World AIDS Day

I know that December 1st is still one hour away for me here in South Africa but I wanted the post to be up all day. This post originally appeared in my blog on December 1, 2006 when I was studying in Rotterdam but is even more poignant now that I am living in South Africa. South Africa has the largest AIDS prevalence on Earth with an estimated 25% of the population infected. Yet the subject remains unspoken in most circles and is not one which is particularly dwelled upon by the government. The post appeared as follows:

"Ask yourself if you know anyone who has died of AIDS. Probably not, right? When Prof. Hey asked my Advanced Public International Law class, of 80 international students this question, no one's hand went up. She then went on to tell us about a trip to Ghana in which she visited a highschool and was shocked to find pages In Memorial to Students who had died of AIDS in the past year. Shocked she enquired to a school official who informed her that 25% of the School's population had died that year."

Many people continue to needlessly die in developing countries because they cannot access Anti Retroviral Treatments. The impact goes far beyond that as children lose their parents and are left orphaned in the streets and other children fail to thrive because they cannot access food and medicine. In Pretoria, the Methodist City Mission continues to provide food to individuals on ARTs even when their foodstores are bare so they may continue to survive.

Why do we continue to ignore this problem when there's so much more that we could be doing to help? So today, more than any other day, wear a red ribbon, educate yourself and spread awareness about the disease and its global impact.

Touristing in Pretoria

***UPDATED Sunday November 29, 2009***
Realizing that my time in South Africa was quickly passing me by, two weeks ago I decided to see as much as I could before December 16th rolled around. This started with two weekends of being a tourist in Pretoria for two weekends. These are some of the highlights



Pretoria Botanical Gardens and Zoo
I know what you're thinking, "Kirsten, you're in South Africa, You have been to several game reserves, why on earth would you go to a zoo?" The Pretoria Botanical Gardens and Zoo is the largest zoo in South Africa with animals from Africa, South America, Australia and the occasional animal from Asia and North America. It is beautifully laid out and most of the animals are not in cages rather wise open spaces.
So after a game of soccer with my friend Dan's church group (in which I got hit really hard in the face, OUCH!), he and I headed for the Pretoria zoo. Getting there proved to be a bit interesting as we had to walk through Pretoria Central (the downtown area) which doesn't have the best reputation, although I have been there several times on weekdays without incident. Everything was fine until we were about 10 minutes from the zoo and a street vendor came to try to sell us something. He put his arm around me and his merchandise (which was just a bunch of toys in front of me) and continued to insist that I should buy something from him, to which I replied "no thanks". Unfortunately he kept up this behaviour despite Dan and my protests and eventually Dan gave him a little push to get him on his way. I have to say I was a bit surprised by this as I hadn't really felt threatened by the individual, just annoyed, but it seemed to do the trick.
When we arrived at the zoo we had some lunch and I tried to deal with my ever worsening sun burn. We then proceeded in the direction of the lions which Dan really wanted to see, only to realize there was a gorilla exhibit which I was really keen to see having never seen gorillas before. Unfortunately the gorilla was out being treated for diabetes, but we did see several varieties of antelope and rhinos on the way. (Note the South Africans have about as many variety of springbok as the inuit have words for snow).

Following our search for the gorillas we headed for the big cats and bears and saw lions, Siberian tigers and some bears. The enclosures which they had for the big cats were quite interesting. They were sloped with cave areas built underneath the footpath and were surounded by what appeared to be a waterless mote where the cats could run. They also had a grizzly bear and a kodiak bear. I have never heard of or seen a Kodiak bear before but apparently they live in Alaska.

We then moved on to the monkies which were a little bit harder to view as they were in cages as were the birds at the zoo. I really enjoyed seeing the marmosets which are essentially pocket sized monkies who are very friendly. When we approached their cages they would climb on the wall of the cage closest to us and extend their hands through the cages. Perhaps they were looking for food. The highlights of the zoo for me were the marmosets, elephants, giraffes and this bird (whose name I can't remember) that had a call that sounded like a crying child.

Elephant

Oh I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas...

