The people of South Africa
By Aleena
If I had to pick one thing that really stood out to me in South Africa, it is definitely the people.
South Africa is breathtaking. The grass is very green, weather is quite agreeable and food is delicious. But that is not what makes me want to book another flight back to Johannesburg. It may be part of it, but that is not ‘it’. If I had to pick one thing that really stood out to me in South Africa, it is definitely the people.
South Africa has a dark, sad history. We had learnt about the cruelties of the Apartheid movement multiple times. But stepping foot in a museum dedicated to educating one about the extent of race entitlement and apartheid really drives the point home. Walking into cramped solitary confinement cells where trail blazers were locked 24 hours a day makes you realize the extreme physical and mental torture endured for the sake of basic human rights.
Another visit was to Hector Museum, dedicated to the 176 school children who lost their lives during a peaceful protest over, essentially, their school curriculum. This sounds like something out of a horror movie, and it truly should be, but sadly it all happened only 43 years ago. This makes one wonder how mankind can be so unfair to one another. It made me think about how we often watch movies of aliens invading our planet and mankind banding together to fight them off- looking at how poorly we treat each over the smallest of differences, it seems highly unlikely any ‘banding together’ will occur, if ever the need arises!
We were assured time and time again that any racial discrimination is long gone. ‘Racism is not to be tolerated’ was the phrase repeatedly narrated to us by our tour guide. However, passing through neighborhoods in Soweto, where electricity had to be stolen to power what was most likely a single fan to survive the growing heat; into neighborhoods in the suburbs of Johannesburg where behind gated houses one could catch glimpses of aesthetic waterfalls in backyards- most likely powered by electricity. Financial disparity was very stark. This does make one wonder that if the poor continue to live in areas like Soweto, without proper infrastructure, education, electricity and drinking water- then how are they ever to break out of Soweto? How can they ever afford an aesthetically pleasing waterfall house in that fancy Johannesburg suburb?
Yes, Afrikaans was removed from the curriculum and reforms were put in place to abolish all racial prohibitions- but is that enough? Or is more required to balance out the systematic injustice endured by a community which existed in harmony until colonized by people because they thought they could? In a capitalist country, there will always be some rich, and some poor, no doubt. However, when almost all decisions are being driven by the color of your skin, it seems a bit too frustratingly unfair.
We visited multiple organizations, all driven by the idea of social impact, and they are no doubt doing meaningful work. It is organizations like WHO, WITs and Nene Molefi, to name a few, that will be able to bridge the invisible, but very real gap that still exists.
Back to my earlier note about the wonderful people. Even after all the injustice and frustrating prejudices, the people were wonderful. Beyond hospitable. People who drive Ubers, serve at restaurants and give tours. Blue collar people. People who know how to find happiness in the little things in life. No one was really out to rob you, they were simply trying to make a decent living to take home. Should I pay 250 ZAR for this book-end or bring it down to 200? Do the extra 3 dollars really matter to me? Not really. But do they matter to the guy with his business set up on the side of a dirt road? Probably. Truth be told, it could pay for his electricity. And that is my biggest takeaway lesson.