Here are some final pictures from Soweto and Moletsane High School. I should mention that the students at Moletsane are very eager to establish contact with the students at Ithaca.
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Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa. With a population of 3.8 million it is basically a cosmopolitan city. Walking through the city you would not necessarily guess that you are in South Africa. By comparison the population of Soweto is 1.3 million, but Soweto is all black and when you walk through it there is no question where you are. Apartheid had the effect of creating a satellite township for every city. Soweto is Johannesburg's satellite, although it is growing at a much faster pace and is expected to someday overtake the city, in terms of population. My hosts in Soweto are Elliot Mashinini and Mpho Matloga. They are pictured here at the legs of a large statue of Nelson Mandela, in Mandela Square in Johannesburg. The day after this photo Mpho and I went to the Apartheid Museum. When you enter the museum you are given a ticket which is arbitrarily stamped either "blankes" or "nie-blankes," which is Afrikaans for "white" or "non-white." As it turned out Mpho got a "nie-blankes" ticket and I got a "blankes." As you enter the museum you are immediately separated according to your status, so Mpho and I were suddenly directed to different entrance ways, which felt weird. When we were later reunited in the museum, Mpho was quite upset and said it had brought back a lot of bad memories for her. Remember, anyone over the age of 25 grew up under apartheid. Mpho pointed out that under apartheid she and I could not have walked together in public. The multi-racial scene pictured above could not have happened. This is Nelson Mandela's old house in Soweto. He has not lived there for a long time, although supposedly about 10 years ago he suddenly showed up and sat in a chair in his old house, greeting visitors as they came through. No luck this time, though. You might wonder what Mandela was doing during the Soweto uprisings in 1976. The answer is that he was already imprisoned on Robben Island and had served 14 years of what was to be a 27 year sentence. The struggle against apartheid was very long. When Mandela became president in 1994 he was already an old man of of 76. Still alive now at 94 years, he is more than twice as old as the average black male in South Africa. Mandela won a Nobel Peace Prize because he managed to transition South Africa to democracy while avoiding a race-based civil war that many thought was inevitable. Some video appearances from the students at Moletsane High School in Soweto.
My next stop on this tour is Moletsane High School in Soweto. This is one of the schools that participated in the uprising about 40 years ago. Soweto stands for SOuth WEst TOwnship. It is the largest township in Africa and is adjacent to the city of Johannesburg. The Soweto uprising on June 16, 1976 was a turning point in the anti-apartheid struggle. What has always been most inspiring to me is that the uprising was completely organized by high school and middle school students. These students planned a peaceful march through the township of Soweto to protest the requirement that all courses be taught in Afrikaans. (In a previous post I mentioned that language is the key to understanding South African politics and culture). Afrikaans was the language of the white apartheid regime. The requirement that all students be instructed in Afrikaans, rather than their mother tongue (or English), was an example of the restrictions and oppression of apartheid. Hector Pieterson On June 15th black students met secretly, not even their parents or teachers knew, and decided to “go on strike.” The next morning thousands of students walked through the streets of Soweto carrying signs and chanting. When the students encountered a police barricade and refused to return to school, the police responded by opening fire on the children. The number of casualties was in the hundreds. No one will ever know the exact number because many parents were afraid to even claim the bodies of their dead children. The police quickly collected and disposed of the corpses. One of the first casualties was 13 year old Hector Pieterson. The image of his body being carried by another student was captured by a photographer and published in newspapers around the world. It was because of the Soweto uprising that world opinion finally galvanized against the apartheid government. The photo at left is from the Hector Pieterson museum in Soweto. The scattered bricks in the courtyard carry the names of some of the students who were killed that day. Here is a link to an account of that day from one of the survivors.
Vincent, Enoch, Joseph and Ray. Can you spot me?
