As I try to put into words how this
city has touched me in such a short time its extremely difficult. Apart from
the beauty of this place, the history seems to be what ignites the amazing
people of this city.
On our second week of orientation we
visited the Slave Lodge and were guided by these two amazing women who had
indigenous ancestors and knew their history like the back of their hands. They
told us about the history of the displaced people and shared their feelings of
the complex history of their people and this city through powerful poems and
speeches. We also watched a movie detailing the brutal history of how and where
the slaves were transported from and the many jobs they were required to do.
The most shocking part of that video for me was when the narrator started
reading off a list of slave names and he read mine. Throughout the day I
was already imagining the intense difficulty and pain these slaves must’ve went
through but to imagine myself in a past life actually living through that was
terrifying. It just made me grateful for the life I was given and solidifies my
choice to use that life to fight for the human rights of people.
Another trip that I shall never
forget was visiting Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18
years. It was an emotional visit seeing the poor living conditions and learning
about our tour guide’s experience as a prisoner there. All of the tour guides
on the island were once prisoners at Robben Island and on the ferry over my
co-educators kept theorizing why they would come back with the overwhelming
theory being something along the lines of trying to find peace from their past
and give back by educating others. However when I asked him why he came back to
give tours his response was “I needed a job. We all did, that’s the only reason
we’re here.” His response made me realize how quick we were as privileged
students to romanticize the past and his choices when his reasoning is so
simple and logical. It made me think that he’s technically still a
prisoner there. The system that stripped him of his natural rights to protest
an unfair government still controls him because of the effects it left on the
vast majority made him unable to find a stable way to provide for his family
except for this one, extremely difficult job he was basically forced to take.
This once again reaffirmed the harsh realities the people are still
encountering post apartheid era.
After being here for a few weeks and
visibly seeing the intense disparities between the rich and the poor it made me
realize the importance of all the NGO’s we visited where my co-educators and I
will be interning and how significant their contributions to society are. Last
night we attended a lovely braai (which is similar to an American bbq) at our
professor Vernon’s home and I was introduced to a teacher named Bruce who was
telling us how a few times a week after he gets out of school he travels to
some of the most dangerous townships to teach at risk students in after school
programs. He said, “this is my contribution to humanity, your internship is
yours.” This made me realize how important it is that we’re here exploring this
new world that is becoming my home and the opportunity we have to make a
difference in a society that needs so much change.
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| Amelia on boot to Robben Island |
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