SEMESTER AT SEA - SOUTH
AFRICA
Email #3 - March 2, 2002
This
is the third report about my experiences teaching in Semester at Sea, on a
semester-long voyage around the world. I am emailing by satellite from the ship. This report discusses globalization and
racism issues in the CORE course, as well as my impressions of South Africa.
CORE
COURSE
Everyone on the ship participates in a CORE geography course in which we
learn about the history, politics, economics, music, and other aspects of the
culture of every country we visit.
In addition, global issues are discussed including globalization,
racism, gender, and human rights. The professors take turns lecturing in the
CORE course in addition to the three courses they each teach. There also are inter-port lecturers who
travel with us from the port before their home port in order to provide
additional expertise.
GLOBALIZATION
Two
economics professors told us about the benefits of globalization, such as
lowered tariffs and increased trade promoting economic development around the
world. Then we heard from our
inter-port lecturer, Dennis Brutus, who was in prison with Nelson Mandela for
initiating the expulsion of South Africa from the Olympics because only whites
were allowed on their teams.
Brutus
pointed out that free-market policies imposed by the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization can create
widespread unemployment when local producers cannot compete with foreign
goods. Austerity measures to reduce
inflation, required as a condition for obtaining loans, often cut funding for
education, health, and other government services. While the rich may benefit from economic
development, the poor may be worse off. He argued that globalization should be
guided by concerns about people instead of corporate profits.
RACISM
I
spoke in the CORE course on the topic of racism. I pointed out that genetic research
indicates that the concept of race is meaningless biologically. All of the
so-called "races" are mixtures; none are "pure" races. There is more variation within races
than between races. Differences such as skin color are superficial, and are not
correlated with other differences such as blood type. Skin color varies gradually from the
equator (where dark skin is an advantage) to the north pole (where light skin
is an advantage), while blood type varies east and west. We are all one race,
the human race. Studies of the
mitochondria, which is part of the ovum from the mother, indicate that all
humans descended from the same female.
Racial
categories are socially defined and have been used to justify domination and
oppression. Prejudice is also the
result of fear. People fear others
who are "different" in relation to personal safety, competition for
jobs, and way of life.
APARTHEID
One
of the most extreme examples of racism was Apartheid in South Africa. When the country gained its independence
from Britain in 1948, laws were passed which enforced segregation of the four
racial categories. The categories,
in order of privilege, were whites, Asians (from India and Malaysia), Coloreds
(mixed race, primarily Black and White), and Black persons. Coloreds and Black
persons were required to carry passes which only allowed them in certain White
areas for employment (e.g., as domestic help). At night they were required to return to
their townships outside the city.
After
decades of internal strife and external economic blockades, the system of
apartheid was finally dismantled and Black persons were allowed to vote in
1994. Nelson Mandela, after 27
years in prison, was elected president in a government that sought to represent
all South Africans, not just White persons and not just Black persons. In a
subsequent election, Mandela stepped down and was replaced by Mbeki who is
president now.
While
racial discrimination has been outlawed, its effects are still very apparent in
South Africa, which now has the widest income gap in the world between the rich
(mostly White) and the poor (mostly Black).
CONTRASTS
IN CAPE TOWN
When
we approached Cape Town on Wednesday, February 20, I was impressed with the
beauty of the city, which lies at the base of Table Mountain, a high plateau
which dominates the landscape. Around the port is a very upscale mall area
called Victoria and Albert Wharf.
There are restaurants along the shore with outdoor seating and beautiful
views of the water and the city.
But if you only visited that area you would get a very distorted view of
South Africa.
I
led a fieldtrip that day for my classes to see different Lifestyles of South
Africans. We took a bus to the
University of Cape Town, a beautiful campus on a hillside overlooking downtown
Cape Town. There we met Black and White
student leaders who are working together to build a better society. The university previously was restricted
to White students but now half of the students are non-White. We also rode out to the suburbs where
the Coloreds live in working class neighborhoods, and visited the University of
West Cape. It previously was
restricted to Coloreds and Blacks, and still is 90% those categories. There we went to a museum which had an
archive of materials from the struggle against Apartheid.
