October 28, 2009
My first day at Makere University I got a hand-out describing a bill tabled in Parliament on Oct. 14, 2009 and currently in committee. According to this information,(over 20 Human Rights organizations participated in putting it together) the following are at risk:
any parent who does not denounce their lesbian daughter or gay son to the authorities Failure to do so s/he will be fined 5,000,000 shillings ($2,500, a huge amount here) and or put away for three years
any teacher who does not report a lesbian or gay pupil to the authorities within 24 hours: Failure to do so s/he will be fined 5,000,000 shillings and or put away for three years
any landlord or landlady who happens to give housing to a suspected homosexual risks seven years of imprisonment
any medical doctor who seeks to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS through working with what are known as most at risk populations, risks his or her career;
any human rights activist who seeks to promote an understanding of the indivisibility and inalienability of human rights would be judged to be promoting homosexuals and homosexuality, and be punished accordingly
any media house that publishes “pornographic” materials risks losing its certificate of registration and the editor will be liable to seven years in jail
any Person alleged to be a homosexual is at risk of LIFE IMPRISONMENT and, in some circumstances, the DEATH PENALTY
Further, the bill asserts Extra Territorial jurisdiction. All of the offenses covered by the bill can be applied to a Ugandan citizen or permanent resident who allegedly commits them outside the country. The bill calls for Uganda to nullify any international treaties, protocols, declarations and conventions which are believed to be “contradictory to the spirit and provisions' of the bill.
It is all so amazingly regressive – I can't believe this dialogue is seriously going on. The level of homophobia that I am encountering in Africa is just out of the realm of anything I am familiar with. I am so disturbed by what I have read that I am thinking of committing some time to this issue while I am here.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Whitewater rafting on the Nile and first days in Kampala, Uganda
October 25, 2009
I am glad to be back in Uganda and beginning the “teaching and sharing” part of my sojourn in Africa. Being a tourist and constantly planning my days around how to have fun and find memorable places to visit pales for me after a few weeks. I want a better understanding of the places I am visiting and the experiences of the people who live here. So, spending six weeks in Uganda sharing Nonviolent Communication and mediation tools seems like the perfect opportunity for me.
Note: I am writing this blog after a week in Uganda; it is now October 29. So much has happened it seems like at least 3 weeks! But I do want to tell you about the whitewater rafting trip because it was very special, even though in some ways the experience is not as immediate now as it was 4 days ago. Gosh, I can't believe it was only 4 days!
I arrived at Entebbe airport Thursday night and was picked up by Larry, an employee of TATS (Teach and Tour Sojourners, the agency co-ordinating my visit and teaching). Larry said that the guest house I would be staying at was full that night because of the unexpected change in plans of one of the guests. I would stay at a nearby hotel in Kampala that night and move to the guest house the next day. Sounded OK to me. Well, the “hotel” was definitely a modest one and not well-maintained by my standards, but it had the basics, so I was OK with it. My only concern was the very loud music which seemed to emanate from an establishment extremely close to, perhaps underneath, my room. At the upscale hotel in Rwanda loud music ended at 10:30 pm, so I wasn't too worried. I asked somewhat jokingly if it would go all night and the woman answered, “No, not all night.” I wish that would have been the case. At 3 and 5 am it was still extremely loud; at 8 am when Larry was knocking on my door it was only moderately loud. Oh, brother! What a way to begin. Not what I was expecting for a Thursday night. I was very, very tired the whole next day.
Fortunately, things got better. The guest house that TATS runs to house teachers is quite comfortable and, because I am here at a time when few teachers are (as opposed during during July-August), I am receiving a great deal of personal attention from Larry and the few other staff as far as transporting me to meetings and classes, making arrangements for me to talk with Deans, principals, etc. The downside is that right now I am the only teacher TATS is hosting and it is kind of lonesome, in a way, not having others to talk to about their experiences. Also, because it seems a bit confusing getting around by myself and because he has offered, Larry has been driving me every place and somehow I think this has contributed to my not getting to have one-on-one informal conversations with people. I am talking with him about how I can be more independent. There doesn't seem to be as much concern about personal safety here as there was in South Africa and that gives me more confidence about taking this on. It is also so reassuring that English is so widely spoken and understood here; it is the language of instruction in all schools.
So, on to the the rafting. I saw a brochure for Whitewater rafting on the Nile and a description in the Lonely Planet guide. It sounded a bit more my speed than a 3-hour boat ride on the Nile that Larry proposed for a week-end excursion. My only concern was whether the physical demands might be more than my 64-year old arthritic knees could handle and whether the promised Grade 5 level rapids (6 is the highest grade given) would be unsuitable for a relatively nonproficient rafter. At the registration desk I was given a choice of a Grade 3 level excursion, but I was also assured that the Grade 5 level was suitable for beginners and when I asked if they had ever “lost” a customer, I was told “no.” So, I signed up for the 6-hour excursion and off we went.
It was pretty easy to tell the customers (all white and a few of Asian background) from the staff (all black). What might the natives be thinking of these young (pretty much all under 35) white folks from U.K., Europe, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Scandinavia, spending the equivalent of 1-2 months income for them on a one-day excursion? Spending a half-year's income on a one-day gorilla tracking permit ($500 from the Ugandan or Rwanda governments)?
We were given an orientation about what to expect for the day and then asked to sort ourselves into groups according to interests – those who wanted to “trash” the river (go down the river in the wildest, most challenging ways), the “conservatives” who wanted more sense of safety, and the “moderates.” I decided to go with the conservatives and wound up in a raft with two 20ish volunteers from UK working with children at a nearby orphanage, two 30-year olds from Canada on an extensive holiday, and a veterinarian from New Zealand. Two of the group were non-swimmers and a bit nervous about that but we were reassured that our vests would bring us to the surface no matter what.
Well, the long and the short of it is, this was THE VERY BEST RAFTING I have ever done. OK, that's not saying a huge amount. I have only been rafting in the Pocono Mountains and in Vancouver, B.C. But the quantity of Grade 4 and 5 rapids, and the challenge of it all, was wonderful. One rapid, known as Overtime, involved going over a 21 foot waterfall. Talk about getting the adrenalin pumping! Trust me – when the guide commanded us to “Get Down and Hang On” I sure as heck did!
Our guide was an amazing man from Zimbabwe with an incredible gift for languages. French, English, Spanish, and a gazillion tribal languages it seemed. He was also wonderfully strong, patient and helpful. I had a lot of trust in his guidance which was certainly helpful. We had to practice how to recover if we dumped and it was a bit more scary being trapped under the raft in the river than I thought it would be. I was glad that we didn't dump on the trip itself. But we were accompanied by a slew of strong young native men who frolicked in the river in their kayaks and were paid to rescue us very quickly if we did dump.
The only hard part was a 100 meter portage through the woods instead of doing the Grade 6 rapids in the river. We had been instructed to leave our sandals in the truck and so we went barefoot. Well, the week before I had had a pedicure in Rwanda with a woman who only spoke Kinyarwandan. To connect, I showed her the photos in my camera, which included those of my present trip to Africa as well as previous trips to India, Thailand and Cambodia, as well as some family pictures. She was intrigued by all of these (she did know a few words of English) and perhaps as a reward she spent 2 hours on my feet, including removing every remnant of a callous that ever existed. So there I was on the rocks and dirt with no protection for my tenderest of tender feet. It was really, really painful.