Some kind of Antelope
Marmosets

Giraffe

Transvaal Museum

Transvaal is the former name for the region of South Africa which encompassed Gauteng (the province where I am living which houses Pretoria and Joburg) as well as all of or part of the two northern province (I am not sure). Today the name only remains as the name of one of the biggest museums in Pretoria, the Transvaal museum.

The Transvaal museum is natural history museum not unlike the one in Ottawa with a room displaying mammals and a room with invertebrates, although it does have a more comprehensive collection of African animals. It also has a room with rocks and minerals in it which exhibits common minerals and what they are used for and explains a geological history of the world which is quite interesting.
I went to the Transvaal museum the day after I went to the zoo with my friend Arne who lives in the same accommodation services as me (although in the house down the street) and some of his German friends (Arne is from Germany as well). We had a nice time and I also met a young man doing an internship at the Brazilian embassy who had just arrived and was eager to make new friends. As it would happen he was interested in visiting Soweto and the Apartheid museum, which were high on my list of places to visit, and where we would head the following Sunday.

Jo'burg, Soweto and the Apartheid Museum
So this past Sunday, Fabio (the guy from Brazil) and I headed off towards Soweto and the Apartheid museum with a private tour guide who was quite congenial (although I have no idea how to spell his name) To get to Soweto and the Apartheid museum you have to drive from Pretoria through Jo'burg. So we stopped in a couple of locations along the way, including a hill from which you can see most of the city, outside Nelson Mandela's current house and we drove through the areas of Hillborow, Center and Sophiatown (aka new town)
We then headed to the Apartheid Museum where we discovered the power was out upon arrival and that they were not admitting anyone into the museum. So thinking on his feet our tour guide for the day suggested we head straight for Soweto which we did.
Soweto is a township. For those of us Canadians who do not know what a township is, a township is where black people were sent to live during Apartheid as they were not allowed to live in the cities. Townships have a reputation for being poor although they really have a range of different income levels and resemble cities with commerce and populations often of over 1 million. Soweto is South Africa's largest and most well known township. Even after apartheid many people continue to live in townships as the cost of living tends to be cheaper than in the cities.
Traveling to Soweto was quite a new experience for me. It certainly demonstrated how much poverty exists alongside to the development and prosperity which is often observed in cities. Soweto has a variety of styles of living ranging from houses which we would consider large by Canadian standards of living, to hostels, newly developed apartments and informal settlement. Below you can see three pictures taken from one street corner where you could simultaneously see some of the largest houses in the township, some hostels and some of the newly developed accommodations.
While we were in Soweto we also went into an informal settlement. Informal settlements usually contain shacks built by the people living in them (or in some cases built with the help of a not for profit group) which are made out of tin siding, in close quarters with no paved roads, and in some cases no electricity (see pictures below) I had initially been morally opposed to the idea as the idea of going to look at someone else's hardship, however I was also curious. I reconciled my curiosity by remembering that by witnessing the conditions in the township I could create awareness about the struggles of others.
As it happened at the informal settlement that we went to a group of youth had actually come together to offer tours to tourist in return for a donation which would go to help provide food packages for the people who were the least well off within the settlements. (I learned this week that most of the security guards who work at UNISA where the Bright Site Project is located also live in informal settlements as they make less than CDN $180 a month and they all have families). Our tour guide, Eric, took us down the main road of the township past the shacks which were surrounded by barbed wire fences. (it really amazes me here that even the smallest most squalid living quarters are surrounded by such fences, I haven't personally observed that much crime here but it is a very strange phenomenon). While we were walking some children started to follow us, they would ask us to take their picture, look at it and then ask for money. I only made the mistake of taking two such pictures. One of the most interesting things that Eric explained to us was that a lighting system had been put into the settlement by the government but individuals from within the settlement had started to make illegal connections with the wires, which is very dangerous, and that the power had been cut to the lighting as a result. He said that the lack of light during the evening significantly contributed to and increased rate of time. Eric also explained that most shacks did not have water but that people could access clean drinking water from taps found every few hundred meters.
After our visit to the informal settlement, we had a buffet lunch, which was sadly ironic considering the poverty which we had just witnessed. The place where we went was on the same street as both Nelson Mandela's and Desmond Tutu's child hood homes. Interesting that two Nobel Peace Prize winners group up on the same street. We then went to a memorial for the youngest child who died in a youth uprising which occurred in 1976 by students against Apartheid which ended when police opened fire on the group. The memorial was very touching and well put together.
After this we headed out of Soweto and back to the Apartheid Museum where power had been restored. The museum is very well put together and very informative. When you enter you are given an ID card, similar to the ones South Africans were given and forced to carry during Apartheid, assigning you a race (either white, or non-white. I received non white so the side which I entered detailed the plight of black Africans during Apartheid, which eventually met up with the other entrance to an interesting configuration of mirrors with pictures of people on them which if looked at on the right angle looked like you were standing among a crowd of many races. An exhibit inside explained that all of the people featured in the photographs were individuals whose relatives had fought against Apartheid. Inside the museum the exhibits explained the Apartheid regime and its human cost. While visually stunning there is a large amount of information on the walls which at times reads like a textbook, and is somewhat difficult to contend with when you are already tired from walking around Soweto.

