
I hungry
and you white, from city
rich, American accent.”
don’t you want
painted African pig?
Hand-painted just
for you.
Please lady,
cheap, cheap,
just to buy bread.
I very hungry.
Don’t you want?
Painted, from
Africa.
I hungry,
from Africa.
No work in
Eastern Cape these days—
all gone to the cities,
Port Elizabeth,
Cape Town,
Johannesburg.
Only come home to Transkei
for funeral, these days.
Please lady,
don’t you want
painted African pig?
I hungry
and you white, from city
rich, American accent.”
sea level
Hogsback mountain stands tall and lush over the valleys of the Eastern Cape. In her shadow lie small villages, mud huts and gravel roads, cattle, goats and children. From here, overlooking it all, I hear the wild waters of mountain rivers crashing over rock cliffs into pools below, babbling over rough boulders into the valley.
This Africa is full up with beauty and peace—bumblebees on mountain lilies, Samango monkeys in the trees and the soft hum of cicadas in tall pines. There is no bush war in this Africa, no child soldiers missioning through the brush, no famine, no disease. This Africa is full of lush green and sunlight.
We walk barefoot along mountain cliffs, admiring the view. Out over the wide landscape, villages spotting the countryside, unable to see inside their doors. We don’t see hunger from 1200 metres above sea level.
This Africa is full up with beauty and peace—bumblebees on mountain lilies, Samango monkeys in the trees and the soft hum of cicadas in tall pines. There is no bush war in this Africa, no child soldiers missioning through the brush, no famine, no disease. This Africa is full of lush green and sunlight.
We walk barefoot along mountain cliffs, admiring the view. Out over the wide landscape, villages spotting the countryside, unable to see inside their doors. We don’t see hunger from 1200 metres above sea level.
Rasta Dave
The house lies about a kilometre in from the main road. We park the car and John and Cobra lead us, barefoot, through tall grasses and small villages towards his property. The gate is closed to keep village children off his plantation, out of the marijuana plants that grow tall in the rich Eastern Cape soil. We left early that morning for Mdumbi. John and Cobra lifted the VW Golf in the car park and hopped in the backseat, coming along as guides, translators. They do the bargaining and business deals in rolling, rhythmic Xhosa, and we hand over the cash. Fifty rand here, thirty there, and another fifteen for that right there in the young boy’s dirty hands.
Rasta Dave greets us as we approach his garden. A pot simmers on nearby coals and Dave, John and Cobra exchange greetings in quiet Xhosa. He invites us inside. A dirty mattress is turned up against the far wall. John picks up a hand-made guitar from the floor and begins pecking at its few remaining strings, making a and lovely melody that resonates in the small room. Hanging above us, on the far wall, is the National Party flag, and underneath it pieces of an old motorbike, likely driven out here and too damaged by the bombed out pothole roads to make it back.
The house is rugged and dirty. I take pictures quietly smoke fills the room and, just as smoothly as we came in, we are gone, trekking with heavy breath back to the car and bumping along back to the tent.
Rasta Dave greets us as we approach his garden. A pot simmers on nearby coals and Dave, John and Cobra exchange greetings in quiet Xhosa. He invites us inside. A dirty mattress is turned up against the far wall. John picks up a hand-made guitar from the floor and begins pecking at its few remaining strings, making a and lovely melody that resonates in the small room. Hanging above us, on the far wall, is the National Party flag, and underneath it pieces of an old motorbike, likely driven out here and too damaged by the bombed out pothole roads to make it back.
The house is rugged and dirty. I take pictures quietly smoke fills the room and, just as smoothly as we came in, we are gone, trekking with heavy breath back to the car and bumping along back to the tent.
fishing
Local fishermen in red and yellow dhows
unload freshly caught swordfish
onto the beach at Tofo village.
The eldest uses a saw—dull, blunt blade
—to portion the fish into steaks, for profit.
The head is left severed on the hot sand;
the long sword-nose, once menacing,
useless in this new air-world, and the eyes
open, big and dark, stare empty into the sky.
unload freshly caught swordfish
onto the beach at Tofo village.
The eldest uses a saw—dull, blunt blade
—to portion the fish into steaks, for profit.
