AUTHOR: Nancy TITLE: 3 Weeks in Africa! DATE: 2/28/2009 04:26:00 AM ----- BODY:
I just realized that I’ve now been in Africa for 21 days. The time has flown by and I’m learning new things every day.

Last night I fell into bed at midnight after a lovely meal of warthog. Delicious! And today I awoke in time for a Township tour. It was different from what I had expected. We started at the District 6 museum, the area where all blacks and colored were moved from homes at the foot of Table Mountain to less desirable areas so the government could sell the land to whites. It was a vital neighborhood of shops and homes, but when the people were moved there was a protest, and the land was never sold. It remains mostly barren as a council of community members decides what to do next.

We then learned that townships were actually started in 1900 when the bubonic plague entered South Africa from infected rats leaving ships. Local blacks who came from outside Cape Town to work were then leaving to return to their homes thus spreading the disease.

At this time townships were started with dormitories for single working men to keep them in the city. No families were permitted to live there; only 16 men in four crowded rooms with bunk beds. They cooked on paraffin stoves that blackened the walls, but there was clean water and a sink with a tap.

Currently, each of the men has his own two-burner electric stove next to his bed, and occasionally someone has an electric kettle. The government now supplies electricity to the townships and people pay only $2.00 per month for it making electric cooking cheaper than any other type.

As time went on, families wanted to move closer to the men. As they were not allowed in the dormitories, tin shacks were put up all around them, and these shacks now line the freeways of Cape Town. If one puts up a shack, local laws dictate that within 48 hours it must be supplied with electricity and clean water and a public toilet.

Shacks are preferable to dormitories providing much more privacy. The families come from the countryside for two basic reasons. The first is that they have potable water. The second is for education. Although over 50% of the people are unemployed, they still feel that these two things make living in shacks preferable.

We visited a number of townships, walked through a shabeen, drank local home-brewed 3% beer, and visited a shack bed and breakfast. We saw the memorial to the young Stanford girl killed while working on a social service project and another memorial to the seven black political protesters who also lost their lives.

Living conditions in these areas where there is government support is much better than what I had seen in I-Y and Harbor Heights, near Haut Bay, where I visited two years ago. Those townships are so riddled with drug and alcohol problems they represent some of the worst. With total subsidies there is no work incentive and thus problems with drug and alcohol abuse. Why work when there is social security, free education, subsidized garbage collection, water and electricity?

Our tour guide moved to the township from the Eastern Cape when he was 17 and then came to attend University. He lived in a dormitory for a number of years, saved his money, got a job, bought a house, got married and now is fully employed. He, however, is a rarity. He believes that subsidies in the form of vouchers are the only way forward and that monetary subsidies should stop. Receiving something for nothing only creates dependency.

On the way home the guide and I talked about Jacob Zuma and the coming election and the future of South Africa. We were stopped to let the Gay Parade pass, and we were not surprised as Cape Town is the capital of gay Africa. Civil unions are legal and gay and lesbian life flourishes in this area of the country. All in all it was an interesting morning.

So, I’m meeting Oliver and Sean for mojitos on the beach tonight and tomorrow morning we’re off to Mozambique. I hope you enjoyed my notes on a brief tour of beautiful Cape Town. It is one of the most beautiful areas of the world, and also one of the most difficult to photograph. Take a look at a picture book of Cape Town sometime or visit it yourself. You won’t be disappointed.

Nancy

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