Next
we went to one of the many townships surrounding the city, where the Coloreds
and Blacks previously were forced to live and most still do. Some of the townships, especially those
for Coloreds, have houses made of cement blocks which are rented by the
government. To be eligible you must document that you have a steady job. But
most of the townships are comprised of shanties made of whatever pieces of wood
and metal that can be found and pieced together. The inhabitants are squatters who have
moved there from the countryside or old plantations looking for work, but there
is no work there. More than 90% are unemployed.
We
visited Khayelitsha that day, which has 750,000 inhabitants. That township has running water which is
not in the shanties but in free-standing outbuildings containing a toilet
inside and a faucet outside.
There also is electricity.
But it is a struggle to get water, sewage, and electricity provided to
the townships.
In
spite of the extreme poverty, the people were very friendly and welcoming. We
visited a woman who has a two-bedroom bed and breakfast to educate people about
the townships. We were surrounded
by kids, but instead of giving things to the kids, we gave them to the woman
who had the kids line up so each kid would get something.
After
leaving the township we drove through an exclusive suburb, Constantia, which
had estates similar to those in Beverly Hills. We drove along the sea coast and
saw condominiums and houses reminiscent of Malibu. When we returned to the ship and saw the
wealth displayed by the Wharf, the contrast between the township and the wharf
seemed obscene.
That
night I went with some students to the Bourbon Street dance club. We saw others from the ship there
too. The music was great and I had
a fun time, but I noticed that there was only one Black person among the
several hundred people there.
Racial groups are still socially segregated to a large extent in South
Africa.
KAGGA
KAMMA GAME PRESERVE
We
were disappointed that our planned stop in Kenya had been cancelled due to
safety concerns, which meant that we couldn't go to the Serengeti. So my wife and I each signed up for an
overnight trip to the Kagga Kamma Game Preserve. She and I weren't able to get on the
same trip, so she had gone the day before.
We each rode a bus one hundred and fifty miles northeast of Cape Town,
through country reminiscent of central Washington. There were vineyards and
orchards in the valleys of beautiful mountains.
At
the game preserve some of us stayed in 3-bedroom chalets while others stayed in
fake caves or thatched roof huts.
After lunch and a relaxing swim in the pool, we walked a couple miles to
the edge of a canyon reminiscent of the Grand Canyon but only 1/3 as deep. Along the way we saw a zebra and a
couple of springboks (small antelopes). After watching the sunset, we went back
for dinner, and then had a night drive.
We climbed onto benches mounted on the back of pickup trucks, and drove
around with a spotlight looking for animals. When the spotlight shines in their eyes,
two bright green lights reflect back.
We saw the zebra and the springboks again, as well as other kinds of
antelopes and smaller animals.
Bouncing around on the benches was reminiscent of the Indiana Jones ride
at Disneyland! Although we didn't
see many animals it was fun.
In
the morning we walked to see some rock paintings left by the San people (called
Bushmen by the Europeans). We also
saw a group of San people who had been brought there for the benefit of
tourists. They were in native garb
next to huts made of branches, although they normally wear Western clothing and
live elsewhere. They had jewelry
and painted rocks for sale, which many of us bought. Some students were offended by zoo
atmosphere of the situation as we took pictures of these people who were on
display for us. I realized that the
whole private game preserve was artificial, with animals imported, but it was
an enjoyable outing anyway since it enabled us to see the countryside.
On
the way back to Cape Town we stopped at a winery and saw an open air museum of
farm buildings that was reminiscent of Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. We
also sampled some wines. Back at
the Wharf, my wife and I ate dinner at the Quay Four restaurant, where I
realized that the $18 cost of the seafood platter, which my wife and I shared,
was equivalent to the typical monthly wage of an employed Black South African.
OPERATION
HUNGER
On Saturday I went back to the townships
on a fieldtrip led by people from Operation Hunger. They monitor malnutrition and provide
food programs. When my wife went
the day before, they visited schools where they weighed children and tracked
their weight on growth curves. If the children are below the 3rd percentile,
they are eligible for food programs.