Unfortunately you are not permitted to take pictures within the museum so most of the photos are from Soweto.

Until next time, enjoy the photos!

The Johannesburg Skyline

Hostels in Soweto. Our Guide explained to us that even visitors from outside South Africa were subjected to the Apartheid regime and that black visitors from abroad would be forced to stay in townships. These hostels were where they would stay while they were there.

Newly developed Housing for the People of Soweto. There is an extensive waiting list for people seeking such accommodation.

One of the larger houses in Soweto. The above 3 pictures were all taken from the same street corner.

Entering the Informal Settlement

A group of little girls who asked for a photo and then asked for money.

Our Tour Guide in the Settlement, Eric.

The Pieterson Memorial

Me Outside the Apartheid Museum, and a Mandela quote which is at the exit.

On the Lighter Side: Things that go Bump in the Night

About a month ago I was trying to go to sleep at aroun 10 p.m. and all I can hear is movement in the backyard outside my window. The sound was pretty loud but I assumed it was an animal and tried to go back to sleep. I keep hearing the noise again and again and become somewhat irritated so I leave my room and report to my house mates that I am a wee-bit freaked out, but they just dismiss this as me being me. Then my room mate Alice retires to her room but reemerges moments later to report that she has heard the same noise. After an investigation by Mzi it is determined that it was the two ducks who belong to the owners of the property and live in the backyard, making the noise as they had escaped from their cage.

So last night at about 3 a.m. it got quite windy outside (and cold for that matter) and I woke up with a significant headache, to hear shuffling in the backyard. Having been advised by the ISS that there had been a recent increase in house robberies in the area I was somewhat concerned. As I heard the noise again, and again I became even more concerned, so I got out of bed and sat in the hall for an hour until I was certain that whatever was out there was of no threat to me. Eventually I go back to sleep.

When I woke up this morning I peered through my curtain to see if there was any evidence of an animal visitor or intruder and what do I see but those two ducks sitting right in front of my window. On a side note everyone who lives with me wants to kill the ducks as it is as they quack incessantly between 5 and 9 every morning.

After discovering the ducks, I text message Mzi (who lives with us but also works for the owners of the property) that the ducks had escaped again. I then go and have a shower. When I return from my shower all I can hear is Mzi politely explaining to the ducks that they need to go back in their cage and walking them back to their home. This really made my day.

On another note, for those of you who haven't been counting the days until my glorious return to Canada, I will arrive at Pearson Airport at 6:25 p.m. one month today! See you soon!

Remembering "Scarce Heard Amidst the Guns Below"

On Remembrance Day many Canadians take the opportunity to remember and reflect upon the men and women who have given their lives for our freedom. In Remembrance Day services World Wars I and II are often referred to the wars to end all wars and for many Canadians this is true. Although we have had limited military involvement in places like Korea, Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan (and even more limited involvement in Rwanda and Hatti) a great number of Canadians have never experienced the banal of war and for many others it remains a distant memory. The brave men and women who fought in these world wars really did win us freedom, not just from autocratic rule but also from having to experience war, hunger and fear.