That plus the final exit climbing some boulders, dirt and rocks up the river bank to the truck. Between the knee problems and the tender feet, I really needed help. My guide lent me his arm and half-way up a young staff person lent me his worn flip-flops. I was SO GRATEFUL! I don't know how I would have done it without the flip-flops, especially. I tipped both of them the equivalent, I am guessing, of several pairs of flip-flops. It was so worth it.
Oh, yes, and the second thing that made the rafting so great was the temperature of the water and the air. I had assumed that Uganda, being on the equator, would be very hot, humid and uncomfortable. I am told that it is pretty hot in January and February, but it is really quite temperate and pleasant now – I would say in the 70s most of the day, sometimes a bit warmer, in the evenings a bit cooler. And the river temperature was also pretty warm. Rafting in Vancouver we had to wear wet suits and were still pretty cold and uncomfortable. And in the Poconos, the only time you get true whitewater rafting is when the Spring snows melt and add to the water flow. You can imagine what it feels like rafting in that water! We were all pretty delighted with the conditions, especially the experienced Canadian rafters who just loved the warmth.
I am glad to be back in Uganda and beginning the “teaching and sharing” part of my sojourn in Africa. Being a tourist and constantly planning my days around how to have fun and find memorable places to visit pales for me after a few weeks. I want a better understanding of the places I am visiting and the experiences of the people who live here. So, spending six weeks in Uganda sharing Nonviolent Communication and mediation tools seems like the perfect opportunity for me.
Note: I am writing this blog after a week in Uganda; it is now October 29. So much has happened it seems like at least 3 weeks! But I do want to tell you about the whitewater rafting trip because it was very special, even though in some ways the experience is not as immediate now as it was 4 days ago. Gosh, I can't believe it was only 4 days!
I arrived at Entebbe airport Thursday night and was picked up by Larry, an employee of TATS (Teach and Tour Sojourners, the agency co-ordinating my visit and teaching). Larry said that the guest house I would be staying at was full that night because of the unexpected change in plans of one of the guests. I would stay at a nearby hotel in Kampala that night and move to the guest house the next day. Sounded OK to me. Well, the “hotel” was definitely a modest one and not well-maintained by my standards, but it had the basics, so I was OK with it. My only concern was the very loud music which seemed to emanate from an establishment extremely close to, perhaps underneath, my room. At the upscale hotel in Rwanda loud music ended at 10:30 pm, so I wasn't too worried. I asked somewhat jokingly if it would go all night and the woman answered, “No, not all night.” I wish that would have been the case. At 3 and 5 am it was still extremely loud; at 8 am when Larry was knocking on my door it was only moderately loud. Oh, brother! What a way to begin. Not what I was expecting for a Thursday night. I was very, very tired the whole next day.
Fortunately, things got better. The guest house that TATS runs to house teachers is quite comfortable and, because I am here at a time when few teachers are (as opposed during during July-August), I am receiving a great deal of personal attention from Larry and the few other staff as far as transporting me to meetings and classes, making arrangements for me to talk with Deans, principals, etc. The downside is that right now I am the only teacher TATS is hosting and it is kind of lonesome, in a way, not having others to talk to about their experiences. Also, because it seems a bit confusing getting around by myself and because he has offered, Larry has been driving me every place and somehow I think this has contributed to my not getting to have one-on-one informal conversations with people. I am talking with him about how I can be more independent. There doesn't seem to be as much concern about personal safety here as there was in South Africa and that gives me more confidence about taking this on. It is also so reassuring that English is so widely spoken and understood here; it is the language of instruction in all schools.
So, on to the the rafting. I saw a brochure for Whitewater rafting on the Nile and a description in the Lonely Planet guide. It sounded a bit more my speed than a 3-hour boat ride on the Nile that Larry proposed for a week-end excursion. My only concern was whether the physical demands might be more than my 64-year old arthritic knees could handle and whether the promised Grade 5 level rapids (6 is the highest grade given) would be unsuitable for a relatively nonproficient rafter. At the registration desk I was given a choice of a Grade 3 level excursion, but I was also assured that the Grade 5 level was suitable for beginners and when I asked if they had ever “lost” a customer, I was told “no.” So, I signed up for the 6-hour excursion and off we went.
It was pretty easy to tell the customers (all white and a few of Asian background) from the staff (all black). What might the natives be thinking of these young (pretty much all under 35) white folks from U.K., Europe, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Scandinavia, spending the equivalent of 1-2 months income for them on a one-day excursion? Spending a half-year's income on a one-day gorilla tracking permit ($500 from the Ugandan or Rwanda governments)?
We were given an orientation about what to expect for the day and then asked to sort ourselves into groups according to interests – those who wanted to “trash” the river (go down the river in the wildest, most challenging ways), the “conservatives” who wanted more sense of safety, and the “moderates.” I decided to go with the conservatives and wound up in a raft with two 20ish volunteers from UK working with children at a nearby orphanage, two 30-year olds from Canada on an extensive holiday, and a veterinarian from New Zealand. Two of the group were non-swimmers and a bit nervous about that but we were reassured that our vests would bring us to the surface no matter what.
Well, the long and the short of it is, this was THE VERY BEST RAFTING I have ever done. OK, that's not saying a huge amount. I have only been rafting in the Pocono Mountains and in Vancouver, B.C. But the quantity of Grade 4 and 5 rapids, and the challenge of it all, was wonderful. One rapid, known as Overtime, involved going over a 21 foot waterfall. Talk about getting the adrenalin pumping! Trust me – when the guide commanded us to “Get Down and Hang On” I sure as heck did!
Our guide was an amazing man from Zimbabwe with an incredible gift for languages. French, English, Spanish, and a gazillion tribal languages it seemed. He was also wonderfully strong, patient and helpful. I had a lot of trust in his guidance which was certainly helpful. We had to practice how to recover if we dumped and it was a bit more scary being trapped under the raft in the river than I thought it would be. I was glad that we didn't dump on the trip itself. But we were accompanied by a slew of strong young native men who frolicked in the river in their kayaks and were paid to rescue us very quickly if we did dump.
The only hard part was a 100 meter portage through the woods instead of doing the Grade 6 rapids in the river. We had been instructed to leave our sandals in the truck and so we went barefoot. Well, the week before I had had a pedicure in Rwanda with a woman who only spoke Kinyarwandan. To connect, I showed her the photos in my camera, which included those of my present trip to Africa as well as previous trips to India, Thailand and Cambodia, as well as some family pictures. She was intrigued by all of these (she did know a few words of English) and perhaps as a reward she spent 2 hours on my feet, including removing every remnant of a callous that ever existed. So there I was on the rocks and dirt with no protection for my tenderest of tender feet. It was really, really painful.
That plus the final exit climbing some boulders, dirt and rocks up the river bank to the truck. Between the knee problems and the tender feet, I really needed help. My guide lent me his arm and half-way up a young staff person lent me his worn flip-flops. I was SO GRATEFUL! I don't know how I would have done it without the flip-flops, especially. I tipped both of them the equivalent, I am guessing, of several pairs of flip-flops. It was so worth it.
