Day 1: Real Tears

I think we, as Americans, often rely too heavily on skewed media portrayals to inform us about other countries.  Make no mistake, Cape Town is a big city!  The buildings aren't quite as dense as New York or Chicago, but it is bustling!  It's amazing being able to stand in a spot and see ocean, cityscape, and mountains at the same time, and it's something I've never experienced before. It was also very cool to eat breakfast while viewing Table Mountain overhead and watching the clouds literally pour off the side of the mountain like a waterfall.


Needless to say, after quite the whirlwind traveling experience, my first full day in Cape Town was AMAZING.  We started the day with breakfast at the hostel (The Backpack) followed by a trip to the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa.  It was fun to realize that I’m at a point in my life where I can actually understand art installations and ascribe meaning to them, instead of just looking at the work and walking away.  We saw a great exhibit by William Kendrige and his pieces were so powerful.  He is a white man, but his anger and distaste for how whites people have treated South Africa and her people was incredibly evident in his work.  It was really refreshing to see such a raw, honest, depiction from a white man instead of the often repudiative attitudes I’m used to hearing and seeing in the U.S.

After the museum and lunch, we traveled to the Rhodes Memorial site.  I have debated about sharing my photos because of what they represent, but I’ve decided to do so to provide context.

Cecil Rhodes was a businessman who made his fortune from diamonds, one of South Africa's most prized natural resources.  In fact, he founded the De Beers corporation, which you've likely heard of, and probably remember their diamond commercials, especially around the holidays.  He was also a philanthropist who donate money that was meant to provide South Africans with education, but Black South Africans didn't benefit from that education at the time, and they continue to struggle to reap the same educational benefits as their White counterparts.  If you've heard of Rhodes Scholars, this is the person those scholarships were named after.  There is a movement in South Africa, "Rhodes Must Fall," which is about students, especially Black South African students, protesting the institutionalized educational racism in South Africa.  Statues of Cecil Rhodes around the city, including the one above, have been vandalized; at least one, at The University of Cape Town was finally removed.




There was an excellent discussion with the Educo Facilitators about the difficulties Black and Colored South Africans face when trying to attend school, especially if they do not receive a scholarship.  Student loans aren't a thing in South Africa, so there is a lot of anxiety around getting to attend university and whether a benefactor will be available to defray the cost.  While I acknowledge the many ways in which I have been privileged in my life, despite being a Black woman, I wasn't aware of how difficult just achieving a degree could be in South Africa, and I appreciated the opportunity to really reexamine the levels of privilege that I wasn't aware I have.


We ended the evening with a discussion with two Child and Youth Workers, AJ and Christine.  We learned that in South Africa, a person is considered a youth until age 35, and that this is very much a remnant of Apartheid and the way it oppressed Black and Colored South Africans.  The unemployment rate in South Africa is 27%, so many people, especially young people experience difficulty finding and maintaining employment.  South African families are communal, with multiple generations of one family often living together.  The Youth and Child welfare system, similar to the US, is incredibly overtaxed, with drastically overworked workers and caseloads that would make even the most seasoned US CPS worker feel faint.  There are many street children in South Africa, and the system is not set up in a way such as to provide long-term or long-lasting assistance.  There also are few resources for youth between 18-35, leaving a gaping hole in services for young adults.

This day was a whirlwind, and I'm in awe of the ways in which my mind has been opened and I've been able to consider to many things that I simply did not know before.  I'll never stop being grateful for this opportunity, and I look forward to the many experiences yet to come!

Camielle