Week 16: Cape Town

Ethel, Shakita, Mitchell

The final week of our semester together as CGE Fall 2009 (*sigh*) was spent in Cape Town, South Africa. While still educational, the week was more relaxed, allowing for reflection time and discussion of re-entry back into our communities in the US.

In Cape Town, we had the wonderful opportunity to travel to the Cape Point, Cape of Good Hope, Simon Town, and one of the townships called Khayelitsha. At Cape Point, we traveled all the way to the light house where we were able to view the Atlantic Ocean. After our trek at the Cape of Good Hope, we went to Simon Town where we were able to look around town and observe the African penguins. Our introduction to Cape Town seemed to be enjoyed by many in the program.

The following day we went to District Six and learned about the Group Areas Act and how District Six was affected by it. On the tour we had the opportunity to meet with the South African Homeless People’s Federation which works on helping people to purchase houses for themselves. It was started by a group of 30 women who would put in their money along with the government to help people purchase a house. This type of work that this organization does is very interesting because the land issues are similar in South Africa and Namibia. During Apartheid in Namibia, many people were displaced and are still homeless or living in squatter camps today. Overall, it was interesting to see how the community was responding to the land issue here in Cape Town. After our township tour, we were then headed for the Slave Lodge in downtown Cape Town. This museum was actually the housing facility for hundreds of slaves, centuries ago. It was interesting to note the several different countries that Cape slaves came from (Mozambique, India and Indonesia to name a few), a noticeable contrast from the countries involved in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. We then visited the Triangle Project to gain more information on Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered and Inter-sexed (LBGTI) issues, and how these minorities are being served in Cape Town. I (Ethel) found this particular seminar extremely educational, and gained insight into the difficulties and discrimination encountered by these minority groups.

Tuesday morning, we were up early to visit the District Six museum. This was originally to be a 2 week exhibition representing life as it was before the demolishing of the District Six neighbourhood. However, it has lasted over 10 years, with all of the articles being personal donations from former inhabitants of District Six. In my (Ethel) opinion, it was valuable to finally have a look into the past culture of a “so-called-coloured” community and gain perspectives into their struggles. Departing the museum, the group took a trip to the beautiful University of Cape Town to hear Professor Mohammed Adhikari talk about “Coloured Identity” in South Africa. We were given a general history and then a chance to ask questions on current issues among so-called “coloured” people. I (Mitchell) found it very helpful to be given a talk on one group of people that were, before now, not a big part of our curriculum this semester. I (Shakita) was confused about what it means to be a “coloured” person, because we were told that being “coloured” does not always mean someone who is of mixed race. However, Professor Adhikari provided us with extra material that may help to further my (Shakita) knowledge of the “Coloured Identity.”

The last few days of our Cape Town excursion were filled with travel. Wednesday morning we woke up bright and early in order to catch our ferry out to Robben Island, an infamous prison for political revolutionaries (including Nelson Mandela) during Apartheid and the struggle for independence. Our theatrical guide gave us a tour of the larger island before we were taken through the prison itself by a former prisoner. On Thursday, we drove to the city of Manenberg to learn about Self-Help and other organizations in the area. We were given a walking tour, which provided a great look into life in Manenberg and how different organizations we visited (health center, pre-primary school, Self-Help, etc.) operate on a day-to-day basis. Finally, on Friday, we toured a wine farm a little ways out of the city. While it doesn’t exactly fit in with the theme for the rest of the semester, the farm was a nice, relaxing way to finish the meeting and tour-filled week of academia.