Week 19: 12-hour workdays, Village Walk in Mozambique, and History of Poor White in South Africa

Flamingo Bay, Mozambique

May 13^th- I stopped at the three schools in Soweto on the way to work to pick up the surveys they completed about their school challenges and successes. Another day with my office full of students asking for assignments, turning in late work, however, today the 3^rd year students wrote their exam. Many of the students stopped by my office to tell me that what I taught them in the three sessions actually helped them understand their test questions better- others said they wished they showed up for the classes so they understood better as well. Live and learn.

I met with the 4^th year research students until 7pm and I was happy to drive to Michelle’s house to have dinner with her family after I was done. Her sons, Dustin and Kai, are really special. Every night at dinner, everyone says three things they are grateful for that happened that day. I love that at least one of the boys usually says they are grateful that I came over for dinner. You have to appreciate being appreciated! I was thankful that the 4^th years are really beginning to understand research and seem to be excited about their projects. My second bit of gratitude was that the 3^rd year students who are coming to my office, making the connection between what they learned and what I taught. My third was that I would be going to Mozambique that weekend.

On Tuesday, I got up early and headed to the Mozambique Embassy (not far from my house…unless you are driving there at 7am)…I realized I left my passport at home, turned around, drove back…then their machines were broken so I had to wait to see if they came back online. I met Bradley, he works for a tourism office, is married to an American (living in Los Angeles), and from KwaZulu-Natal.  We waited until they directed us to the bank…I went to work. I met with more 4^th year research student groups to talk about what the research says, who they want to research (and where), and what type of mini-study they think is feasible…then, I headed to the bank and then to the Mozambique Embassy just in time before closing to find out that the machines were still offline and my passport would be ready the next day. And if I was one of the people who used the term TIA…I would insert it here.

Niki, Roberto, Agata, Yoke, and Me

That evening, Agata (Italian Post-Doctorate who lives at the guesthouse) and I met up with Niki and his friend Yoke, at a Wine Tasting. We had a nice time moving through the venue…

Wednesday was another day beginning at 5:30am and working straight through until I made it to the place called Emperor’s Palace to see a Bollywood dance performance called Mystic India with Seema. Emperor’s Palace is a casino (like malls, SA loves casinos) with restaurants, theatres, gambling, and eerie fake ceilings that look like the sky. The show was actually impressive, albeit a bit cheesy. The show celebrates the transformation of ancient India to modern day…as demonstrated by the dance of the different regions. I was very impressed by the acrobats- there is something about someone being able to hold themselves mid-air with just their hands.

Thursday morning, Cristines and I left for Mozambique…we were surprised by the tiny size of the plane, but we arrived safely in Inhambane (eventually). We were staying in a place called Flamingo Bay in a room on stilts in the water. By the time we got there most of the events for the day were finished, so we just chilled by the pool, which was about all my brain could take.

On Friday morning, Cristines had arranged to go on a dive, I was more than happy to lay in bed all morning staring out at the water and drinking tea. When she returned from her dive we went on the “village walk.”

 The village walk began with the “market” or “strag” where a few stalls were set up with fruit and snacks. Then we walked to where the bread is made, saw the inside of the school (although there were no children inside and it was a Friday).

We made our way to the water supply tank that was provided by the owners of the lodge we were staying in…see they moved the people of the village from their homelands, but they made sure they had homes and clean water. Our guide told us that there is enough water for everyone in the village.

Next, he took us to his home where he lives with his mother, uncle, 5 sisters, 3 brothers, their children, and his two children. His wife died a few years ago. He has a cement house for himself and they are in the process of building a bathroom as well.

The kitchen, his sister's hut, and his cement house

  His family eating breakfast...

 

 He got out a machete called a “panga” and climbed up the palm tree to get us coconuts.

 He showed us the difference between young and old coconuts…the young have more water, a film around the core that you can eat, and are used for bark. The older coconuts also have some water but they are known for their oil and soap.

 He grated the inside of the coconut…and of course I had to try as well. In a few minutes he had perfectly scraped the inside, after a few minutes I hadn’t made much of an imprint (see photo).

We were also introduced to coconut beer (reminded me of homebrew cider during my university days) and how to “braid” palm leaves. They use the dried braided leaves in roofing.

 

When we returned from the village walk we only had a short time before our scheduled “sunset cruise.” The cruise left from the bay and took us around the area where they were fisherman bringing in their haul for the day.

 

The next day was raining…Cristines went diving again, I listened to the rain while reading and watching the water. I also worked on the projects I would be offering to the schools in Soweto…but that was between naps. Yes, it is a hard life I lead. My “fun” reading was a book called, Poor White by Edward John Bottomley. Maxime, my French neighbor who is studying Political Science at UJ and Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (usually called Sciences Po), showed me this book. He told me the author attended univeristy at Stellenbosch, however, they were not keen on him examining the history of the poor whites in South Africa, so he attended Cambridge where he was encouraged to study this topic and publish the book.

 Beautiful in the rain...