The head is left severed on the hot sand;
the long sword-nose, once menacing,
useless in this new air-world, and the eyes
open, big and dark, stare empty into the sky.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
the shoulder
suddenly, the taxi comes screeching around us. out of the corner of my eye, i see it lurching up onto the grassy bit beside the car and then, too fast for the sounds and images to meet, it smashes, metal on metal, into a light-pole. all we hear is glass shattering above us and then crashing like an explosion. the old man in the front seat is bleeding, the windshield broken and shattered from the impact of his skull. andrew screeches to a stop, head in hands, panicking.
the taxi was headed for khayelitsha, behind the mountain, out of the way of the sun and traffic. "we come to town to work," they say, "bring food and money home to our families." and before any ambulance, before the police arrive, they are gone. scratched and bleeding, they are herded into another taxi and shipped away, limping.
the taxi was headed for khayelitsha, behind the mountain, out of the way of the sun and traffic. "we come to town to work," they say, "bring food and money home to our families." and before any ambulance, before the police arrive, they are gone. scratched and bleeding, they are herded into another taxi and shipped away, limping.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Zille says ANC behind Cape taxi violence
October 26 2006 at 04:07PM
By Ben Maclennan
The African National Congress orchestrated Thursday's taxi violence in Cape Town in a bid to disrupt a Democratic Alliance-led "save democracy" march, according to city mayor Helen Zille.
"The last-minute taxi strike organised on Wednesday was designed to keep (away) all of the thousands of our people who are coming here today," she told about 1000 cheering supporters outside the provincial legislature.
"The ANC and their henchmen did everything they could to prevent this march happening today, blocking roads, burning tyres, preventing buses, preventing taxis from coming in here today.
'She's getting paranoid... chasing shadows'
"We still found a way to come. This is how democracy will survive in South Africa."
Her claim was denied by ANC provincial secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha, who labelled the march a "major failure".
"The ANC rejects any insinuation that we are behind the possible disruption or that we were behind the taxi protest," he said.
He said the first thing he knew about Thursday's taxi problems was when an ANC staffer called him to say she would be late for work.
"She's (Zille) getting paranoid," he said.
"She's chasing shadows."
The "save democracy" marchers, who included supporters of the other six parties that make up Cape Town's multi-party government, were protesting against an ANC plan to change the way the city is governed, thereby stripping Zille of her executive powers.
The ANC is currently the opposition in the city, after failing to secure a majority in the local government polls in March.
Zille has labelled the move an undemocratic power grab, and says the city will take its fight to the Constitutional Court if necessary.
At the legislature, Zille handed a memorandum to a representative of local government MEC Richard Dyantyi, which called on the MEC to immediately withdraw the formal notice he has issued under the Municipal Structures Act of his intention to scrap the current executive mayor system.
"We are standing up for democracy in Cape Town despite every attempt to prevent us from doing so," Zille told the marchers, who carried posters including one hand-lettered sign saying: "We voted for Zille, not Dyantyi."
"We say the ANC must learn to lose an election... we will safeguard democracy in South Africa," she said.
DA leader Tony Leon and Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder - whose party is a member of the city coalition - also addressed the crowd.
A small group of ANC protesters joined the back of the crowd, carrying posters calling for the removal of the "Godzille monster".
One of them, ANC media official Lionel Adendorf, said he and two other protesters were pepper-sprayed by a man in a DA T-shirt, and had racial slurs hurled at them.
Earlier on Thursday, police fired rubber bullets to disperse taxi drivers who blockaded the N2 on the Cape Flats and tried to stage illegal marches to central Cape Town to protest what they claimed was harassment by law enforcement officials.
One Golden Arrow bus was burned and two hijacked, and the company reported other buses were stoned.
Provincial community safety spokesperson Makhaya Manie said mid-afternoon that calm had been restored in some areas, and that police were monitoring the situation in others.
He said there had been no official reports of injuries or damage to property, and no reports from police of arrests.
Community safety MEC Leonard Ramatlakane said in a statement that taxi operators should not think the road belonged to them.