When I visited Oukasie I was able to reconnect with some of my former students from 10 years ago. As a teacher it is very gratifying to see that some of my students were able to use their education to “escape” a life in the township. Only about 20% of the students who enter Botlhabelo high school in 8th grade are able to complete their education and pass their exams at the end of 12th grade. Without at least a high school diploma the future is bleak. Unemployment in South Africa is officially about 30%, but this only counts people who are actively seeking jobs. Many people in the townships have simply given up, and in Oukasie the unemployment is estimated to run about 75%. So sticking out high school, getting a diploma, and getting a job is a big deal. Most of the students in these pictures have gone on to college. Kealeboga, a truly inspiring former student and a good friend Sadly, life in Oukasie has gotten worse, not better over the last 10 years. Crime, drug and alcohol use, HIV/AIDS, and a recent influx of refugees from Zimbabwe have all served to destabilize what was once a very focused and committed community. All the students with whom I reconnected commented on the deterioration of the township. In some ways the struggle against resettlement had been a galvanizing force. Now, in the "vacuum of freedom” many youths lack role models and motivation. It is easy to give up hope and slip into the mire of township life. Malebye, David and Joseph making plans to motivate students at Botlhabelo. As we toured the township, my former students, now in their late 20’s, made plans to visit the high school to try to encourage and motivate the students. “Plowing back,” is a phrase often invoked by South Africans – giving back to your community when you are lucky enough to catch a break. It is important for current students to see that education is the best way out of township life. A few old pictures (of the same students).
Too tired to write tonight, but here are some nice landscape shots to check out. Most of these are parts of the Free State (more on that later). The second clip is from the top of the Magaliesberg Mountains near Ga-Rankuwa. Botlhabelo is the high school serving the youth of Oukasie township. It is the school I taught at in 2003, and my first stop on my tour of South African schools. It has about 1300 students in grades 8-12, roughly the same size as Ithaca High School, although only about 30 teachers, which is about a third of the IHS faculty. Class sizes range from 40 to 50. There is a chronic shortage of text books and other materials. I will never forget my first day teaching there. All I wanted was for my students to do some problems from the text book so I could gauge their level. But none of them had books, many did not even have pencils, and when I went to write on the chalk board there was no chalk. You might think that a school like this would be targeted for extra funding, but in fact schools in South Africa receive a flat rate from the provincial government, the rest is made up through local fees. Of course this has the effect of maintaining the economic status quo. White schools generally have access to a richer tax base. In Oukasie, where the majority of parents are unemployed, the school receives virtually no additional funding. If this seems crazy, keep in mind that it's pretty much the same system in the U.S., with much the same effect. Not surprisingly, the drop-out rate is about 70% by grade 12. There is constant finger pointing between the district, the teachers, the community and the students, but the truth is the situation is simply unworkable. That being said, there is a surprising and inspiring degree of commitment on all sides. I visited during their week-long Easter break, and teachers were showing up on their own time, to work with students who came in for extra lessons. In some ways Ga-Rankuwa, where I have been staying, and Oukasie, the next stop on my tour, form an interesting contrast in townships. Ga-Rankuwa was the result of forced resettlement. Oukasie was the result of a squatter camp that refused to resettle. Oukasie originally formed in the 1960’s and was a squatter camp for servants and domestic workers who served families in the nearby Afrikaans community of Brits. During the late 60’s and early 70’s the town grew dramatically due to growing industry and both the white population of Brits and the black population of Oukasie increased. By 1980 the two communities were essentially adjacent to each other. In 1985 a meeting was called by the Brits town leaders to inform the black population of Oukasie that they would have to relocate to a new settlement in Bophuthatswana, called Lethlabile. The nearly 100,000 inhabitants of Oukasie were reluctant to move since there were few opportunities for employment in Bophuthatswana. An action committee was formed in Oukasie and essentially the population refused to relocate. The streets were barricaded and the action committee tried to attract international attention to their plight. The community of Oukasie was cut off. Residents had no access to electricity, there was no provision for sanitation services and water had to be carried in from great distances. In addition the apartheid government began a secret campaign of terror and destabilization. Homes of activist were fire-bombed and many community leaders were arrested. Some were murdered There were frequent conflicts with