Basically, Poor White is an examination of the history of the poor whites in South Africa and how their history played into the current issues (post-apartheid). To put it in perspective, the white population in South Africa is currently about 8.9% of the total population, although in 1994 it was closer to 13.6%. The book begins by describing how the number of “poor” whites increased greatly from 1908-1932 with the emigration from farms to the mining cities, such as Johannesburg. The Boer left the countryside to find work in the mines, and in effect, the number of recorded white poor people rose from 2.8% to 32.2%. The increase in poor whites living in slums in the mining cities first began to concern the white authorities during the early 1900s. See my post Week 12 if you are interested in the effects of the first and second Anglo-Boer such as the British using scorched-earth tactics (literally burning the land, farms, and families- 80% of cattle and 73% sheep were destroyed in the Transvaal) and concentration camps (women, children, and elderly living in “refugee centers” and dying of malnutrition, disease, and overwork).  In the 1890s, there were multiple natural disasters that affected the countryside and sent the Afrikaners into the cities as well.  Then, a series of economic depressions ensured those in the slums had no opportunities for employment.

Then there was the topic of “whiteness” in South Africa…specifically who is white, who is not, and what opportunities different groups “deserved.” The deserving being people who had “fallen on hard times” versus the undeserving such as the “loafers, criminals, beggars, and prostitutes.” A commission was set up called the Transvaal Indigency Commission (TIC) in 1906-1908 to examine the disease of moral society…poverty. The TIC believed labor camps and programs could attend to the issues of increasing the skills of the poor white, however, “preventing blacks from doing skilled work and securing higher wages than unskilled whites could increase unemployment and cause whites being paid higher wages than they are worth.” So, they created labor colonies for the poor whites. By 1913, eugenics entered the argument. In 1922, poor became an urban issue that needed to be solved- parents were having children, not working, kids were not attending schools, and addiction and abuse were …hence, the planning of apartheid.

Interestingly, as a group, the Afrikaans did not exist in the early 1900s. “Before there were Afrikaners, there were the Boers fighting against the British fighting against the natives. After their defeat in their war against the empire, the Boers somehow had to pick themselves up, to clean the blood off their clothes, and the smell of concentration camps off their women. They were defeated people…the solution was to create a new national identity where they could again be proud…a counterculture had to be created…creation of a common vernacular, establishment of a literary culture along with popular press.” In 1882, some members of parliament were allowed to speak Dutch and schools were allowed to teach in Dutch as well. The English were not as accepting of the use of Dutch and pushed for English to be the language of communication in schools and government. Smuts made Afrikaans, and not Dutch, the official language taught in schools in 1914. The English described Afrikaans as a simple and unrefined form of Dutch and the Afrikaans as the “thread that ties us together, the expression of our volk soul.”

In 1916, the Cradock Conference was attended by the major representatives from the church, political parties…and Afrikaners elite. The minister of education said something needed to be done about the lack of education poor whites were receiving if anyone wanted to see change. The South African Party (SAP), led by Botha and later Smuts, had made education free for all whites and education mandatory for youth ages 7-15. Later, Smuts made a comment about jobs being available for poor whites on the railways…he said they could work for “3s. 4p. a day and a bag of maize” this comment was taken as lightly as when Marie Antoinette said, “Let them eat cake.” Many said that type of payment was “placing them on the same level as kaffirs.” (Kaffir is similar to the n-word). From 1924-1933, the Pact government moved into office on the “save the poor whites” platform. They implemented the “civilized labor policy.” This allowed whites to be paid higher wages than blacks, especially on the railroads, but eventually in postal service, police, prisons, and local/provincial governments. In addition, contracts were given to white businesses that would allow them to provide previously imported goods such as steel, oil, electricity, and more. There was a white minimum wage and businesses with a white-only hiring policy received government contracts and lower customs tariffs.

Now, with decrease in poor whites and increase in skilled and semi-skilled laborers, there was a fear that there would be intermixing of races…so in 1928 a law was passed outlawing marriages between white and blacks (not between whites and coloreds until 1936 though). Also in 1936, the Purified Nationalist Party held another conference and decided the only way to make sure the races didn’t mix was to separate them. Bottomley explains that apartheid, separation of racial groups, did not start at this time, but grew from colonial times. It began with “health and sanitation concerns” in the slums (interesting side point, there is controversy going on right now in the informal settlements and government housing around providing toilets and water…some things don’t change, very fast). Then the issues were around moving to housing settlements (townships). The government first moved the whites out of the slums, then the coloreds, and finally began building housing for the blacks. From unemployment and employability to concerns of mixing races to health…movement was a priority for the government. One quote found said, “If segregation should fail…Their beloved white man’s country would inevitably degenerate into a mongrelized society like Brazil or Portuguese East Africa.” I had Cristines read that quote…as she is Brazilian.

The pride and fear of mixing or disappearing were the foundation for apartheid (which began in 1948). The book continues to speak about the experience of the poor white, the Afrikaans, and the government changes to present day…if you are interested in reading more :)

That night we went to a seafood dinner at the partner hotel (Barra Lodge) and we were able to meet some of the other guests staying around the area.

The next morning, we packed and headed to the airport. After a full day of flying, we landed in Johannesburg and met up with my friend from San Francisco, Kim, who had landed earlier from Tanzania after dealing with a negative “volunteer” experience. She was going to leave Africa and go back home, I told her to fly to Johannesburg and regroup and then decide…but that I thought she would find beauty on this continent if she stayed.