"We will not allow that taxi operators become a law to themselves and run our city and province ungovernable," he said. - Sapa
By Ben Maclennan
The African National Congress orchestrated Thursday's taxi violence in Cape Town in a bid to disrupt a Democratic Alliance-led "save democracy" march, according to city mayor Helen Zille.
"The last-minute taxi strike organised on Wednesday was designed to keep (away) all of the thousands of our people who are coming here today," she told about 1000 cheering supporters outside the provincial legislature.
"The ANC and their henchmen did everything they could to prevent this march happening today, blocking roads, burning tyres, preventing buses, preventing taxis from coming in here today.
'She's getting paranoid... chasing shadows'
"We still found a way to come. This is how democracy will survive in South Africa."
Her claim was denied by ANC provincial secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha, who labelled the march a "major failure".
"The ANC rejects any insinuation that we are behind the possible disruption or that we were behind the taxi protest," he said.
He said the first thing he knew about Thursday's taxi problems was when an ANC staffer called him to say she would be late for work.
"She's (Zille) getting paranoid," he said.
"She's chasing shadows."
The "save democracy" marchers, who included supporters of the other six parties that make up Cape Town's multi-party government, were protesting against an ANC plan to change the way the city is governed, thereby stripping Zille of her executive powers.
The ANC is currently the opposition in the city, after failing to secure a majority in the local government polls in March.
Zille has labelled the move an undemocratic power grab, and says the city will take its fight to the Constitutional Court if necessary.
At the legislature, Zille handed a memorandum to a representative of local government MEC Richard Dyantyi, which called on the MEC to immediately withdraw the formal notice he has issued under the Municipal Structures Act of his intention to scrap the current executive mayor system.
"We are standing up for democracy in Cape Town despite every attempt to prevent us from doing so," Zille told the marchers, who carried posters including one hand-lettered sign saying: "We voted for Zille, not Dyantyi."
"We say the ANC must learn to lose an election... we will safeguard democracy in South Africa," she said.
DA leader Tony Leon and Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Mulder - whose party is a member of the city coalition - also addressed the crowd.
A small group of ANC protesters joined the back of the crowd, carrying posters calling for the removal of the "Godzille monster".
One of them, ANC media official Lionel Adendorf, said he and two other protesters were pepper-sprayed by a man in a DA T-shirt, and had racial slurs hurled at them.
Earlier on Thursday, police fired rubber bullets to disperse taxi drivers who blockaded the N2 on the Cape Flats and tried to stage illegal marches to central Cape Town to protest what they claimed was harassment by law enforcement officials.
One Golden Arrow bus was burned and two hijacked, and the company reported other buses were stoned.
Provincial community safety spokesperson Makhaya Manie said mid-afternoon that calm had been restored in some areas, and that police were monitoring the situation in others.
He said there had been no official reports of injuries or damage to property, and no reports from police of arrests.
Community safety MEC Leonard Ramatlakane said in a statement that taxi operators should not think the road belonged to them.
"We will not allow that taxi operators become a law to themselves and run our city and province ungovernable," he said. - Sapa
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
posing
tourists disembark a huge bus, airconditioned with plush seating, at the foot of Company Gardens, the Slave Lodge. it is the first hot day in Cape Town, and drum beats pour out from the pathways of the old garden. the statue of Jan Smuts menaces, and i watch to see how many tourists will snap ignorant shots of this hero of conquest. across the way a man cranes his neck forward eagerly, snapping his camera at African children, posing for money, posing for food.
gunshots
There are gunshots going off
at the end of Morley Street.
It is dark outside and
the echoes are loud,
hollow and hard like
breaking ice, or metal.
Bas assures us it is a
car exhaust, revving and
popping ‘round the corner.
But we are quiet and nervous,
close the blinds and hide
behind the curtains.
at the end of Morley Street.
It is dark outside and
the echoes are loud,
hollow and hard like
breaking ice, or metal.
Bas assures us it is a
car exhaust, revving and
popping ‘round the corner.
But we are quiet and nervous,
close the blinds and hide
behind the curtains.
the hustle
Cape Town has a special vibe to it-- alive, like New York, which is what I think most connects the two places for me. Nothing about the real vibe of Cape Town is phony. Phonies don't last here. They find the reality, the duality of it, too in-your-face and leave to JoBurg, Australia or Europe.