police and rioting in the township. Eventually the residents of Oukasie were able to attract international attention and to obtain legal representation to forestall forced removal. By the late 1980’s the apartheid government was on its last legs and the community was able to persevere until the apartheid regime fell. I should mention that I taught in Oukasie in 2003 on a Fulbright teacher exchange. Of course I have many memories of the township, but two stand out in my mind. One was a conversation with one of the early activists, Anne Mogkosi. She told me about being detained by the police who threatened to take away her children if she did not abandon her activism. I asked her what she did, and I will always remember her response and the look she gave me – as though it were obvious: “I sent my children away to my sister and I continued what I was doing. I was not going to stop.” The second memory has to do with finding a map of “Brits and Local Areas” in a Brits bookstore. I was thrilled because, like many townships, Oukasie is a maze of winding routes. When I opened the map it clearly showed the town of Brits, but where Oukasie exisited (at this point with a population of several hundred thousand) there was just blank empty space. This was 10 years after independence. Some notes: The pictures you see here are current. Also a couple of interesting links -
Report on Oukasie and attacks on residents by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. An article on Oukasie written during the struggle. Most South Africans (white or black) are nominally Christians – although, when faced with a conflict between traditional African beliefs and Christian doctrine, many black South Africans feel at liberty to choose as circumstances dictate. I’ve always found it intriguing that the perpetrators of apartheid were apparently untroubled by what appears to be blatant religious hypocrisy, since all involved were Christians. On the other hand, South Africa’s peaceful transition to a democracy owes a lot to the forgiveness espoused by Cardinal Desmond Tutu and others. I have never been much of a churchgoer myself, but I could not resist an invitation to attend Easter services in the township. Black services in South Africa are characterized by jubilant singing. In the service I attended, parishioners were roughly seated according to age and gender. There was a section of children, adolescents, and then older men and women. These divisions pretty much functioned as the “choir” sections as well. The service consisted of about 30 minutes of “traditional” service and 2 hours of singing. Everyone sings, each group has its own call and response, and it’s own harmonies. When one song ends someone will start singing a new song and everyone joins in. I have no idea how they all sort it out but it’s amazing. Sometimes one group will taunt the other with a verse, and then the other group will respond in kind. Meanwhile people are swaying and dancing (including the pastor), clapping their hands, whistling and ululating (a long, wavering, high-pitched vocal sound produced by moving the tongue, rapidly, back and forth). Anyhow, have a listen. Not quite as good as being there but close your eyes and imagine. (PS-can't get the audio player to work so this is an audio only video) "Don't raise your voice, improve your argument."
― Desmond Tutu Here is a video of my camera-shy friend, Malebye, speaking some Setswana. The Bantu language group is quite large and contains many languages across Africa. It is similar to the relationship of French, Spanish, Italian, etc. in the Romance languages. They are not mutually intelligible, but the structure is similar and if you can master one, learning the others becomes easier. Amongst the Bantu languages Zulu is considered to be relatively easy, Xhosa (the “click language”) is one of the hardest. Most people in the Northwest province, where I am currently staying, speak Setswana.
An aside: “Setswana” is the language; the country of “Botswana”, neighboring South Africa, is literally the “land of the Tswana.” Bantu languages have several interesting features. They tend to be tonal languages, which means that saying something with a rising, falling, or neutral inflection changes the meaning of the world. It also gives the languages a sort of musical quality. In Setswana, like Spanish, the accent is generally placed on the penultimate syllable, which also adds cadence. As one Tswana speaker said to me, “English is flat, Setswana rolls.” Bantu languages also have many noun classes. If you know Spanish or French then you can understand feminine or masculine words as noun classes. Bantu languages tend to have anywhere from 10 to 20 noun classes, and unlike Romance languages, verbs conjugate differently with nouns from different classes. In addition, conjugation can take place at either the front or the end of the verb, so you have to train your ear to listen for the verb stem in the middle of the word. If all this is too abstract, try reading through the examples below and you will see what I mean. Go tshameka - to play ngwana - a child bana - children ngwana watshameka- the child plays bana batshameka - the children play monna- man banna-men Go bona - to see monna obona ngwana- the man sees the child banna babona bana- the men see the children monna obona bana batshameka – the man sees the children play |
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