The day I went we planted vegetable gardens at three different
townships.
At
the first township the local women sang to us as we raked the ground, spread
manure and seeds, and watered. They
had a joyous spirit in spite of their extreme poverty. At the second township, however, the
people seemed much more desperate. The shacks were even flimsier and we felt
depressed. The third township was
more upbeat again, as I chatted with several of the locals.
We
also went to a fourth township where some children did a Zulu dance for us at a
school. Unfortunately, children
have to pay a fee to go to government schools. Although the fee is only $7 a year, that
is half a month's wage for employed Black persons, and most of their parents
are not employed. Finally we
stopped at a Rastafarian township, where the inhabitants lived in small cement
block houses, and bought some handcrafts from artists wearing dreadlocks.
That
night I went with some students to the Rhodes House dance club, in an old
mansion where most people sat around drinking on sofas. But in the back there was a room with
techno music which I liked. The
students thought that many people there were pretentious, reminiscent of
Hollywood, and they saw people using cocaine in the bathrooms.
ROBBEN
ISLAND
On
Sunday my wife and I went to Robben Island with Dennis Brutus who had been
imprisoned there with Nelson Mandela.
The prison is on an island reminiscent of Alcatraz in San Francisco
Bay. Our tour guide was another former
prisoner. He told us that political
prisoners had been kept separate from those there for other crimes, and that
the four racial categories had been separated as well. Those higher among the racial categories
had been given better food in the prison.
But the prisoners shared food with each other, and the prisoners
established an informal school in the prison, teaching other prisoners how to
read. While there, Nelson Mandela
wrote books which were smuggled out, and made plans for a better government in
which all racial categories would be represented. Dennis showed us one of the cells where
he had been imprisoned.
TOWNSHIP
MUSIC
On
Sunday I went on a final tour of townships to hear more music. First we went to a church, where we
heard gospel singing. Then the
minister asked the people who were infected with HIV to come forward. Twelve women stood at the front of the
church. Two were carrying infants, and some had shaved heads. We were emotionally devastated by
this. It illustrates how widespread
AIDS is in South Africa, which has the highest rate of infection in the world.
We
went to another township where children danced for us at a school, then we went
to a third township where there was a restaurant featuring African food. After dinner a music teacher explained
various African instruments, and led us pounding rhythms on drums. Then a group
of his students danced for us.
Finally
we went to a tavern in a fourth township where a jazz band played
outdoors. They played African,
American, and Latin songs. While
African music has strongly influenced the U.S. and Latin America, the latter
have influenced African music in return.
Again it showed tremendous humanity and spirit in the midst of poverty.
TABLE
MOUNTAIN
On
our final day in South Africa, my wife and I took a cable car up to the top of
Table Mountain, for stunning views of the city. While walking around the perimeter, we
saw two of our students climb over the edge to rappel down 3000 feet! We learned later that other
students had hiked up the mountain at night in order to see the sun rise.
We
took a taxi to the South African Museum where we saw displays about the Bushmen
and other African tribes. The
displays are controversial because they imply that the people still live that
way when in fact they don't. There
also were displays of stuffed animals, and some Black Africans felt that they
were being displayed the same way as the animals, so one of the dioramas was
closed. South Africa is still in
process of transition from Apartheid attitudes.
We
walked along Long Street in the center of downtown, which has many restaurants
and some craft shops. My wife found
some fabric that she wanted, which took the rest of our South African
money. We didn't have enough left
for the taxi fare, and didn't want to take money out of an ATM machine more
than we needed, so we walked two miles back to the ship. That night a township choir sang on the
ship before we left port.
SLEEP AND HOMEWORK
Everyone
was exhausted when we left port, so we've spent the past several days catching
up on sleep and homework. I had to
prepare study questions and midterms for all three of my courses. In an evening session we saw slides
taken by those who had gone on a several-day trip to Kruger National Park,
where they had seen big game. We
also saw films of students bunging jumping off the third highest bridge in the
world, and heard about some going skydiving. In CORE, I gave a presentation on Gender
Identity. We've also been learning
about Mauritius, which is our next stop.