Oh, yes, and the second thing that made the rafting so great was the temperature of the water and the air. I had assumed that Uganda, being on the equator, would be very hot, humid and uncomfortable. I am told that it is pretty hot in January and February, but it is really quite temperate and pleasant now – I would say in the 70s most of the day, sometimes a bit warmer, in the evenings a bit cooler. And the river temperature was also pretty warm. Rafting in Vancouver we had to wear wet suits and were still pretty cold and uncomfortable. And in the Poconos, the only time you get true whitewater rafting is when the Spring snows melt and add to the water flow. You can imagine what it feels like rafting in that water! We were all pretty delighted with the conditions, especially the experienced Canadian rafters who just loved the warmth.
The Rwandan Genocide - Never Again?
October 17 – 22, 2009
Our group studying Collective Narrative Practices spent 5 days in Rwanda. To my surprise, I found Rwanda to be an extremely beautiful country with a beautiful countryside. It is the “land of 1000 hills” (“mille collines”) and the terracing of the land throughout the country, the cleanliness, the clay tile roofs speckling the hills remind me of countryside in Europe. Plus there is a huge amount of money for construction and development is being spent; it is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. I have heard reference to this being “guilt money” - guilt because of how the horrific genocide was ignored by the United Nations and by the developed countries who had the information about what was happening but didn't intervene when it might have made a difference.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING TWO PARAGRAPH CONTAIN GRAPHIC MATERIAL– SKIP IF YOU PREFER NOT TO READ IT
On several fronts the Rwandan genocide stands out relative to others. It has the dubious distinction of having the greatest number of deaths in a short time: a million killings in 100 days or an average rate of 10,000 per day. It is one of the most physically brutal; civilians were killed face-to-face, often by people they knew or had relationships with, with machetes and other direct means. Body parts were slashed or hacked off, children and babies dismembered, tossed alive into wells and cess pools to drown, and so on. People were encouraged to gather in churches and schools and other “safe” places, then annihalated by the Hutus. We visited one school where 50,000 where slaughtered; a church where 10,000 were massacred. The number of memorial sites in this small country seemed endless. And then, of course, there were the mass rapes of women and girls, many by men who were HIV+.
And, to bring it home to us more personally, we were part of a team supporting trauma counselors for genocide survivors (from the IBUKA organization), people who were survivors themselves. These are people whose entire families and extended families were wiped out. How do you work with a client who is a young woman who is HIV+ because she was raped at age 3 during the genocide? And the counselor whom I spoke with who is raising two teen-age daughters by herself without any extended family because she is the only one who survived? And our taxi driver who is one of the very few Tutsi in the whole western region who survived because he was studying in Uganda at the time? It is pretty hard to take in the vastness of the numbers of people victimized, but one horrible story by a person sitting in front of me gets to me.
I read two books the week we were there, trying to gain some understanding of what happened and why. One was a book, An Ordinary Man, written by the “hero” of the movie Hotel Rwanda. The book was recommended by someone at the airport bookstore as being inspiring. Inspiration is good, I thought, and it was an easy read so I read almost all of it in a couple of days and felt like I was getting some understanding of the events. And then, at the very, very bare bones national tourist agency I saw a book titled Hotel Rwanda: or the Tutsi Genocide as Seen by Hollywood. This brief book is a scathing indictment of the other book and is written by two Rwandan academics. I just had to read this book which said that the other was a fraud of the worst kind. I could easily see serious problems of bias with both narratives.
I visited the Genocide Museum in Kigali, the capitol, and this was a very moving experience as well as somewhat enlightening. One part that really stays with me is their display of genocides in history – the Nazi holocaust, the Armenians, the North American slave trade, the Native Americans in the U.S., the genocide in Darfur. Do Americans accept that our behavior is viewed as genocide by others? Do we use that term in the history books that we give our children to read?
During the memorial period that Rwanda has each year to remember what happened the slogan “Never Again” is used repeatedly. And has anything changed in the 15 years since the Rwandan genocide that would lead me to think that this will never happen again? Hasn't it already happened again? I am not an expert in these matters, but when I see the level of violence that we are willing to accept in the world I don't really see any major changes.
On a related note, I am still very troubled by the statistics shown at the Slavery Museum in Cape Town – the number of adults and children in slavery conditions throughout the world is staggering. As is the trafficking in women and children that is occurring world-wide as sex slaves or for other purposes. And this doesn't count the number of parents who sell their children to others or pimp them themselves because they don't have the money to feed them. Or the violence of people dying of starvation, lack of health care and preventable diseases. For me this is just so very awful,...How can we even begin to think the phrase “never again” has meaning?
Our group studying Collective Narrative Practices spent 5 days in Rwanda. To my surprise, I found Rwanda to be an extremely beautiful country with a beautiful countryside. It is the “land of 1000 hills” (“mille collines”) and the terracing of the land throughout the country, the cleanliness, the clay tile roofs speckling the hills remind me of countryside in Europe. Plus there is a huge amount of money for construction and development is being spent; it is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. I have heard reference to this being “guilt money” - guilt because of how the horrific genocide was ignored by the United Nations and by the developed countries who had the information about what was happening but didn't intervene when it might have made a difference.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING TWO PARAGRAPH CONTAIN GRAPHIC MATERIAL– SKIP IF YOU PREFER NOT TO READ IT
On several fronts the Rwandan genocide stands out relative to others. It has the dubious distinction of having the greatest number of deaths in a short time: a million killings in 100 days or an average rate of 10,000 per day. It is one of the most physically brutal; civilians were killed face-to-face, often by people they knew or had relationships with, with machetes and other direct means. Body parts were slashed or hacked off, children and babies dismembered, tossed alive into wells and cess pools to drown, and so on. People were encouraged to gather in churches and schools and other “safe” places, then annihalated by the Hutus. We visited one school where 50,000 where slaughtered; a church where 10,000 were massacred. The number of memorial sites in this small country seemed endless. And then, of course, there were the mass rapes of women and girls, many by men who were HIV+.
And, to bring it home to us more personally, we were part of a team supporting trauma counselors for genocide survivors (from the IBUKA organization), people who were survivors themselves. These are people whose entire families and extended families were wiped out. How do you work with a client who is a young woman who is HIV+ because she was raped at age 3 during the genocide? And the counselor whom I spoke with who is raising two teen-age daughters by herself without any extended family because she is the only one who survived? And our taxi driver who is one of the very few Tutsi in the whole western region who survived because he was studying in Uganda at the time? It is pretty hard to take in the vastness of the numbers of people victimized, but one horrible story by a person sitting in front of me gets to me.
I read two books the week we were there, trying to gain some understanding of what happened and why. One was a book, An Ordinary Man, written by the “hero” of the movie Hotel Rwanda. The book was recommended by someone at the airport bookstore as being inspiring. Inspiration is good, I thought, and it was an easy read so I read almost all of it in a couple of days and felt like I was getting some understanding of the events. And then, at the very, very bare bones national tourist agency I saw a book titled Hotel Rwanda: or the Tutsi Genocide as Seen by Hollywood. This brief book is a scathing indictment of the other book and is written by two Rwandan academics. I just had to read this book which said that the other was a fraud of the worst kind. I could easily see serious problems of bias with both narratives.
I visited the Genocide Museum in Kigali, the capitol, and this was a very moving experience as well as somewhat enlightening. One part that really stays with me is their display of genocides in history – the Nazi holocaust, the Armenians, the North American slave trade, the Native Americans in the U.S., the genocide in Darfur. Do Americans accept that our behavior is viewed as genocide by others? Do we use that term in the history books that we give our children to read?
