24 April 2009

Faina's Reflections things so many of us take for granted




As my concluding blog I would like to touch on several things that have happened towards the end of this trip.  In class we talk about race and class and I have seen first hand how these things play out in the real world, in a different country.  The rich white population in South Africa has grown up completely different from the poor black population.  If you imagine your childhood what do you see?  Do you picture playing sports in the park?  Sitting on the couch watching your favorite movies?  Playing video games on the computer or game system, catching a flick at the theatre with your friends?  It is eye opening to realize that these memories are not shared by everyone, no matter how basic they seem.  Maybe a child here has a memory of crowding around to watch a movie, but instead it is on a tiny television which is plagued with static and instead of sitting in a well lit room on a couch they sit on a blanket on the floor in a room with no lamps, where the wall is peeing and there are no doors to separate the rooms.  Their memories of playing sports is playing with a soccer ball made of wet newspaper, plastic bags and other miscellaneous items rolled up as circularly as possible.  And instead of playing on a nice grass field they are playing on the brown dirt that kicks up and gets in your eyes wearing old sneakers or most likely no shoes at all.  That going to the bathroom means walking outside to an outside toilet stall and getting water requires walking to the water pump.  Computer and video games are completely un-available.  So all of my memories of playing Mario Brothers or Mario Kart are so distant from their reality that it is hard to picture how a child of my generation has never experienced it.  It’s not just that you don’t own a computer and you could just go to your cousins or neighbors, but it’s that no one has a computer.  Every road you ever go on in your daily tasks, house after house, shack after shack there is not a single computer.  I had 6 learners over the house on Monday and this would explain why, even at age 18, some do not know how to turn on the internet, or how to move the mouse on a laptop, or they must search slowly and carefully on the keyboard to find the letter they are looking for. 

During our stay here there has been a huge buzz about elections, since the next president will be changed this year.  Today was election day.  It was a public holiday and many people did not have to go to work so that they could vote.  There were voting stations everywhere, even at Thandokhulu.  I experienced what voting was like in Khayelitsha today, a huge black township in Cape Town.  

 On the streets leading to the numerous voting locations are tables set up where people try to advocate for a particular political party.  On the street I was on there was an ANC table, and a few meters down a COPE table.  The people there handed out fliers and flashed banners.  Unlike the US there are many political parties.  The ballot is very long and lists all of the parties with the picture of the face of the president next to each party.  I was able to walk through the entire process, all the way up to the booth.  

 I entered the primary school which was turned into a voting station and waited in line for about 15 minutes with my friend who lived there.  Inside there was a room with tables and booths set up.  She showed her ID and they stamped it stating that she had voted.  They also put ink on her thumb nail to indicate that she had voted.  This was done mostly so that a person cannot vote in one location and then call IEC and request to vote in a different location, to have a double vote.  Then, she is handed the two ballot papers: one for the national leader, and one for the provincial leader.  You can vote a different party for each. 

 Then she walks to the booth and puts an X next to which party she wants for national and which one she wants for provincial.  Then she just drops these two papers in a box in the middle of the room.  Outside there is election excitement here and there.  I saw at least four cars which were painted with ANC on them and with people hanging out the window screaming “ANC” and waving around banners.  One car even had a mega phone to scream out ANC supportive statements.  Many people walked around with ANC T-shirts.  There were also a few COPE T-shirts, but majority of overt supporters were for the ANC.  My friend voted for COPE, a party that recently branched from the ANC.  My other friend in the same location voted for ID- the Independent Democrats.  There were also small rallies and celebrations for the ANC which is obviously going to win because of the large amount of supporters it has.  Many of the learners that I talked to who were old enough to vote said that they were not going to vote, that they were not ready yet and did not know enough about it.  Some of the teachers told me they would not vote because they do not see any party that they agree with and see them all as corrupt.  Either way, there were many people out today voting, and many were very enthusiastic about it.

 

Being in South Africa allowed me to reflect on how differently communities and populations live and also how other people’s kindness has shaped my childhood.  If it weren’t for another person spending money and time simply out of their heart to do something for me like taking me to the movies, buying me a reading book, driving me to soccer practice, taking me with them to family outings, taking me to eat out I would never have experienced many things that brought joy to the early years of my life.  I have told myself since I was little that if I ever hade the opportunity and ability to do the same for someone else I would not hesitate.  For example, when some people my age buy their own cars they don’t offer to give people a ride or do so only if they are given gas money.  There were so many times when people have given me a ride and expected nothing from me, so how could I deny the next person that?  South Africa has given me the opportunity to give back and make a difference in someone’s life.  From seeing the smile and joy on the learners face when I bought her a cake on her 18th birthday in class to giving a dedicated learner a much needed English dictionary.  The 50 or 100 rands that this would take ($5, $10) is an impossible amount for them when all they can think of to do with their money is to buy a warm enough winter jacket or lunch snack. 


Emily A & Faina 
 I was also happy to be able to leave Thandokhulu with a beautiful mural of their logo so that they can be proud of their school and realize that it is worth spending time in.  I wish everyone reached out their hand, even if it is just to give time, to those whose minds are trapped in a box containing only thoughts of subsistence level items such as where will the next meal come from, will we have electricity for the month, will I be able to buy the bus ticket to get to school and have enough warm clothes and blankets to be comfortable.  The luxuries that we take for granted like hot water, numerous pairs of socks, internet, birthday presents, level walls and a stable roof are denied to people who are closer to you than you think making it vital for you to have an open mind and an open heart