Let me quickly preface this first blog post by saying I have never had a blog, never had a journal, and never really been the type of person to write down my thoughts and reflections outside of schoolwork. While I’m pretty confident that saying a maximum of a ten people may ever read this might by a bit of an over exaggeration, I just figured I’d provide a little background on my experience in writing these types of pieces before I attempt to incorporate the thousands of observations and thoughts that have flooded my mind since my arrival in South Africa.
After a week in Johannesburg, I believe I have taken in, and attempted to retain, more information in a small period of time than I ever have before, excluding the near inevitable cramming that occurs before finals. Because of this, I have decided to focus on a few dichotomies that surprised and, in some cases, horrified me during our short visit to this area of South Africa. I have also decided to focus on the observations that have helped form my view of South Africa today, instead of historically.
After leaving the airport, it became immediately apparent that Bill’s and Bob’s warnings about how political South Africa is, were if anything an under exaggeration. Every street lamp appeared to have a poster advertising the ANC, or the ANC’s opposition. For someone who began this experience with a firm belief that the ANC was at the center of the issues facing South Africa, I quickly became aware of how despite heavily publicized political blunders, the ANC manages to maintain its control of South Africa, for now at least. I understood the loyalty factor behind the ANC’s support, but the contrast between the propaganda of the ANC and its opposition quickly struck me. As we drove by downtown Johannesburg, on the side of many skyscrapers hung massive ANC banners. The oppositions’ posters and flyers barely paled in comparison, and thus I quickly ascertained that it was not just the historical significance of the ANC that helps to keep them in power. While this contrast may seem unimportant, the ANC’s current political power is a firm interest of mine, so thus these differences were fascinating to me. Despite what I believe to be a blatant lack of proficiency in running a nation, ANC has the infrastructure to maintain their control in South Africa that I did not expect.
The next dichotomy that truly horrified me was the condition of the townships versus those of the richer areas. This was exemplified by Sandton, one of the richest suburbs in South Africa, and Alexandra, one of the poorest townships. In Sandton, one is more likely to feel as if they are in a suburb of New York City than a mere short walk from Alex. The people are mainly white, while the houses are fit for Westchester County. As our guide Thambo, easily one of the most charismatic and fascinating people we met this week, lead us through his home of Alex, it is impossible to ignore the severe poverty that still haunts South Africa however. Despite how proud Thambo was of his community, one sees streets bordered by shacks squeezed together with barely any space remaining in some of the worse areas of Alex. Apartheid may be gone, but the distinction between the mostly white Sandton and the nearly exclusively non-white Alexandra represented how deeply racism and poverty still affect South Africa, and, in my opinion, how little the ANC has done to fix these issues.
Finally, the last dichotomy that helped me begin to understand the issues that still plague South Africa came on our first two stops. We first visited the Voortrekker Monument, followed by Freedom Park. At Voortrekker, our tour guide was an old white South African, who spoke to us about the history behind the monument. It quickly became apparent how deeply she was invested in the history of the Voortrekkers, and she made them out to be great heroes. At first this did not concern me, but as the Afrikaners slaughtered Zulus during their “Great Trek,” and it became apparent how justified she believed these actions to be, I began to gain insight into how prevalent racism still is in South Africa. Our tour guide at Freedom Park quickly addressed the Voortrekker monument, discussing how it is seen as a symbol of apartheid, and many South Africans wished to destroy it after the end of the era. Our tour guide was an activist and believer in the significance of Freedom Park, but he also was very willing to critique it and other aspects of South African society. He was fascinating and enlightened me into how stuck in the past our previous tour guide truly was. There was no mention of the controversy that surrounds the monument or any concern about the actions of the Afrikaners. I cannot speak of her opinions on apartheid, but as long as there are South Africans who treat South African history how she does, racism will still permeate throughout the culture.
While the first week of our Duke Engage was a truly incredible historical experience, I chose to focus on my contemporary observations for this blog post. I entered this trip with an understanding that issues of poverty and racism were still prevalent in South Africa, but I was still shocked to experience it first hand. The museums we visited discussed the atrocities of apartheid and the great leaders and victories required to overthrow the regime, but one week in Johannesburg made it simple to ascertain that South Africa still needs far more work than most people know.
