Friday June 20 & Saturday June 21
I thought I'd open this blog with the view that has greeted me each morning that we've been in the Stellenbosch area. It is incredible here - we're just a few kilometers out of Stellenbosch but a world away. It is quiet, serene, peaceful, and beautiful. I think some of the heaviness of the last week's learning has started to catch up to me a bit, and I feel like this change of location and a little bit of quiet time has been helpful just to reflect, write, and make connections with all that I've taken in since we've been here.
Although I had originally planned this portion of the trip to connect with contacts shared with me as I planned the grant, as so often happens in life and in travel, the universe had other plans for me! Yet I was still able gain a lot of insight being here (when you keep your eyes open, you can learn everywhere and anywhere!), and also immerse myself in the beauty of another part of the Cape region.
One night this weekend, I was able to have the chance to share a long evening of conversation with a few South Africans living in the area where we were staying. One, a man in his 60's named Ron, the other a female Masters student who is 28 - the same age as I am - named Sara. Both of them are white South Africans. Despite their different European heritage, both identify strongly and singularly as South African. As we shared conversation over wine and bread and the course of many hours one evening, I was given a really vivid picture of the South Africa of each of their experiences. I'll do my best to objectively share about what I heard in their stories...and maybe editorialize a little bit at the end! :-)
Ron grew up in South Africa, then traveled to Britain for school, and decided to stay there for a bit. He eventually married a German woman, and moved to Germany to live with her and raise their children. He came back to SA when his marriage ended, and he's been here ever since. He works in the government doing scientific work. He speaks with what sounds to us like a very British accent.
Sara grew up on a rural farm near Durban - no electricity, no running water. One of her parents is German, and the other was born in SA to German parents. Sara's first language was german, but now she speaks, english, german, and afrikaans. She's a botany student who is starting her masters and planning to do fieldwork in Mongolia. (Fieldwork actually won't be her first time in Mongolia...she recently competed in a 1,000 kilometer horse race there, tracing the path of Genghis Khan!) Sara shared a lot with us about her perspectives on race and culture in South African society today, and Ron also added his perspectives every now and again.
Sara talked of growing up without a concept of race. To her, she didn't notice differences between skin color. It wasn't until boarding school, when some of the black girls in her dorm called her a racist, that she went home to ask her mom about what racism was. Sara started her schooling just as apartheid was being dismantled. When she came to the University of Stellenbosch (less than ten years ago), all instruction was still being delivered in Afrikaans (remember, that's the language of the education that the students in Soweto were protesting). She feels that her school experience had no influence of apartheid, and she also feels that even though it's only been one generation since the apartheid regime was in power, a lot of good development has happened in SA. She implied that maybe its time everyone "moves on" from what happened during the apartheid years - it's been over 20 years now...Sara shared that some of the wealthiest people in the country are now made up of the black Africans who only twenty years ago were deeply oppressed by apartheid.
Sara spoke with deep reverence for president Mandela - sharing that he united the entire country and did tremendous things for South Africa. She said she thought Mandela's death was bringing everyone back to the realizations of all he did here, and the incredible man that he was. She also shared that she feels that the leaders since Mandela have not been able to make nearly as much progress.
Sara's perspective is that the government has worked very hard to create opportunities for groups who had been oppressed, and that this has resulted in a lot more opportunities for people who once had no chance to thrive in the South Africa of apartheid. She shared that some white South Africans are now finding it harder than ever to find a job, as everyone must check a box that correlates to their race, and preference is often given to black or coloured applicants. She was definitely frustrated with this perception, and Ron chimed in with his agreement.
I found their story to bring to mind conversations I've had and stories that have been shared in the US - a lack of identifying or "seeing" race or color (I believe this is an attribute of white privilege), frustration with what might be seen as affirmative action, even a bit of resentment for the shifting power structure in the country. I just can't help hearing echoes of experiences and conversations I've had in America as I hear people here share their stories. These were just two South Africans sharing their experiences, but there are so many connections to be made, and I can't stop myself from wondering how we all can have the courage to look back at issues of race in our countries and use them to move forward into a more reconciled future...
Maybe it's a good time to explain a little bit about race here in SA. Here, most people (at least traditionally) identify their race as white, black, or coloured. White South Africans may descend from Europeans - British or Dutch colonialists, European immigrants, etc. Coloured South Africans tend to be lighter skinned and have mixed heritage or descend from slaves brought to the region. Black South Africans tend to be those whose families are more native to the region. In the midst of apartheid, a strong (and legalized) racial hierarchy existed in soceity, with white at the top, coloured in the middle (the lighter you were, the closer to the top were), and black at the bottom. On their passbooks, people were identified solely by their looks - certain attributes (straight hair, light colored eyes, etc) helped one "pass" as white, where other attributes (curly hair, darker complexion, etc) could earn you the stamp of coloured or black. Even within the same family, sometimes one child might be identified as a different race than their siblings or parents, purely because of their physical appearance. Just another piece of evidence of the social construction of race, and the shocking power it has had.
Today, as was the case during the apartheid regime, whites are in the minority population speaking. Both Sara and Ron thought the white population to be around 20%. According to wikipedia (terrible source, I know!), it's even less:
The 2011 census figures for these groups were Black African at 79.2%, White at 8.9%, Coloured at 8.9%, Indian or Asian at 2.5%, and Other/Unspecified at 0.5%.[15]:21 The first census in South Africa in 1911 showed that whites made up 22% of the population; it declined to 16% in 1980,[16] and 8.9% in 2011
Here's a map (wikipedia again!), showing the different parts of the country and their racial makeup. It's worth checking out if you're interested.
So...a little bit of background, and the beginning of some qualitative snapshots of race, education, and life in South Arica. As I said, the weekend played out much differently than planned, but it was enlightening and interesting all the same!
~emily~
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