During the memorial period that Rwanda has each year to remember what happened the slogan “Never Again” is used repeatedly. And has anything changed in the 15 years since the Rwandan genocide that would lead me to think that this will never happen again? Hasn't it already happened again? I am not an expert in these matters, but when I see the level of violence that we are willing to accept in the world I don't really see any major changes.
On a related note, I am still very troubled by the statistics shown at the Slavery Museum in Cape Town – the number of adults and children in slavery conditions throughout the world is staggering. As is the trafficking in women and children that is occurring world-wide as sex slaves or for other purposes. And this doesn't count the number of parents who sell their children to others or pimp them themselves because they don't have the money to feed them. Or the violence of people dying of starvation, lack of health care and preventable diseases. For me this is just so very awful,...How can we even begin to think the phrase “never again” has meaning?
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Visting Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years
October 8, 2009
Mandela spent 27 years in captivity, 18 of them on Robben Island, 7 miles from Cape Town. The island has been used to hold people that the government has considered undesirable for 400 years. This includes political opponents, the mentally ill and lepers. It's most famous prisoner was Nelson Mandela. Robert Subokwe, the founder of the Pan African Congress and a great resistance leader was also held captive there.
I have not read about Mandela's captivity in detail, but would like to share what I do know, trusting that it may still be a contribution to those of you who know less about it than I do. If I write something that is not quite accurate and you feel it would be helpful or mearningful to correct what I write, please feel free to do so in a Comment on this post.
Mandela was arrested in 1966, it is believed, with the help of information from the CIA. A group of U.S. congress people proposed a bill that the U.S. apologize for using the CIA in this way, but the bill never got passed. The congress people made the apology anyway; the letter is on the wall at Mandela's former home in Soweto.
One of the great accomplishments of Mandela and the other political prisoners was their attempt to turn the prison on Robben Island into a university of learning. Inmates who were educated taught those who weren't how to read and write ("Each one teach one."). And correspondence courses with major European universities, including Master's degrees, were availble to inmates and guards alike.
Mandela realized right away that the guards were an imporant part of the community and that in their own ways they were victims of the system too. He was determined that he treat them with the care and respect that was consistent with how he wanted himself and others to be in the world. Over time, many guards became more supportive and sympathetic to their cause, but they were deliberately rotated every two years by the authoirities for this very reason.
Initially, Mandela and the other political prisoners were integrated with the "common" criminals. But the authories saw that this was having a radicalizing effect on the common folk, and decided to house the political prisoners together. This enabled many long and meaningful conversations among the leaders about how they would lead the country, what needed to be done, how they would do it when the imprisonment was over and how they could prepare for it in the present They often had these convrsations while working in the limestone quarry because that was when they had freer access to each other. The guide of the tour, a former political prisoner, said that the work in the quarry serve no useful purpose; the limestone was never used, just pushed from one place to another as a form of punishment. The glare of the bright sun on the limestone led to serious vision problems in all the prisoners. That is why Mandela, after release from Robben Island, would not have flash photography in his presence; it hurt his eyes.
The guide told us about a time when his own father had gotten permission to visit him; a long and difficult bureaucratice process. However, in applying for permission to visit a family member on Robben Island, family members themselves because suspected of being terrorists and opened themselves up to be targeted and abused. The guide was expecting his father on a certain day and time, and when he didn't show up, he eventually got word that his father had been shot eight times by police officers in a punitive action. Some of the details of this incident came out in the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The police officers received amnesty and were not punished. His father has not been well ever since the shooting and is relatively incapacitated. With some emotion, the guide stated that the officers are now prosperous business people. He was clearly pained about the contrast in outcomes for the people involved on both sides of these events.
I very much want to read more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings. I have heard people on both sides talk with some discomfort or anger about the outcomes. A white person complained that people were told to tell the truth and they would not be punished. But only 20% received amnesty and were not punished, I have heard. Among those on the receiving end of apartheid abuses, many feel that justice was not done. I am not completely sure if there is because there was no punishment, because the full extent of the suffering was not fully acknowledged by those involved in its perpretration, or because of the lack of reparations (i.e. a serious attempt to repair the harm, to "make things right" as much as possible, to provide restitution). But for me, the whole process is amazing - not that it was perfect, but that it was done. That a serious attempt for a reconciliation, healing process that would acknowledge and respect the suffering of the many under apartheid and not simply reverse the status of oppressed and oppressor.
I also think that knowledge of what happened here could serve as an inspiration to the men at Graterford Prison near Philadelphia, where I will be working with the Restorative Justice group starting in January. Many of you may not know that I am a Master's degree student at the International Institute of Restorative Practices in Bethlehem, PA (www.iirp.org) which is part of how I got involved in this whole Narrative Practices work in the first place. I value greatly what this institute is teaching - how do bring restorative practices (which seek to bring people together when conflct and/or harm occur) into instutions of education, health care, social services, etc. Ahh,so many wonderful and meaningful things to be involved in,..
Mandela spent 27 years in captivity, 18 of them on Robben Island, 7 miles from Cape Town. The island has been used to hold people that the government has considered undesirable for 400 years. This includes political opponents, the mentally ill and lepers. It's most famous prisoner was Nelson Mandela. Robert Subokwe, the founder of the Pan African Congress and a great resistance leader was also held captive there.
I have not read about Mandela's captivity in detail, but would like to share what I do know, trusting that it may still be a contribution to those of you who know less about it than I do. If I write something that is not quite accurate and you feel it would be helpful or mearningful to correct what I write, please feel free to do so in a Comment on this post.
Mandela was arrested in 1966, it is believed, with the help of information from the CIA. A group of U.S. congress people proposed a bill that the U.S. apologize for using the CIA in this way, but the bill never got passed. The congress people made the apology anyway; the letter is on the wall at Mandela's former home in Soweto.
One of the great accomplishments of Mandela and the other political prisoners was their attempt to turn the prison on Robben Island into a university of learning. Inmates who were educated taught those who weren't how to read and write ("Each one teach one."). And correspondence courses with major European universities, including Master's degrees, were availble to inmates and guards alike.
Mandela realized right away that the guards were an imporant part of the community and that in their own ways they were victims of the system too. He was determined that he treat them with the care and respect that was consistent with how he wanted himself and others to be in the world. Over time, many guards became more supportive and sympathetic to their cause, but they were deliberately rotated every two years by the authoirities for this very reason.
Initially, Mandela and the other political prisoners were integrated with the "common" criminals. But the authories saw that this was having a radicalizing effect on the common folk, and decided to house the political prisoners together. This enabled many long and meaningful conversations among the leaders about how they would lead the country, what needed to be done, how they would do it when the imprisonment was over and how they could prepare for it in the present They often had these convrsations while working in the limestone quarry because that was when they had freer access to each other. The guide of the tour, a former political prisoner, said that the work in the quarry serve no useful purpose; the limestone was never used, just pushed from one place to another as a form of punishment. The glare of the bright sun on the limestone led to serious vision problems in all the prisoners. That is why Mandela, after release from Robben Island, would not have flash photography in his presence; it hurt his eyes.
The guide told us about a time when his own father had gotten permission to visit him; a long and difficult bureaucratice process. However, in applying for permission to visit a family member on Robben Island, family members themselves because suspected of being terrorists and opened themselves up to be targeted and abused. The guide was expecting his father on a certain day and time, and when he didn't show up, he eventually got word that his father had been shot eight times by police officers in a punitive action. Some of the details of this incident came out in the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The police officers received amnesty and were not punished. His father has not been well ever since the shooting and is relatively incapacitated. With some emotion, the guide stated that the officers are now prosperous business people. He was clearly pained about the contrast in outcomes for the people involved on both sides of these events.