In this respect it can be easy to lose sight of conflicts which continue to rage globally and take you lives, not just of our own citizens but of innocent people. By remembering, we passively look upon war as something that has past without taking an opportunity to consider how we might contribute to building peace in other parts of the world which have no been saved from the scourge of war.

The war in Congo-Kinshasa, one of the least discussed and publicized ongoing conflicts, over 5 million people have died since the beginning of hostilities since 1996. Countless others have been kidnapped, raped, left homeless or forcibly displaced. One man who I spoke to near the beginning of my research nearly broke down into tears when I asked whether he or anyone he knew had been a victim of the conflict and said that his sister had been a victim in the east, but he was too upset to talk about it. Another respondent told me of how his entire family was burned to death while they slept after a group of local citizens who were unhappy with his father, who was a local magistrate, because he was part Tutsi, burned his house done. Further still, I think of a young Tutsi woman whose entire family was killed in the Rwanda Genocide in 1994 and she fled to Congo. When the conflict started in Congo in 1996 and Tutsis again became targeted she returned to Rwanda where she was abducted by a Congolese man who brought her back to Congo and used her as a sex slave, impregnated her and then followed her to South Africa to try to kill both her and her child. To give you an idea of the severity of the situation, the girl is now 19 and her daughter just turned four.

Still another perspective on Remembrance Day came from a black South African man who pointed out that he wasn't sure why he would want to donate money for a poppy when the money would be going to Veterans who helped exploit the African people (referring of course to British poppies not Canadian ones).

So today, more than any other day, take an opportunity not only to remember those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom but also to reflect on ongoing violence and remember that there are ways which we can address violence even when its not at our front door. We can also make steps to bring peace to more troubled parts of our own communities and teach tolerance and respect to those aroud us.

The Emergency

Yesterday after returning from lunch with a potential research participant, who told me the long, traumatic story of her life, I was immediately greeted by one of the people in charge at the Bright Site Project where I have been working steadily both on my research and providing some very basic assistance to refugees. He told me that he wanted me to see some of the problems refugees were facing and took me into a room where there were two women sitting one hunched over and crying in pain and the other one clutching her stomach. When I asked what was wrong they said they had contracted food poisoning from the shelter for refugees where they were saying which was supposedly being supported by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (we later found out that the UNHCR had not been providing funding to the shelter since July due to a lack of funds and that there is no running water or electrictiy at the shelter).

Upon looking at the two women it was fairly obvious (at least to me) that they were dehydrated and needed medical attention. So first I went about trying to make an oral rehydration solution (the ingredients for which, salt, sugar and water, were not readily accessible). During the process of doing so the woman who had been hunched over started screaming in pain and saying she had to go to the bathroom and that she was going to be sick. This was complicated by the fact that she walked with a crutch because her husband shot her in the hip 6 years ago and she was so dehydrated and weak that she could barely stand up. So I swung her arm around my shoulder and supported her and asked one of the several men in the room to do the same on the other side so we could get her to the bathroom before things got really messy. The fellow for some reason seemed unable to do this so with some effort between me, Elanor (the sick lady) and her crutch and with some assistance opening doors we got her to the bathroom in time. When she was finished being sick she continued to cry in pain so I brought her to a room with a lot of floor space, lay her down and covered her with a seat. I then instructed someone to call an ambulance as things were going downhill fast. Unfortunately 2 different people called an ambulance and neither came and so we were left lying on the floor for a half hour while the woman continued to scream in pain.

After the half hour wait, the site manager for Bright Site arrived and offered the two women in addition to me and Jean a lift to the hospital in the back of her backkie (pickup truck) which we accepted. South Africa has a private health care system with a few overburdened and underfunded public hospitals. Because these women were refugees we were brough to the public hospital which was certainly a bit worse for wear. It had dirty floors, small, dimly lit waiting rooms and long line ups. When we arrived at the hospital the women were given numbers right away and I accompanied them into the waiting area while Jean tried to register them so they could be seen by a doctor. Despite the fact there was only one person in line in front of us the registration took over a half an hour, with Elanor screaming in pain all the while. Eventually one of the nurses and a doctor had some compassion for Elanor and brought her into the room where the more worse for wear women were and gave her some pain medication, while the other woman, Bellancine was left to sit outside. I had assumed this would mean Elanor would be seen ahead of other, less sick patients, but apparently the idea of a triage system has not yet made it to South Africa as patients are seen in order of arrival rather than order of severity of illness.

