Well, it’s been a while since my last post, and as per usual there’s lots to say about our adventures in South Africa. My favorite part of Cape Town so far was visiting Robbin Island- I had just finished the part in Long Walk to Freedom that took place at the prison. It was literally like the words were coming to life before my eyes, which I hadn’t experienced so instantaneously before. Marni and I jokingly took photos of the book in front of where Mandela had buried his manuscript years before, which was a cool way to acknowledge the direct connections between the storyline and what we do in this class.
However, it hasn’t been all fun and games. We’re actually learning here too, and being able to go to class on campus (almost!) as beautiful as Boulder has been great. I’ve been struck throughout our endless stream of lectures and township visits by one thing- the lack of white volunteer work being done in the townships. Courtney and I had mentioned earlier in class how hard it is to do volunteering in Boulder, and compared it to how accessible it was here. When we went to dinner at Africa Café, I decided to ask Chris, our South African Interstudy guide, just to see why we weren’t seeing any white involvement in what was going on in the townships in the form of NGO’s building houses for the homeless and poor in the area. I was surprised by a lack of explanation, or even defense really- Chris stated that whites simply don’t go to the townships. It just doesn’t happen. I’m not sure if I’m justified in expecting them to be doing something about the problem just because it’s on their doorstep- there’s certainly problems around Boulder that I could be helping with because it’s geographically convenient- but I would at least be able to come up with a lame excuse like a lack of time or lack of passion for the cause. I feel like I got a better understanding of the situation with today’s contact hypothesis discussion- there’s an underlying mistrust there that needs to be dealt with, a commonality that needs to be established. I’m frustrated because I feel like building a house as a group would be an excellent bond-forming activity, but would unfortunately require a large amount of outside effort and a willingness to give up free time in order to better racial relations. Not necessarily on the typical South African’s daily to do list. After doing more work with contact hypothesis, I feel less angry about the situation than I did before, when the social factors at play here were rather invisible. I still believe strongly that assistance to the townships is something that should be going on via white communities working with black residents, but my initial shock at the way white South Africans skirt around the areas has subsided after a psychological explanation. From here on out, I’ll try and approach the issue with a broader mindset that encompasses the external factors that are constantly at play here, a method that is getting more important as we discuss more specific issues.
Today we went to the Mayibuye Center archives briefly before our education lecture, which was a really significant collection in terms of pure and unedited archiving of apartheid history. Rows and rows of documents, carefully boxed yet unsorted, stretching out before us. The guy giving us our impromptu tour mentioned several times that they were always short on staff, so the cataloging process for all of the photos, news clippings and video cuts that people of the area and even Desmond Tutu had entrusted to the university. Every time we visit these fresh historical sites- the places where, in the lifetime of people that I know like my parents, the notable events of Apartheid were happening- I feel so much more connected to what happened. These records, which are still being sorted after all these years, were just another reminder of how long it’s going to take South Africa to “sort out” the after effects of the system. I want to take away a better ability to listen and acknowledge that the people speaking to us about the story of South Africa were there, and lived through it. That merits a much more respectful attitude and full attention when hearing what they have to say on the subject. After seeing Robbin Island with my own eyes and looking through authentic apartheid artifacts, I’ve attempted to be more alert to the personal stories of the people we’re encountering, and how it affects the way that they show us their truth about apartheid.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with what you are saying about volunteering in the United States. I remember in High School I had such a hard time finding an organization to volunteer at, partly due to the fact that where I lived there weren't really many options to volunteer. I would have had to commute to inner city Philly to complete my required community service hours to graduate. It sounds terrible that I would be complaining about commuting to do good for the community and I seem to have the excuse that I did not have time to commute that far. Luckily I did find something within my town, but it was hard to find.
Now I am really interested in volunteering, but I feel like I still have the same problems of finding places who want volunteers. Looking at the three women who created the South Africa's Homeless People's Federation I feel angry and frustrated. They are struggling so much to get volunteers, but no one seems to want to help out. I've been thinking of ways to help them out from outside of the country and I think I have some really good ideas about possibly creating an NGO to help them out.