I very much want to read more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings. I have heard people on both sides talk with some discomfort or anger about the outcomes. A white person complained that people were told to tell the truth and they would not be punished. But only 20% received amnesty and were not punished, I have heard. Among those on the receiving end of apartheid abuses, many feel that justice was not done. I am not completely sure if there is because there was no punishment, because the full extent of the suffering was not fully acknowledged by those involved in its perpretration, or because of the lack of reparations (i.e. a serious attempt to repair the harm, to "make things right" as much as possible, to provide restitution). But for me, the whole process is amazing - not that it was perfect, but that it was done. That a serious attempt for a reconciliation, healing process that would acknowledge and respect the suffering of the many under apartheid and not simply reverse the status of oppressed and oppressor.
I also think that knowledge of what happened here could serve as an inspiration to the men at Graterford Prison near Philadelphia, where I will be working with the Restorative Justice group starting in January. Many of you may not know that I am a Master's degree student at the International Institute of Restorative Practices in Bethlehem, PA (www.iirp.org) which is part of how I got involved in this whole Narrative Practices work in the first place. I value greatly what this institute is teaching - how do bring restorative practices (which seek to bring people together when conflct and/or harm occur) into instutions of education, health care, social services, etc. Ahh,so many wonderful and meaningful things to be involved in,..
Three Nights in a Black African Township near Cape Town
October 4 - 7, 2009
I am extremely grateful that the organizers of our trip had the foresight to arrange for us to spend three nights in a B&B in a Black African township near Cape Town. (It could have been arranged near Johannesburg but they were trying to take into account that some of us have not traveled broadly and they wanted us to get used to being in South Africa first before having what might be a more challenging experience of being in a township.)
I think for many of us this was a most meaningful part of our stay, even the highlight so far. I very much enjoyed getting to know Florence and she spared no effort in seeing that we all were comfortable and well cared for. This was also true of the experience of my peers who stayed at a different B&B, Lisiwe's, with an equally warm and hospitable host (actually a couple, Donald and Lisiwe). Florence's home itself was very lovely: we referred to it as "the palace" because of a variety of luxury touches.
The people in the township are very eager to develop businesses and they go to great lengths to make us feel welcome - to introduce us to the local people, to orient us about safety, and to watch over us with care. This includes, of course, an introduction to the taverns and shebeens (small drinking rooms), the local brews and customs.This isn't my preferred way of socializing, but one of our group (a Norwegian), enjoys this method the most. One night he "sneaked" out of the B&B and went to a local shebeen by himself. The owner called our B&B to tell them that one of their guests was there. He said "No, everyone is asleep." When he found out this was not the case he went over there and asked the owner to be sure that someone walked him home safely when he was done.
As in Soweto, there are elegant homes, shacks and everything in between. Staying overnight and getting to know the people this way seems so much more appealing than just taking a Township tour on a bus and talking to local folks in a pre-arranged fashion, at best. While visits by people of European background are increasingly common in the townships, they have essentially no overnight guests who are of South African (SA) background. I am confident that staying in a township would never occur to most of the white folks in SA.
I would strongly recommend such a visit to anyone going to South Africa and to support the township economy by using their services. My host asked me how to increase her visibility and business and I made some marketing suggestions which focused on the uniqueness of what she and the others can offer, rather than just the attractiveness and comfort of their facilities. If I had had more time, I would have loved a visit to the local schools, church etc.to get to know the people more fully. And, of course, I sensed that she and the others were just as happy to get to know us.
I am extremely grateful that the organizers of our trip had the foresight to arrange for us to spend three nights in a B&B in a Black African township near Cape Town. (It could have been arranged near Johannesburg but they were trying to take into account that some of us have not traveled broadly and they wanted us to get used to being in South Africa first before having what might be a more challenging experience of being in a township.)
I think for many of us this was a most meaningful part of our stay, even the highlight so far. I very much enjoyed getting to know Florence and she spared no effort in seeing that we all were comfortable and well cared for. This was also true of the experience of my peers who stayed at a different B&B, Lisiwe's, with an equally warm and hospitable host (actually a couple, Donald and Lisiwe). Florence's home itself was very lovely: we referred to it as "the palace" because of a variety of luxury touches.
The people in the township are very eager to develop businesses and they go to great lengths to make us feel welcome - to introduce us to the local people, to orient us about safety, and to watch over us with care. This includes, of course, an introduction to the taverns and shebeens (small drinking rooms), the local brews and customs.This isn't my preferred way of socializing, but one of our group (a Norwegian), enjoys this method the most. One night he "sneaked" out of the B&B and went to a local shebeen by himself. The owner called our B&B to tell them that one of their guests was there. He said "No, everyone is asleep." When he found out this was not the case he went over there and asked the owner to be sure that someone walked him home safely when he was done.
As in Soweto, there are elegant homes, shacks and everything in between. Staying overnight and getting to know the people this way seems so much more appealing than just taking a Township tour on a bus and talking to local folks in a pre-arranged fashion, at best. While visits by people of European background are increasingly common in the townships, they have essentially no overnight guests who are of South African (SA) background. I am confident that staying in a township would never occur to most of the white folks in SA.
I would strongly recommend such a visit to anyone going to South Africa and to support the township economy by using their services. My host asked me how to increase her visibility and business and I made some marketing suggestions which focused on the uniqueness of what she and the others can offer, rather than just the attractiveness and comfort of their facilities. If I had had more time, I would have loved a visit to the local schools, church etc.to get to know the people more fully. And, of course, I sensed that she and the others were just as happy to get to know us.
The Passions of a Zimbabwean Physician working in South Africa
October 10, 2009
On the plane from Cape Town to Johannesburg today I sat next to a OB/GYN physician from Zimbabwe who has been living in South Africa for 18 years and had just attended the triennial international gathering of OB/GYN physicians in Cape Town.Our conversation became very animated when I asked about the question of maternal transmission of HIV during pregnancy. This subject, of course, had great meaning to me having just met scores of beautiful children with HIV+ and AIDS. I didn't realize that maternal transmission of the HIV virus is virtually 100% preventable! He has not had a case of an HIV+ baby being born in his private practice for over 7 years.
The mother needs to take tablets twice a day and if started at 14 weeks of gestation (the American protocol) the transmission rate (chances of the baby being HIV+ if the mother is) is less than .1 %. If started at 36 weeks (the Thai protocol, to save money), the rate of transmission is 13%. If started when the mother is in labor the rate is 30% and without treatment the rate is 45%. So, it is clear. Medical science has done its job in this arena. Pediatric AIDS can and should be a thing of the past. The only thing that is needed is the will and the money. The only thing,.... And then I think of the many dying or having their lives seriously compromised because of lack of food - a problem, I infer, throughout the continent. That's the same thing, isn't it? The food is here, but not the universal determination to eradicate hunger.
The physician also addresses some psychosocial aspects of treatment in his practice. In particular, he requires that all of the women AND their partner both be tested for HIV and STDs. He refuses to test only the woman only. He does this so that both become aligned with treatment, if needed. When only one member of the pair is HIV+, which is a common occurrence, this allows him to explain that if the affected member takes his/her treatment both the other partner and the children will all be healthy and don't have to worry about their life being compromised. Whatever the HIV status of the two partners, they can be true partners and supportive of each other. Because of this approach he does not see spouses leaving or being left in the relationship because of their HIV status., which otherwise does happen with some frequency.