I miss New York- the strength of the hustle. The rawness of the noises. The assault on the senses. But Cape Town has that too, the southern-hemisphere version. The colors brighter, streets dirtier, smells more volatile.
Long Street is full of hustle come midnight on a weekend. The toursits come in hordes, and the smell of exploitation is thick and uncomfortable. We pay 15 rand each and walk through the big, black-metal doors of Mama Africa towards the bar. Abakhaya, a boisterous marimba band from Khayelitsha, is mid-set and we take our seats along the red candle-lit bar. Coke bottles hang from the ceiling, casting reflective light-shadows across the walls. Andrew lights a cigarette and the strong smell of rich tobacco rises around us.
Suddenly the band is gone. The space between us and them has been filled with foreigners – German, Dutch, Korean – all come to Cape Town to dance away their white guilt, to revel in the magic of this exotic city. But not too much. Not really. (Not at all.)
We realize that the only black people in the place are serving food, music and sex. A young woman, quietly beautiful, sits just seats away from me at the far end of the bar. Her skin is soft and tight across her cheeks. Her lips are red with dark lipstick and her eyes smokey and warm. She is absent, mostly, except when the money makes her laugh, forces her to lift her drink to her lips and turn her face upwards towards his, lusty and flush with alcohol. I can't help but stare. His eyes are drooping, lids closing and I pray he will be too drunk by the end of the night to follow through. That hopefully she can just take the money and go back to her home in Crossroads or Langa or Gugulethu. That tonight she can hold her children to her breasts without the dirty reminder of white skin on hers, stealing life, conquering soul.
I miss New York- the strength of the hustle. The rawness of the noises. The assault on the senses. But Cape Town has that too, the southern-hemisphere version. The colors brighter, streets dirtier, smells more volatile.
Long Street is full of hustle come midnight on a weekend. The toursits come in hordes, and the smell of exploitation is thick and uncomfortable. We pay 15 rand each and walk through the big, black-metal doors of Mama Africa towards the bar. Abakhaya, a boisterous marimba band from Khayelitsha, is mid-set and we take our seats along the red candle-lit bar. Coke bottles hang from the ceiling, casting reflective light-shadows across the walls. Andrew lights a cigarette and the strong smell of rich tobacco rises around us.
Suddenly the band is gone. The space between us and them has been filled with foreigners – German, Dutch, Korean – all come to Cape Town to dance away their white guilt, to revel in the magic of this exotic city. But not too much. Not really. (Not at all.)
We realize that the only black people in the place are serving food, music and sex. A young woman, quietly beautiful, sits just seats away from me at the far end of the bar. Her skin is soft and tight across her cheeks. Her lips are red with dark lipstick and her eyes smokey and warm. She is absent, mostly, except when the money makes her laugh, forces her to lift her drink to her lips and turn her face upwards towards his, lusty and flush with alcohol. I can't help but stare. His eyes are drooping, lids closing and I pray he will be too drunk by the end of the night to follow through. That hopefully she can just take the money and go back to her home in Crossroads or Langa or Gugulethu. That tonight she can hold her children to her breasts without the dirty reminder of white skin on hers, stealing life, conquering soul.
la malegria de manu
i've been listening to a lot of Manu Chao recently... it's beautiful stuff, really. and to be listening the melody of the spanish language again is really magical. many of his songs are very political in nature, but that kind of utopian, idealistic political that we activists love to maintain. he's coined the word "malegria," which he describes as being 'a kind of sadness you can only fight with laughter. a painful happiness.' this is how we deal with life, isnt it? by laughing through the pain... by wiping away the tears, getting back up onto our feet, putting that smile back on and going out there to serve & to make the world a better place
solo voy con mi pena
sola va mi condena
correr es mi destino
para burlar la ley
perdido en el corazon
de la grande babylon
me dicen el clandestino
por no llevar papel
pa una ciudad del norte
yo me fui a trabajar
mi vida la deje
entre ceuta y gibraltar
soy una raya en el mar
fantasma en la ciudad
mi vida va prohibida
dice la autoridad
-Manu
solo voy con mi pena
sola va mi condena
correr es mi destino
para burlar la ley
perdido en el corazon
de la grande babylon
me dicen el clandestino
por no llevar papel
pa una ciudad del norte
yo me fui a trabajar
mi vida la deje
entre ceuta y gibraltar
soy una raya en el mar
fantasma en la ciudad
mi vida va prohibida
dice la autoridad
-Manu
Archbishop Tutu speaks of Biko
Here are some quotes from Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the 7th Steve Biko Memorial Lecutre, Sept 26, 2006 at Univ of Cape Town
"extraordinary greatness is measured by how much a person has served others"
"it was fun, painful fun, but fun" (referring to participation in the struggle against apartheid)
"black consciousness did not finish the work it set out to do"
"perhaps we did not realize how apartheid damaged us; that we have lost our sense of right and wrong"
"it seems as if we have perverted our freedom"
"now we have an obligation to obey the laws set out by our elected government"
...to respect ourselves...to respect others.
