Last week we decided to review some of the articles and findings our peers had made regarding South Africa and its connection to our trip. Having read a few blogs and articles, these were the ones that stood out to me the most:
Sarah Fisher provided an interesting report written by Jeremy Seekings of the the University of Cape Town called, Poverty and Inequality After Apartheid. The report - as the name implies - focuses on poverty after the apartheid movement and how it has come to change since. Seekings writes about how the ANC's (African National Congress) main priority as a newly formed democratic government was to "(attack) poverty and depravation," but that it has not done so and thus the apartheid continues. Seeking mentions that although there has been "change" in the economy, the black population is still poor, while the white minority is far more affluent, and that the separation between the two races continues to grow, not by color, but instead by economic deprivation and the lack of opportunities.
http://www.sarpn.org/documents/d0003024/Poverty_inequality_Seekings_Sep2007.pdf
Joshua Alvarez's Power and Privilege Definitions was very interesting to read. The set of notes defines terms that we hear and come to face in our everyday lives in a very descriptive manner. Many of the definitions included in the notes I may have not been able to define myself, while others gave me a complete new insight on the meaning and origin of the word. "Race," for example, is something I find very difficult to understand and even more to explain, but the definition given here is pretty accurate to what I believe race is. This is something definitely worth reading.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3BZMDcUdJzzME9KdDVMemYxU2M/view?usp=sharing
The last set of info that I reviewed was Connie Garza's link to a short documentary called South Africa's Post Apartheid Generation. The documentary focused on the young generation in South Africa, the population that had was born after the apartheid, or born "free" as the video implies. It was interesting to hear what these people had to say about the country during and after the apartheid. Many realize the hardships and struggles that their parents faced as an attempt to bring a better life for them, but believe that the government has failed to comply with the needs of the black majority despite the institution of democracy. With this in mind, many refuse to participate in government, and claim that their lives and futures depend on themselves - not on the government.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elrWczhTZBk
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Monday, March 2, 2015
Week 6: A few more things to know about South Africa
Curious to know what South Africa has been like since the end of the apartheid era, I made a little bit of research and stumbled upon a few interesting things.
I decided to google "South Africa" and see whatever it was that came up. I figured that if I made my search as broad as possible, I could narrow my search to the most popular topics currently happening in the region. I found a set of fairly recent news articles that focused on 1.) South Africa's "unfinished revolution," 2.) the countries high unemployment rate, and (on a lighter note) 3.) how South Africa is one of the "ultimate bucket list" places to visit.
According to journalist Anne Applebaum, South Africa has officially ended the apartheid, but it continues to struggle with certain "unfinished" businesses, sort of speak. She refers to these unfinished businesses as the inability of instituting a democracy that is a able to run government efficiently. Applebaum mentions that corruption and the ANC has deterred the country from continuing the upheaval its citizens had long hoped for. She mentions that today South Africa is in a sort of stalemate with itself and that unless democracy is "deepened," the country will continue to not move forward.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2013/03/south_africa_has_made_incredible_progress_since_apartheid_but_it_still_must.html
Another journalist (the CEO of the Corporate Council in South Africa), Stephen Hayes, mentions that South Africa is facing an economic crisis, just as severe as the apartheid of the previous century. Hayes provides data showing South Africa's rising unemployment rate, and blames the government for the lack of attention it has provided to the economy after ending the apartheid. He states that previously to the end of the apartheid, the economy was mostly ran by the white minority, and that after gaining power, the ANC has done little to change the economy patterns. Hayes mentions that the expectations where that wealth would eventually spread across the country disregarding race, but that unfortunately, that has not been the case.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2014/07/02/south-africas-major-problems-youth-unemployment-and-economic-inequality
On a very much lighter note, I also found another article that talked about South Africa's impressive landscapes and their famous safaris. Larry Olmsted describes South Africa as the "ultimate" place to visit, and that it should undoubtedly be in your bucket list. As Olmsted describes, South Africa has some of the biggest, most beautiful, safaris in the world filled with a distinct animal wildlife and simply amazing landscapes. He mentions that hiking up the Table Mountain is a must, and that walking along the Cape of Good Hope and the Cape Point is something that not most American know about but should definitely be looked into. The most surprising thing about South Africa, however, are their land penguins! South Africa is home to one of the only two homeland penguins in the world. Who knew those little guys enjoyed a good tan.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2013/03/18/ultimate-bucket-list-trip-south-africa/2/
So, in short, South Africa is a lot to talk about. In class we focused mostly on the country's apartheid, but as it turns out, there is much more about South Africa to this day. Only visiting the country will tell how real these stories are (especially that one about the land penguins), and how our research compares to our findings.
I decided to google "South Africa" and see whatever it was that came up. I figured that if I made my search as broad as possible, I could narrow my search to the most popular topics currently happening in the region. I found a set of fairly recent news articles that focused on 1.) South Africa's "unfinished revolution," 2.) the countries high unemployment rate, and (on a lighter note) 3.) how South Africa is one of the "ultimate bucket list" places to visit.
According to journalist Anne Applebaum, South Africa has officially ended the apartheid, but it continues to struggle with certain "unfinished" businesses, sort of speak. She refers to these unfinished businesses as the inability of instituting a democracy that is a able to run government efficiently. Applebaum mentions that corruption and the ANC has deterred the country from continuing the upheaval its citizens had long hoped for. She mentions that today South Africa is in a sort of stalemate with itself and that unless democracy is "deepened," the country will continue to not move forward.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2013/03/south_africa_has_made_incredible_progress_since_apartheid_but_it_still_must.html
Another journalist (the CEO of the Corporate Council in South Africa), Stephen Hayes, mentions that South Africa is facing an economic crisis, just as severe as the apartheid of the previous century. Hayes provides data showing South Africa's rising unemployment rate, and blames the government for the lack of attention it has provided to the economy after ending the apartheid. He states that previously to the end of the apartheid, the economy was mostly ran by the white minority, and that after gaining power, the ANC has done little to change the economy patterns. Hayes mentions that the expectations where that wealth would eventually spread across the country disregarding race, but that unfortunately, that has not been the case.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2014/07/02/south-africas-major-problems-youth-unemployment-and-economic-inequality
On a very much lighter note, I also found another article that talked about South Africa's impressive landscapes and their famous safaris. Larry Olmsted describes South Africa as the "ultimate" place to visit, and that it should undoubtedly be in your bucket list. As Olmsted describes, South Africa has some of the biggest, most beautiful, safaris in the world filled with a distinct animal wildlife and simply amazing landscapes. He mentions that hiking up the Table Mountain is a must, and that walking along the Cape of Good Hope and the Cape Point is something that not most American know about but should definitely be looked into. The most surprising thing about South Africa, however, are their land penguins! South Africa is home to one of the only two homeland penguins in the world. Who knew those little guys enjoyed a good tan.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2013/03/18/ultimate-bucket-list-trip-south-africa/2/
So, in short, South Africa is a lot to talk about. In class we focused mostly on the country's apartheid, but as it turns out, there is much more about South Africa to this day. Only visiting the country will tell how real these stories are (especially that one about the land penguins), and how our research compares to our findings.
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