The physician also shared with me how he, a poor fellow from Zimbabwe, became a successful medical specialist. He had received inspiration and encouragement from his nonliterate dad ("Education is salvation.") and was very determined. He would walk 25 km to read things at the library and from there got the idea to seek out scholarships. The physician also shared how he and his wife (a pharmacist) had recently decided not to put any more money into investments for themselves but to use it to help the desperate Zimbabweans who are migrating to South Africa and have a very hard time getting the basics, (food, shelter,..) that they need. Looking at the magnitude of the suffering was hard for both of us.
I am feeling a little self-conscious as I write this. So much of what I write is about the hardship of people here; I have occasionally been asked "Do you revel in people's suffering?" I would say revel is not exactly my experience. But hardship and trauma are a focus of this course in Narrative Practices that I am involved in. And it is also something that moves me greatly, that I wish to diminish in some small way by my presence and/or skills. The combination of the hardship, and the hope, and the means of resisting the feeling of powerlessness that often is associated with hardship do draw my attention keenly. I don't know how my writings and ruminations will be similar or different when I move on to the teaching part of my trip (starting Oct. 23). My hunch is that it will change some, but I suspect the challenges of the people will be frequently present with me.
On the plane from Cape Town to Johannesburg today I sat next to a OB/GYN physician from Zimbabwe who has been living in South Africa for 18 years and had just attended the triennial international gathering of OB/GYN physicians in Cape Town.Our conversation became very animated when I asked about the question of maternal transmission of HIV during pregnancy. This subject, of course, had great meaning to me having just met scores of beautiful children with HIV+ and AIDS. I didn't realize that maternal transmission of the HIV virus is virtually 100% preventable! He has not had a case of an HIV+ baby being born in his private practice for over 7 years.
The mother needs to take tablets twice a day and if started at 14 weeks of gestation (the American protocol) the transmission rate (chances of the baby being HIV+ if the mother is) is less than .1 %. If started at 36 weeks (the Thai protocol, to save money), the rate of transmission is 13%. If started when the mother is in labor the rate is 30% and without treatment the rate is 45%. So, it is clear. Medical science has done its job in this arena. Pediatric AIDS can and should be a thing of the past. The only thing that is needed is the will and the money. The only thing,.... And then I think of the many dying or having their lives seriously compromised because of lack of food - a problem, I infer, throughout the continent. That's the same thing, isn't it? The food is here, but not the universal determination to eradicate hunger.
The physician also addresses some psychosocial aspects of treatment in his practice. In particular, he requires that all of the women AND their partner both be tested for HIV and STDs. He refuses to test only the woman only. He does this so that both become aligned with treatment, if needed. When only one member of the pair is HIV+, which is a common occurrence, this allows him to explain that if the affected member takes his/her treatment both the other partner and the children will all be healthy and don't have to worry about their life being compromised. Whatever the HIV status of the two partners, they can be true partners and supportive of each other. Because of this approach he does not see spouses leaving or being left in the relationship because of their HIV status., which otherwise does happen with some frequency.
The physician also shared with me how he, a poor fellow from Zimbabwe, became a successful medical specialist. He had received inspiration and encouragement from his nonliterate dad ("Education is salvation.") and was very determined. He would walk 25 km to read things at the library and from there got the idea to seek out scholarships. The physician also shared how he and his wife (a pharmacist) had recently decided not to put any more money into investments for themselves but to use it to help the desperate Zimbabweans who are migrating to South Africa and have a very hard time getting the basics, (food, shelter,..) that they need. Looking at the magnitude of the suffering was hard for both of us.
I am feeling a little self-conscious as I write this. So much of what I write is about the hardship of people here; I have occasionally been asked "Do you revel in people's suffering?" I would say revel is not exactly my experience. But hardship and trauma are a focus of this course in Narrative Practices that I am involved in. And it is also something that moves me greatly, that I wish to diminish in some small way by my presence and/or skills. The combination of the hardship, and the hope, and the means of resisting the feeling of powerlessness that often is associated with hardship do draw my attention keenly. I don't know how my writings and ruminations will be similar or different when I move on to the teaching part of my trip (starting Oct. 23). My hunch is that it will change some, but I suspect the challenges of the people will be frequently present with me.
Mother-to-Mother and Amy Biehl 10-9-09
October 9, 2009
It is amazing – within a 24 hour period how many different powerful experiences and events I am exposed to. Yesterday I was staying in beautiful home in a Black South African township on the outskirts of Cape Town named Gugulethu. This township had some notoriety in the 1990s when a white American Fulbright scholar named Amy Biehl was working to register Black voters to vote for the first time in South Africa, in the election that ultimately put Nelson Mandela in charge of the country. She was in a van in Guguletu when a crowd of youth attacked the bus and ultimately beat, stabbed and killed her. This happened blocks from where we were staying and the news was all over the world for a period of time. Last night several of us from the Collective Narrative Practices course went to see an acclaimed play based on this incident called Mother to Mother. It was a powerful one-woman performance focused on the mother of the boy who was part of the stabbing. She did a wonderful job portraying such a full range of emotions including the grief for the mother of the woman whom her son killed as well as grief for herself and her son. I especially enjoyed sharing this evening with the African woman my age, Florence, the owner of the B&B where we are staying who was also greatly moved by the performance. Florence teaches nursing students and is very interested in learning more about Nonviolent Communication. We are talking about ways for her to come to the New York Intensive Residential Training in NVC.
For some more info about the Amy Biehl case, one place you can read is:
http://www.myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=a_biehl
I do find it an inspiring story – especially reading about how the parents of Amy Biehl supported dialogue, amnesty and reconciliation with the boys involved in the killing, two of whom now work dedicatedly for the Amy Biehl Foundation (see www.amybiehl.org) her parents created to support these goals in the world.
Some questions that are sometimes not asked about this event. Would there have been world-wide attention if she had not been a person of such privileged background (and being young and photogenic didn't hurt either)? Amy had so many choices about where she could be and how she could live her life. How about the “killers?”
It is amazing – within a 24 hour period how many different powerful experiences and events I am exposed to. Yesterday I was staying in beautiful home in a Black South African township on the outskirts of Cape Town named Gugulethu. This township had some notoriety in the 1990s when a white American Fulbright scholar named Amy Biehl was working to register Black voters to vote for the first time in South Africa, in the election that ultimately put Nelson Mandela in charge of the country. She was in a van in Guguletu when a crowd of youth attacked the bus and ultimately beat, stabbed and killed her. This happened blocks from where we were staying and the news was all over the world for a period of time. Last night several of us from the Collective Narrative Practices course went to see an acclaimed play based on this incident called Mother to Mother. It was a powerful one-woman performance focused on the mother of the boy who was part of the stabbing. She did a wonderful job portraying such a full range of emotions including the grief for the mother of the woman whom her son killed as well as grief for herself and her son. I especially enjoyed sharing this evening with the African woman my age, Florence, the owner of the B&B where we are staying who was also greatly moved by the performance. Florence teaches nursing students and is very interested in learning more about Nonviolent Communication. We are talking about ways for her to come to the New York Intensive Residential Training in NVC.