"the best memorial to Steve Biko would be a country where everyone respects themselves and has a positive self image and identity"
take seriously the cry of the coloured community!
take seriously the danger of ethnic strife and 'ethno-cracies'!
take seriously the problem of xenophobia!
and be sensitive towards issues of memorialisation.
"We, South Africans, are a scintillating success waiting to happen."
"extraordinary greatness is measured by how much a person has served others"
"it was fun, painful fun, but fun" (referring to participation in the struggle against apartheid)
"black consciousness did not finish the work it set out to do"
"perhaps we did not realize how apartheid damaged us; that we have lost our sense of right and wrong"
"it seems as if we have perverted our freedom"
"now we have an obligation to obey the laws set out by our elected government"
...to respect ourselves...to respect others.
"the best memorial to Steve Biko would be a country where everyone respects themselves and has a positive self image and identity"
take seriously the cry of the coloured community!
take seriously the danger of ethnic strife and 'ethno-cracies'!
take seriously the problem of xenophobia!
and be sensitive towards issues of memorialisation.
"We, South Africans, are a scintillating success waiting to happen."
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Margaret Atwood
found this on Katee's myspace page... a beautiful verse from a poem by Margaret Atwood. Just wanted to share it
I would like to be the air
that inhabits you for a moment
only. I would like to be that unnoticed
& that necessary.
From "Variation on the Word Sleep" by Margaret Atwood
... a very interesting way to think of one's self. either as a part of a relationship, or a part of the world as a whole, which is how i like to take it. to play a vital role, but with the utmost humility and purely for others. that is what to strive for.
I would like to be the air
that inhabits you for a moment
only. I would like to be that unnoticed
& that necessary.
From "Variation on the Word Sleep" by Margaret Atwood
... a very interesting way to think of one's self. either as a part of a relationship, or a part of the world as a whole, which is how i like to take it. to play a vital role, but with the utmost humility and purely for others. that is what to strive for.
Monday, October 02, 2006
The politics of reality
decided that this email i sent to aaron was worth other people reading as well....
so, yeah, i was reading this article in the newspaper today about ex MK and APLA combatants who are now illegal arms dealers in many of the townships, particularly in the Joburg area. craziness. they are selling AK 47s and stuff that were used during the struggle and are left over now. of course now they aren't being used for any political struggle, but instead for ppl who are starving and poor and decide to take up arms against society as criminals in order to survive. it's really nuts. south africa is a fascinating, and sometimes terrifying, country. there are so many issues in the air, and so many things that need to be solved and really analyzed in some very different and new way, because it is beyond obvious that the old ways of doing things are really not working. and that if we dont do something, the future will become a very, very scary thing. even with this guy who was elected head of the PAC (Pan African Congress) ... (Letlapa Mphalele). i totally understand what you're saying that the violence commited by the resistance was different than that committed by the apartheid gov't, and i agree, for sure. but then at the same time you have to realize that the people killed in these massacres (St James Church massacre and Heidelberg Tavern are the 2 that this guy famously ordered... and the church was an interfaith church, and the Tavern was in Obs, which is a very diverse community, just for some context) and think "ok, these people have families too. and they werent the apartheid gov't, they were civilians." so now the fact that he has been elected head of the PAC definitely creates resentment and anger within those ppeople who were affected by those attacks, thereby in some way continuing a kind of racism that says "right, white people killing black people is bad. but black people can kill white people and it's fine." which is definitely not a good message to send, no matter what the history of the country is, ya know?