The rest of the afternoon was spent struggling with security guards and nurses to be allowed to check on the women, who didn't speak good english and who were very very ill and waiting. After 4.5 hours in emergency the doctors finally got to the two women. When the doctors first arrived on seen I mentioned to the one that the women were in a very percarious living situation and that if they were released in the middle of the night they might be forced to sleep on the street so if there was any question as to whether they should be released if they could keep them, to which he snidely replied "I don't know how long you have been in South Africa for, but there are a lot of people in precarious living situations here and this is not a hotel" (I later had a more pleasant exchange with this doctor). In any case the verdict was that they both had a severe and invasive bacterial infection in their lower intestines and were severely dehydrated and would be given IV fluids, antibiotics and more tests would be done before the left.

So after this and exhaustive search for somewhere for the ladies to stay the night, which eventually ended up with Jean offering his floor, we left the ladies in the care of the hospital.

We will find out today what the outcome was and if they are feeling better.

Venda, Limpopo

So as many of you know last weekend I visited the city of Venda in the Province of Limpopo. Limpopo is the most Northern of South Africa's Provinces and is by far the poorest (and noticeably so). It is the only area in South Africa affected by Malaria and Cholera, it has a subtropical climate (which means its very, very hot) and it is much more rural than other areas in SA. You will notice from some of my pictures though, that it is also very beautiful and the people are even more friendly than in Gauteng Province, which is almost mind blowing.

The Bus
Venda is approximately a 5 hour drive from Pretoria, which means in bus riding time it is at least 7 hours away. When I arrived at the bus station in Pretoria last Friday at 9:45 I expected my bus to leave promptly at 10. However, we waited and waited, and our bus only arrived at 10:45. In this time I had managed to make good friends with a baby who kept me occupied for the rest of the trip and had been informed by several people that the bus was ALWAYS late. So when the bus arrived I sat down and prepared myself for a 7+ hour bus trip. Initially a man from Venda sat with me and assured me that I would love the province and that it was the nicest part of SA. He also told me to expect that the bus would arrive at 6 at the earliest, which it did which was an hour and a half late. The bus ride was quite nice though as the route to Venda was quite scenic.

The Bus stop in Levubu. The building in the background is a hospital. When I looked down after taking this picture 3 little girls and 2 women who were sitting at a stall started waving at me so I waved back. I soon learned that waving was a good way to start conversation or at least elicit a smile.

On the way back I picked up the bus at 7:30 in the morning on Monday where I was met again by the same man who sat next to me on the way there. When the bus arrive he looked at the bus driver (who was within earshot) and proclaimed "Oh no, I have had this driver before, he is incredibly slow and is always doing silly things. We will be at least an hour and a half late" Ironically we actually arrived home 10 minutes early, which I can only conclude was because, hearing this comment, the bus driver decided to improve his reputation. Worked for me. Below are a couple of pictures from the bus.

The First Evening
Upon arriving in Sibasa which is the city with a bus stop closest to Venda I was met by Chatta and Nick who are two student teachers from the Netherlands who lived with me for a short time in Pretoria. With them was Coos, the administrator of the school they were teaching with. He drove us to Nick and Chatta's home which is in a small community which is part of Venda. There house is down the hill but on the same property as two women who the locals kindly refer to as "the pot smoking grannies in the hills". They were both very kind and interesting. Enough said. That evening Nick and I cooked dinner and I went to bed early after acquainting myself with the family of dogs which inhabits the property.

Venda Cultural Festivities

En-route on the mini bus.

On Saturday Flo and Felice, the pot smoking grannies, drove us into Sibasa to meet a girl named Nikoumi who worked with Flo and took us to a cultural festival in another part of Venda. At the festival the King of the 7 tribes who inhabit the area and speeches were given by he and other dignitaries including the Premier of Limpopo (who was ushered in by a band) to commemorate the unique culture and history of the Venda people. Unfortunately much of what was said was in Venda so we didn't understand anything. The speeches were followed by traditional Venda music and dance which was more captivating.

