South Africa is now behind me and I am on my way towards Mauritius. What a vibrant country where people are full of pride and hope despite 25% unemployment, a 20% HIV infection rate, and an average life expectancy of only 45 years. What horrible numbers yet South Africa accounts for 28% of the entire GDP of Africa and is the wealthiest nation on the continent. Needless to say this is a country of inequality and is relatively new considering apartheid ended in 1991 and Nelson Mandela the African National Congress (ANC) only came to power in 1994. Despite these hardships the country is growing at around 5% per year while inflation is declining to a mid 3% level. Sorry for the data as my economic and finance interests are kicking in. Enough numbers and statistics for now, what did I do?
MARCH 2, 2007
The first day I arrived we had a wonderful visit and speech by the Premier of the Cape Province who is a Muslim member of the ANC. He was a wonderful speaker and made insights into religious extremism and the need to reconcile our differences to move forward together as a tolerant world civilization where everyone can live peacefully together. The afternoon I met up with my Mom and Art to ride up and watch the sunset on Table Mountain. This is a huge 3,000 ft flat mountain that hovers above the city with incredible panoramic views. I have added a few pictures of this experience below. We had a few beers on top and spoke with some kids studying from Europe before returning for dinner and an early nights sleep.
MARCH 3, 2007
So apparently Cape Town has a large wine industry and since I am in college a visit seemed like a great idea. Needless to say I may have overindulged in Reds, Whites, Chardonnays, Merlots, Schnapps, and other assortments I don’t really remember. I really should start making an effort to distinguish between wines but I think my taste buds are still recovering from the past years consumption of cheap beer. Our guide was great minus the fact that he talked more than my mom. For those who have met my mom this is quite an incredible feat. The only interesting fact of many I will share about him is that he was apparently laid off due to affirmative action policies implemented by the government since the end of apartheid. He said that he was replaced by a black man who was less skilled and they paid him three times as much in a managerial position. Our guide said that these policies were creating a brain drain on the country where many educated whites were leaving due to the affirmative action policies. I do not have an opinion on the policy one way or another but it was just interesting to me the positive and negative effects that policy was creating. The rest of the evening was uneventful.
MARCH 4-6, 2007
SAFARI TO KRUGER NATIONAL PARK!!! One of the most exciting experiences I have ever had. In North Carolina we have deer, squirrels, deer, bears, deer, and more deer. Kruger Park had Hippos, Zebras, Owls, Vultures, Crocodiles, Jackals, Warthogs, Impalas (aka deer), Rhinoceros, Leopards, Buffalo, Hyenas, Elephants, Giraffes, and Lions. I was fortunate to see every one of these animals except the lions. I did two “game drives” during the day and one at night. Most of the sightings however were relatively calm and consisted of an animal eating grass or walking very slowly somewhere. Some animal pictures are below and I have some great videos to share as well when I come home. The lodge we stayed at was gorgeous and luxurious beyond my expectations. Food was wonderful and one evening we had a local group perform a native tribal dance and song ritual for us. I felt as if I were in the middle of an Animal Planet episode or a National Geographic article the entire time.
MARCH 7, 2007
Today I visited Robben Island where many of the political prisoners arrested during apartheid were held including Nelson Mandela. The history of the prison was fascinating because it had existed as a prison island from 1660 until 1996. Nelson Mandela and the other prisoners were treated terribly and he specifically spent 18 years on the island and another 9 years in other prisons before being released in 1990. Cells were about 8’L x 6’W and consisted of a blanket, pillow, bucket, and table. Black prisoners were given no socks, shoes, or long pants or shirts even in the winter months and were also rationed fewer quantities of food. During the day they were forced to work in a limestone quarry with no sunglasses or dust masks creating many medical problems for the prisoners later in life. Despite these hardships Mandela promoted forgiveness and reconciliation when he was released instead of vengeance. It was frankly one of those experiences that reminded me how lucky we are to have been free our entire lives.
MARCH 8, 2007
My final day in Cape Town and I was able to convince my mom to join me on a township visit. The townships are mostly black poor areas on the outskirts of town that were created to house black laborers during apartheid. Many of the laborers were housed in barrack style accommodations that were for males only. Because of this people were separated from their families until the end of apartheid. After apartheid their families joined them and a great migration of people moved to the urban areas of the country. This also included people in rural areas looking for jobs as well as refugees and immigrants from other African countries. It might help to recall that Botswana which borders S. Africa on the north has a much higher unemployment rate and average life expectancy of ONLY 28 YEARS. So of the four or five million people that live in the Cape Town area approximately two or three million of these people live in townships or squatter camps. I visited Khalitsha Township which is a massive expanse of over 1.2 million people where unemployment hovers around 50% and aids, poverty, and crime are rampant. Despite these circumstances people were happy and hopeful that things were improving. The government has sponsored a massive development project to give everyone suitable housing and some of the pictures below will show these new homes in comparison to the squatter shacks. We also visited a school where the principal requested help in creating the non existent school library and I spoke to a teacher who was teaching Marxism and the exploitation of workers under capitalism. There was also an NGO we visited where adults and disabled persons were taught trade skills such as painting, carpentry, metal working, bead weaving, and other skills. This was similar to our community college and was to help the unemployed create a source of income. It was quite a humbling experience to say the least.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Despite the hardships and the inequality in the cities and the entire country South Africa is growing and improving and the people seem happy. Like any country, including our own, there is room for improvement but considering the first free elections were only held in 1994 they are doing pretty well. One very important fact I learned and was unaware of is that the World Cup will be held in South Africa in 2010 so anyone interested in coming here for some soccer and the time of their lives in three years then please let me know. What have I learned from South Africa? Forgiveness and reconciliation can work if given a chance. I apologize, for after reviewing the entry I realize it reads more like a history or current events piece than a personal experience, but there was so much information I thought that was important to share to everyone to broaden all of our perspectives. Hope that everyone back home is doing well and I enjoy receiving messages from all of you. Wolfpack beating Duke helped brighten my day as well. GO PACK!!!
Look at the Contrast in the Pictures Above to get an
idea of the inequality in South Africa