ah! like i said, very complex. because then what is the solution, ya know? because preventing all of the anti-apartheid activists who took up arms against the govt (and sometimes, esp in the later years, therefore against white people) out of gov't could prevent some very smart, important figures from having a voice in the country. so how do you balance those issues? how do you take into consideration the political direciton of the country and the emotional and psychological realities of actual people at the same time? not easy. and i definitely cannot pretend to have any of the answers.
so, yeah, i was reading this article in the newspaper today about ex MK and APLA combatants who are now illegal arms dealers in many of the townships, particularly in the Joburg area. craziness. they are selling AK 47s and stuff that were used during the struggle and are left over now. of course now they aren't being used for any political struggle, but instead for ppl who are starving and poor and decide to take up arms against society as criminals in order to survive. it's really nuts. south africa is a fascinating, and sometimes terrifying, country. there are so many issues in the air, and so many things that need to be solved and really analyzed in some very different and new way, because it is beyond obvious that the old ways of doing things are really not working. and that if we dont do something, the future will become a very, very scary thing. even with this guy who was elected head of the PAC (Pan African Congress) ... (Letlapa Mphalele). i totally understand what you're saying that the violence commited by the resistance was different than that committed by the apartheid gov't, and i agree, for sure. but then at the same time you have to realize that the people killed in these massacres (St James Church massacre and Heidelberg Tavern are the 2 that this guy famously ordered... and the church was an interfaith church, and the Tavern was in Obs, which is a very diverse community, just for some context) and think "ok, these people have families too. and they werent the apartheid gov't, they were civilians." so now the fact that he has been elected head of the PAC definitely creates resentment and anger within those ppeople who were affected by those attacks, thereby in some way continuing a kind of racism that says "right, white people killing black people is bad. but black people can kill white people and it's fine." which is definitely not a good message to send, no matter what the history of the country is, ya know?
ah! like i said, very complex. because then what is the solution, ya know? because preventing all of the anti-apartheid activists who took up arms against the govt (and sometimes, esp in the later years, therefore against white people) out of gov't could prevent some very smart, important figures from having a voice in the country. so how do you balance those issues? how do you take into consideration the political direciton of the country and the emotional and psychological realities of actual people at the same time? not easy. and i definitely cannot pretend to have any of the answers.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Heritage Day 2005
i know, i know... i tell everyone that i'm keeping a blog, like its something im going to be really good about keeping up with, and now i have let you all down. i apologize. truly, i do. i promise- it will be better from here on out.
things have been settling in quite nicely i have to say. it's weird, adjusting to the fact that your entire life is in a new place. well, not entire- the ppl i love are, of course, not here. but i think that makes it even more interesting- and really a challenge to actually grow. because you have to realize that you are not going to be fulfilled by other ppl, and it has actually begun to force to me to rely on myself, and my Faith, and really to strengthen those aspects of myself, which is actually quite an amazing and fulfilling thing.
and the house is great. i really love my housemates, and everyone they bring around as well. and of course, per usual, the surrounding community of international and local students, activists, artists and young professionals continues to be one full of friendly people looking for a good time, good people and interesting conversation. so.. Obs (and Cape Town, more generally) has, thus far, been treating me well. we have spent a few days at the beach... and driving through the countryside here really makes you realize just how beautiful this place is. and i spent 2 days last week at a Restorative Justice conference out by the shore on the Atlantic side. it was really very interesting- so many key people there, and really not very hard to make connections with people and begin building bridges. i officially start work tomorrow and i am filled with a combination of excitement and anxiety. i just hope that i am really able to get out of it all that i am hoping for. and that i learn alot. the avenue of work is so rich and complex, and i just hope that, even with my limited experience and knowledge, i am really called up to play a key role in as much of it as possible.
and the Baha'i community! luckily i have really been able to connect with the Baha'is, which is so great. i met a few while i was here last time, and reconnected with them, really putting me in touch with the youth as well as the larger Baha'i community. so... that has been really wonderful. makes such a difference to spend time with like-spirited people.
