Ava asking many questions

When I came to South Africa, I expected to have an overwhelming sense of emotion that would immediately bring me to tears. What I did not expect was to feel a sense of normality in going through my day-to-day activities. Now the initial shock has come to a close and I am ultimately feeling the sense of “settling in”. Life becomes life, and the effect of a vacation wears off. You might think that that is the worst thing to happen, but now I can no longer pretend that I’m a mere tourist without a greater purpose for my time in Cape Town. Now, there is nothing stopping me from feeling the impact of my surroundings. The reality of my life beyond Long Street (the teen-club area) and to the “streets” of Hanover Park. Monday through Wednesday I go to my internship at Christel House.  Christel House is an organization of schools located all around the world (one in Indianapolis, one in India, one in Venezuela, one in Mexico, etc). The schools take children from the absolute poorest areas and give them access to a 100% free and high standard education. The children shower me with me hugs and beg to play with my hair. In attempt to make a life at Christel House outside of my interactions with the children, I often talk to the teachers about their political views and how they feel about the poverty the children at Christel House come from. Most of them feel the government has slighted them and their children. They feel in 20 short years, the government has not moved far enough. I had met a 15 year old girl at one of our Jazz nights with her friends, all of who grew up in Cape Town. She had strong and very, very informed beliefs about her government. They all talked with ease about Jacob Zuma and the ANC. This was incredible to me, as a good amount of American adults do not even know that “Obama Care” and the “Affordable Care Act” are the same thing.

           

The magnitude to which, it appears, South Africa feels dissatisfied with the pace of change in their country gets me to think about the amount of time it took the US to reach the “racial equality” we have today. I know that comparing is never a good basis for understanding, but America is 200 and somewhat odd years old. Civil rights for African Americans have only existed for less than half the age of the country. I am as old as South Africa’s democracy…. an interesting thought. I wonder how one can expect such huge change to occur in such a small amount of time, especially in South Africa where the country is much older than the US.  Granted, basic human rights have been ignored such as adequate housing, sanitation and infrastructure. But can you expect a country that was solely based and structured on apartheid to be completely unified and problem free after only 20 years? I wonder what they had expected to happen, and what the ANC and Mandela had promised them in this short amount of time. But is it such a short amount of time? The white areas in Cape Town, such as Bishops Court, are fully developed and problem free. They have their basic human rights met (as well as the right to a more than sufficient education) and so much more. Why is it not the same for all areas? Why hasn’t the government been able to put the money it has given the white schools into the black and colored schools? Why isn’t there a system in place to create new public housing, infrastructure, and adequate schools? Why are all children of poverty not entitled to a free and sufficient education when their constitution grants that right? As I sit in my classroom at UConn Stamford and am constantly tortured by the socio-economic inequality that has shaped my life, I realize my country does not guarantee me an education at all. Cape Town’s youth protest and are informed, waiting for the day when they can vote and voice themselves while my peers party and perhaps pick up a newspaper from time to time. Cape Town’s poverty issues are clear and plain as day. Most UConn students could go through nearly 20 years of schooling and not confront a single social issue, if they so choose. Is this something to be proud of? For now, I find myself rethinking where I stand on my own views because despite my own experiences with poverty, I will never know what my children at Christel House go home to. I will never know the feeling of being afraid to leave for winter and summer holidays, not knowing when my next meal will be.  As Marita says, oppression cannot be ranked, but my personal understanding begins with decomposing and comparing my own oppression at home in order to understand it in South Africa. Until next time.