The Premier of Limpopo being ushered in by the marching band

I had quite the experience at this cultural event. It started with my first minibus ride where I was crammed into a space not meant for more than 12 people, with 20 in it. Upon arriving at the festival we got a lot of stares and shout as we were the only white people there (and there was quite a crowd) with me attracting the majority of the attention as the Venda people apparently have some kind of awe of blonde hair. This lead to quite a few interesting encoutners including at least 2 marriage proposals. Female Performers in their Traditional Clothing

At one point during the day Chatta mentioned to Nikoumi that I wanted my hair braided after I chastised her for not having her's braided and so a bunch of women went about trying to braid my hair (un)fortunately, they did not have the materials to make the braids stay in and so my hair remained straight.

A traditional Pipe Dance (the men were playing wooden pipes while dancing)

I also gathered a heard of little girls over the course of the day who I guess were originally just curious to meet someone from out of town but then stayed once they realized that that person was actually interested in talking with them and playing with them. Although they spoked varying degrees of english, they told me their future aspirations (ranging from Doctor to Soldier) and spent a large amount of time dancing and playing with my camera. At one point I bought them all a lolipop which they seemed very thankful for, although as someone later pointed out that I may have reinforced the belief that it will make them expect white people to give them things in the future, although after some good though I concluded that if that was the case the problem was at the educational and social level within the community as the adults should not expect such things nor should they teach their children to accept such things. The children seemed to enjoy their lolipops anyway. When I eventually had to leave all of the little girls gave me big hugs, and some additional adult women and children joined in as well, with two little girls following me back to the main road.

Some of the little girls who became part of my Pack. These girls had participated in a maturity initiation that day.

On the way out of the area and back to the mini-bus I again started getting quite a lot of attention from a variety of males. So Nick started promoting me as a fictitious pop icon names "Nouria" after some drunken man earlier in the day bestowed this name on me. It was quite funny as when he asked people if they recognized me they would say yes. He got one fellow (who wasn't bad looking) into such a state that he started crying and begging for my phone number. Perhaps this was somewhat of a cruel joke but it was quite fun at the time and I can't say I didn't like the attention.

At the end of the day, the marching band that originally ushered in the Premier of Limpopo came back and interrupted a band performing on stage which resulted in people gathering and dancing to both performances.

A truckload of Singing Men, to whom Nick promoted my character of Nouria, eventually one of the men jumped down and asked for my phone number.

Beautiful Sunset in the hills of Limpopo from the window of a mini-taxi

40 Degree Sunday
On Sunday the temperature went up all the way to 40 degrees (without the humidex) and so we spent most of the day by the pool and sunbathing after cancelling our plans to go for a hike in the mountains (which was somewhat disappointing). This did help my tan though and I only developed a minor sunburn.

Late in the afternoon I convinced Nick and Chatta to go for a walk around a nearby dam (although Chatta eventually turned back) We saw monkies on the road before arriving at the dam, which was surrounded by tea fields and mountains. For those of you who have never seen tea fields before, imagine the greenest thing you have ever seen and make it 50 times greener. They were really amazing. Nick and I walked around the dam for about an hour and a half, climbing over rocks and dead logs, at one point running into a naked man swimming near where his friends were fishing (upon seeing us he ran out of the water and into the distance (presumably where his car was). After taking dozens of pictures we rounded a bend which lead us to a small inlet where the water was perfectly still and reflected the surround mountains, tea fields and the setting sun. It was surrounded by red mud with the hoof prints of Spring Bok (a kind of deer) and there was a small stream whose trickling sound completed the setting, with thicker brush lining the perimeter of the inlet. Of course this was the point when my camera battery died so I can't share the beauty with you. This inlet was really one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and to think that such a small proportion of humanity will ever get to view it made the experience even more special.Nick and Chatta's House

Venda was full of beautiful moths and butterflies, here is one exam

Tea fields

The Dam

The Mountains, right before my camera cut out

I will end this post here. I will upload photos tomorrow when I have a more stable internet connection. Until then,

Cheers!