For some more info about the Amy Biehl case, one place you can read is:
http://www.myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=a_biehl
I do find it an inspiring story – especially reading about how the parents of Amy Biehl supported dialogue, amnesty and reconciliation with the boys involved in the killing, two of whom now work dedicatedly for the Amy Biehl Foundation (see www.amybiehl.org) her parents created to support these goals in the world.
Some questions that are sometimes not asked about this event. Would there have been world-wide attention if she had not been a person of such privileged background (and being young and photogenic didn't hurt either)? Amy had so many choices about where she could be and how she could live her life. How about the “killers?”
Friday, October 9, 2009
Thoughts from visiting orphaned and vulnerable children
Oct. 1, 2009
The visit today was similar in some ways to the visit with the HIV+/AIDS children on Monday, Sept. 28; most of the children with HIV/AIDS have lost one or both parents and a significant number of the children classified as orphaned or vulnerable (that is, from extremely poor families and circumstances) are HIV+.
And thinking of our discussion of the children, this time I was particularly alert to noticing the children's nonverbal behavior. They were very curious about us – where are you from? What is the weather like? What sports do you like? They were relatively open to sharing with us, after we broke the ice by playing some games together. I noticed how much energy they had for running and competing. And how eagerly they cheered the other children on who were on their team. And how excited they were to be playing with simple objects (a hoola hoop, a ball) or no objects other than their own hands (clapping games, tag games, etc.)
I couldn't help wondering whether American children have paid a serious price for the ready availability of TV, DVDs, and all manner of video games.
I am also surprised to reflect on how this experience of getting to know hardship is similar and different from what I learned in my trip to India in 2007. In 2007 I traveled more or less independently, sometimes with my friend Kanya, sometimes with my husband Bill, son Justin and Justin's partner, Mohamad, and sometimes alone. Because I had made connections in India from my Nonviolent Communication work, I and we were able to visit various non-governmental and governmental agencies and families hosted by Indian people. I am now really appreciating how very much we saw that way and how rich and deep the experience was. On the present trip, I am extremely grateful to the organizers for doing their best to arrange meaningful learning experiences for us, and yet the cumbersomeness of traveling and visiting in a group of 13 – 19 people leads to both great inefficiencies in the use of our time and also barriers to connection when one or two local people are being interviewed in the context of a large group that is trying its best to be respectful and culturally sensitive. (Note: often we would divide into sub-groups of 5 or so, but there was still and “institutional” feel to our visit and some of the people we were visiting may have perceived our visit as some sort of “official” visit from NGO people rather than the informal sharing of experiences that we intended.)
The hypothesis that I am entertaining at this time is that traveling alone or with one or two compatible others may be a preferred mode for me. I am thinking that it gives flexibility, manageability and a potential depth to my interactions with people whom I meet that is difficult to have in the large group setting. For me the serious issue is potential loneliness from a lack of connection. There have definitely been times in my past when I have had “melt downs” when traveling alone – felt miserable and lonesome. So far, in my recent international trips this has not been a serious problem. I do remember a few bouts of misery in the 2007 Asia trip and some definite longing for closeness and intimacy in the 2008 Asia trip, but there were not very extended and I think my strategies for survival and connection (primarily low-cost telephone calls to the United States and e-mail connections worked pretty well. I guess I will have lots of opportunity to see how good that really is for me during the 6 weeks that I will be in Uganda and 2 weeks in Kenya. Wish me luck! AND if you would like to connect through e-mail or writing comments on my blog postings, I will be totally grateful.
The visit today was similar in some ways to the visit with the HIV+/AIDS children on Monday, Sept. 28; most of the children with HIV/AIDS have lost one or both parents and a significant number of the children classified as orphaned or vulnerable (that is, from extremely poor families and circumstances) are HIV+.
And thinking of our discussion of the children, this time I was particularly alert to noticing the children's nonverbal behavior. They were very curious about us – where are you from? What is the weather like? What sports do you like? They were relatively open to sharing with us, after we broke the ice by playing some games together. I noticed how much energy they had for running and competing. And how eagerly they cheered the other children on who were on their team. And how excited they were to be playing with simple objects (a hoola hoop, a ball) or no objects other than their own hands (clapping games, tag games, etc.)
I couldn't help wondering whether American children have paid a serious price for the ready availability of TV, DVDs, and all manner of video games.
I am also surprised to reflect on how this experience of getting to know hardship is similar and different from what I learned in my trip to India in 2007. In 2007 I traveled more or less independently, sometimes with my friend Kanya, sometimes with my husband Bill, son Justin and Justin's partner, Mohamad, and sometimes alone. Because I had made connections in India from my Nonviolent Communication work, I and we were able to visit various non-governmental and governmental agencies and families hosted by Indian people. I am now really appreciating how very much we saw that way and how rich and deep the experience was. On the present trip, I am extremely grateful to the organizers for doing their best to arrange meaningful learning experiences for us, and yet the cumbersomeness of traveling and visiting in a group of 13 – 19 people leads to both great inefficiencies in the use of our time and also barriers to connection when one or two local people are being interviewed in the context of a large group that is trying its best to be respectful and culturally sensitive. (Note: often we would divide into sub-groups of 5 or so, but there was still and “institutional” feel to our visit and some of the people we were visiting may have perceived our visit as some sort of “official” visit from NGO people rather than the informal sharing of experiences that we intended.)
The hypothesis that I am entertaining at this time is that traveling alone or with one or two compatible others may be a preferred mode for me. I am thinking that it gives flexibility, manageability and a potential depth to my interactions with people whom I meet that is difficult to have in the large group setting. For me the serious issue is potential loneliness from a lack of connection. There have definitely been times in my past when I have had “melt downs” when traveling alone – felt miserable and lonesome. So far, in my recent international trips this has not been a serious problem. I do remember a few bouts of misery in the 2007 Asia trip and some definite longing for closeness and intimacy in the 2008 Asia trip, but there were not very extended and I think my strategies for survival and connection (primarily low-cost telephone calls to the United States and e-mail connections worked pretty well. I guess I will have lots of opportunity to see how good that really is for me during the 6 weeks that I will be in Uganda and 2 weeks in Kenya. Wish me luck! AND if you would like to connect through e-mail or writing comments on my blog postings, I will be totally grateful.
The Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg
Sept. 29, 2009
The Apartheid Museum has two main sections, one on the history of Apartheid, the other about Nelson Mandela. They were both beautifully done with photos, compelling text, and video materials. (The floor plan was a bit confusing and I got lost a few times, but that was minor.)
There was more there than a person can absorb in a day, but I found it to be a very moving experience. Names, places and events that I heard about at the time were brought together in a full narrative – Soweto riots, Stephen Biko, ANC, Robben Island. Winnie Mandela. And, of course, there was so very much that I didn't know about, and still don't.
I didn't know about the death of the teen-ager Hector Pieterson who was killed when he was part of a group of Black youth protesting the education system they were receiving. At that time the Black children had to “pass” their exams in the Afrikans language at the end of 12th grade. But they only started the study of Afrikans at the beginning of 12th grade! The per capita money spent on educating Black youth was less than 1/10 that of White youth. No books, no furniture, etc. His death sparked a whole youth movement for improved education, that ultimately led to the massacre of 63 youth in one protest, and also led to changes such as removing the Afrikans requirement.