but south africa certainly continues to be a place of many crazy paradoxes and complexities. i had about a 2 hour conversation this evening with andrew and justin about the way this country is going... the fact that politics remain so highly racialized... the fact that Zuma could be the next president (he was recently tried for rape and illegal arms deals)...the fact that it seems that idolization of the ANC is turning SA into a de facto one-party country, etc. And the fact that, as a white person, he feels very much marginalied from many of the political movements... i.e. fighting against evictions from the townships, protests at parliament against privatization of water. so, the case remains that nothing is simple in south africa. but, then again, its that way everywhere. of course, as the idealistic outsider, i was attempting to pose an alternate solution, or just a bit of hope... that the young people really be catalysts for change, and not become so disillusioned with the way things are now that they all take advantage of their dual citizenship (a lot of people have dual citizenship with the UK and South Africa, thus making immigration to any European country incredibly easy) and instead stay here and really chart the path for a new South Africa that is actually a socially, economically and politically just country. ahhh... the life of the activist. but truly, the key is to remain at the same time both a realist and an idealist. otherwise, you give up.
ok, well, sorry to leave on a relatively downward note, but... if it helps, i continue to remain an idealist. and for that i have to say, i really do thank the Baha'i Faith. without it, i'd be moving to Mars or something at this point.
things have been settling in quite nicely i have to say. it's weird, adjusting to the fact that your entire life is in a new place. well, not entire- the ppl i love are, of course, not here. but i think that makes it even more interesting- and really a challenge to actually grow. because you have to realize that you are not going to be fulfilled by other ppl, and it has actually begun to force to me to rely on myself, and my Faith, and really to strengthen those aspects of myself, which is actually quite an amazing and fulfilling thing.
and the house is great. i really love my housemates, and everyone they bring around as well. and of course, per usual, the surrounding community of international and local students, activists, artists and young professionals continues to be one full of friendly people looking for a good time, good people and interesting conversation. so.. Obs (and Cape Town, more generally) has, thus far, been treating me well. we have spent a few days at the beach... and driving through the countryside here really makes you realize just how beautiful this place is. and i spent 2 days last week at a Restorative Justice conference out by the shore on the Atlantic side. it was really very interesting- so many key people there, and really not very hard to make connections with people and begin building bridges. i officially start work tomorrow and i am filled with a combination of excitement and anxiety. i just hope that i am really able to get out of it all that i am hoping for. and that i learn alot. the avenue of work is so rich and complex, and i just hope that, even with my limited experience and knowledge, i am really called up to play a key role in as much of it as possible.
and the Baha'i community! luckily i have really been able to connect with the Baha'is, which is so great. i met a few while i was here last time, and reconnected with them, really putting me in touch with the youth as well as the larger Baha'i community. so... that has been really wonderful. makes such a difference to spend time with like-spirited people.
but south africa certainly continues to be a place of many crazy paradoxes and complexities. i had about a 2 hour conversation this evening with andrew and justin about the way this country is going... the fact that politics remain so highly racialized... the fact that Zuma could be the next president (he was recently tried for rape and illegal arms deals)...the fact that it seems that idolization of the ANC is turning SA into a de facto one-party country, etc. And the fact that, as a white person, he feels very much marginalied from many of the political movements... i.e. fighting against evictions from the townships, protests at parliament against privatization of water. so, the case remains that nothing is simple in south africa. but, then again, its that way everywhere. of course, as the idealistic outsider, i was attempting to pose an alternate solution, or just a bit of hope... that the young people really be catalysts for change, and not become so disillusioned with the way things are now that they all take advantage of their dual citizenship (a lot of people have dual citizenship with the UK and South Africa, thus making immigration to any European country incredibly easy) and instead stay here and really chart the path for a new South Africa that is actually a socially, economically and politically just country. ahhh... the life of the activist. but truly, the key is to remain at the same time both a realist and an idealist. otherwise, you give up.
ok, well, sorry to leave on a relatively downward note, but... if it helps, i continue to remain an idealist. and for that i have to say, i really do thank the Baha'i Faith. without it, i'd be moving to Mars or something at this point.
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