So I'm not really sure how to write this post.
Yesterday was amazing, we had orientation in the morning, a big bbq in our backyard and then went for a driving tour around the cape. the city is absolutely beautiful, mountains on one side and the most stunning white beaches on the other. the city was full of old and new buildings, skyscrapers, small shops, people, and i saw my first wild zebra! The house is gorgeous, incredibly old and so big. Apparently some famous writer used to live here and she was famous for some illustrious affair with an artist. It's actually an historical site. After a quick walk around our local neighborhood, we had a big dinner then hung around the house, played cards, shared music, showed pictures, unpacked and just settled in.
The people are all unique hailing from all over the US and UK. There are about 10 volunteers who have been here for a while and 11 new ones that started with me. I'm sharing a big bedroom with 5 other girls, and one bathroom! umm...yeah, not so fun. Especially because I have the top bunk, super lame.
Which I suppose brings me to the hard part...today.
We were split into 2 groups and sent on a driving/walking tour of the townships in Cape Town. I went on the morning tour, and had a leader named Richard who was from the cape and grew up in one of the townships, Langa. Our driver, David was also from the city, but grew up in District 6 (I'll get back to the significance of this in a bit).
There is so much history behind this city. While I had researched, read and known of many of the misfortunes of this city, nothing could have prepared me for today. There was so much more that went into the racial discrimination in south africa then I found on the internet and in the books. I want to share them with you, but honestly, writing them like this seems to be trivializing them. When I get home, I promise to share what I learned about the history. But look it up yourself and read all you can, the stories are incredibly moving. Just a few stories that hit me the hardest: the government would set up their people and put them in positions to kill them. At one time it was illegal for a group of 7 or more black boys to be in a group, but 7 boys were told they were being taken to a job interview and when they reached a road block, it turned out it was all set up and the driver led them straight to soldiers waiting to shoot them. Just a year before the apartheid ended, a young Stanford girl was stoned and stabbed to death because she was mistaken for a white south african visiting the townships where it was considered a no-go for whites. And today, her parents work along side her actual killers to try and end racism. The lies and corruption that occurred during apartheid is mind boggling. But today, South Africans only want the truth. Anyone with any information about what took place during those years, must step forward and share every detail, and will be granted amnesty. But if they are found to be hiding anything, or do not step forward are sentenced to prison. Right now there are about 20 people in prison for covering up their actions, but there are countless people who have been granted amnesty. South Africans only want truth, I think that's so brave and incredibly moving.
Back to my tour: There are really no words that can describe the poverty I saw today. there is really no way of knowing how many people are living in townships in cape town, but the one I was in today has about 60,000 people, but only room for 10,000. It's called Langa, and is one of the oldest townships in SA and Cape Town. I have never seen or being exposed or even knew that poverty existed on this level. I almost feel bad for writing this because I do not have the words to describe the emotions I felt, the houses I saw, or the people I encountered. But I will say this, above anything else, the people were friendly and smiling, we were invited into homes. People want to share their stories in the hopes that world knowledge will ultimately change the situation. I am not naive, this will not happen in my lifetime, but hopefully with time and education, this unbearable conditions will be bettered. While in SA there is finally a democratic government, the poverty has already hurt future generations. HIV and AIDS, crime, drug abuse, and so many other external forces affect this population.
I'll attach a few pictures, but I do not want to be disrespectful of the people I met today. I refused to take pictures inside homes, and never took a picture of a person without asking for permission. I want to share these because I want you to know what's occurring here, and what I'm doing here.
I haven't read over this post, and I'm sure it is very confusing. But I just wanted to jot a couple things down while they were fresh in my mind. As the days go by, and I spend more time in the townships and with the people, I'm sure I'll have more concrete and understandable posts. But for now, I hope at the least this will spark your interest as it has mine.
Love,
Kel
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