One thing that struck me – how few people actually created the Apartheid system and convinced Parliament and the country to accept it. And I was amazed reading about Helen Suzman, a Jewish woman who for 13 years was the lone voice in Parliament speaking out time and time again against the system, its cruelty, its inadequacy and ineffectiveness for the country. What challenges she must have faced! She served 31 years in Parliament, devoting her life to fighting for equality, justice and care in how we treat one another. There was a very large room devoted to reviewing her life, sacrifices and accomplishments. I found this an inspiring example of what one person can do.
The world pressure against what was happening was very important for change. My Quaker host of last week referred to the time when it was really difficult to travel internationally as a White South African because of how she was viewed by others. I must admit I still have some of that reaction now. Even though I am meeting some White South Africans who are as committed to equality as I am, my active stereotype initially is that they must be racist oppressors. How much easier it is to see the limitations of others than my own! How do I, for example, behave so as to perpetuate the race, class and other privileges that I have? This was the theme of my final project for the Narrative Practices course I am taking here and I notice how very hard it is for people in positions of privilege to see their role in it. The skill of becoming aware of one's role in the system is not an easy one to develop.
I was also captivated by reading about how Nelson Mandela, especially as he matured, took in the humanity of all people, even those whose actions had such devastating effects on his people. He said that in prison he discovered that “the enemy is human after all.” He actively sought to develop relationships with the guards and the warden. Eventually they came to respect him and even ask him for advice. Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote of Mandela - “He could enter into the heart of General Constand Viljoen and say 'What are the things that make him tick? What threatens him? And what can I do to enable him?' “
“
The Apartheid Museum has two main sections, one on the history of Apartheid, the other about Nelson Mandela. They were both beautifully done with photos, compelling text, and video materials. (The floor plan was a bit confusing and I got lost a few times, but that was minor.)
There was more there than a person can absorb in a day, but I found it to be a very moving experience. Names, places and events that I heard about at the time were brought together in a full narrative – Soweto riots, Stephen Biko, ANC, Robben Island. Winnie Mandela. And, of course, there was so very much that I didn't know about, and still don't.
I didn't know about the death of the teen-ager Hector Pieterson who was killed when he was part of a group of Black youth protesting the education system they were receiving. At that time the Black children had to “pass” their exams in the Afrikans language at the end of 12th grade. But they only started the study of Afrikans at the beginning of 12th grade! The per capita money spent on educating Black youth was less than 1/10 that of White youth. No books, no furniture, etc. His death sparked a whole youth movement for improved education, that ultimately led to the massacre of 63 youth in one protest, and also led to changes such as removing the Afrikans requirement.
One thing that struck me – how few people actually created the Apartheid system and convinced Parliament and the country to accept it. And I was amazed reading about Helen Suzman, a Jewish woman who for 13 years was the lone voice in Parliament speaking out time and time again against the system, its cruelty, its inadequacy and ineffectiveness for the country. What challenges she must have faced! She served 31 years in Parliament, devoting her life to fighting for equality, justice and care in how we treat one another. There was a very large room devoted to reviewing her life, sacrifices and accomplishments. I found this an inspiring example of what one person can do.
The world pressure against what was happening was very important for change. My Quaker host of last week referred to the time when it was really difficult to travel internationally as a White South African because of how she was viewed by others. I must admit I still have some of that reaction now. Even though I am meeting some White South Africans who are as committed to equality as I am, my active stereotype initially is that they must be racist oppressors. How much easier it is to see the limitations of others than my own! How do I, for example, behave so as to perpetuate the race, class and other privileges that I have? This was the theme of my final project for the Narrative Practices course I am taking here and I notice how very hard it is for people in positions of privilege to see their role in it. The skill of becoming aware of one's role in the system is not an easy one to develop.
I was also captivated by reading about how Nelson Mandela, especially as he matured, took in the humanity of all people, even those whose actions had such devastating effects on his people. He said that in prison he discovered that “the enemy is human after all.” He actively sought to develop relationships with the guards and the warden. Eventually they came to respect him and even ask him for advice. Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote of Mandela - “He could enter into the heart of General Constand Viljoen and say 'What are the things that make him tick? What threatens him? And what can I do to enable him?' “
“
Children with AIDS/HIV+ in a Black South African Township
Visiting a center that serves children with AIDS in a Black South African township
September 28, 2009
Today was the first day of the 3 ½ week program (actually the second residency period in an 8-month program) in Collective Narrative Practices for Working with Groups Dealing with Hardship and Trauma, which was the impetus for my trip to Africa (for more information see DulwichCentre.com.au). Our instructor today, Ncazele, was a faculty member from South Africa who works and teaches narrative practices with children whose suffering is extreme – poverty, abuse and neglect, malnutrition, death of one or both parents, HIV/AIDS positive status. And one of the things that I value most about the narrative approach is that it never views children or others as the passive recipients of trauma. They all respond in many significant ways to problems and challenges that they face, drawing upon skills and knowledge that are often unseen and unheralded by other models. Hearing Ncasele describe in vivid detail how she uses these practices to support children, caregivers and families is very inspiring. She has a special ability to hear people empathically, to support them in the celebration of their skills of survival, and to assist them in holding passionately their hopes and dreams for themselves and others.
The scope of the HIV/AIDS problem in South Africa is mind-boggling. In some areas as many as one third of the women of child-bearing age are HIV positive. The overall proportion for the whole population is 10% and women, the primary caregivers of children, the elderly and the sick, are more severely affected than men. Only a small proportion (approximately 5%) of those who are affected are receiving suitable medication and there are many, many problems even when medication is available. With children who are HIV positive a big issue is when (or if) to tell them of their HIV status. Many caregivers tell the children that they are being treated for pneumonia or tuberculosis because they don't want the children to tell others for fear that they and/or the whole family will be stigmatized. It then becomes very difficult to give the children the medical and emotional support that they need in order to cope most effectively with their illness.
It's not fun to take pills multiple times a day, every day, for the rest of your life.(I have a lot of difficulty adhering to my vitamin schedule which is so much less serious an issue, so I know that from personal experience.) Sometimes it just seems like a chore and a bother and who wants to do that. It is also true that the medications make people more hungry and many people don't get enough to eat as it is. Because of the discomfort of feeling hungry so much some discontinue their medications for that reason. Also, the South African government gives a grant of 900 Rands a month (about $135) to people whose T cell count is below 200. But if the T cell count goes over 200, the grant stops. So, people will take the medication until the count improves but then quit when it reaches 200. This type of going on and off meds increases the resistance to the effectiveness of the medication.
Children and teens, of course, want to be like their peers. Finding the time to take the pills, to have them with you on a suitable schedule, to risk the embarrassment and rejection from peers – these are all powerful contributors to non-adherence to the medication regimen. At this center the children feel accepted - “I feel free here.” How much education is needed for AIDS to be treated like any other medical condition – not a social disease!
WHAT DO THE CHILDREN AND CAREGIVERS WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT THEM?
At various points we asked the children what messages they would like us to take home to our country (Our group included people from China, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Chile, U.S., and Canada). The most common request was that we let people know that there is more to Africa than suffering and poverty – that they are a strong people who also celebrate the life they have, the joy they find with each other and the value of community and family. They want to be know for their spirit, togetherness and joys in living as well as for the challenges that they face. They also do value support for getting medical treatment, food and shelter, As one counselor said “Tell them that AIDS is here and it is serious and that we are stronger than AIDS”
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