A ‘RACE’ to the finishing lines…

The theme on Civil Rights and Democracy allowed me to think about race and how it influences many social challanges in both South Africa and The United States of America. As we come out of a lustrous and turbulent pass I think it’s wise to realised we have made strides in ensuring a democracy continues, and that people are “equal’ in the eyes of the law.

However, we met with both knowledgeable and influential people in the civil movement in the States during the week. The most memorable was Mr Julian Bond andCongressman John Lewis. I felt like I did when I was 10, sitting with my grandpa rehashing the stories of his experiences and the past he had lived through! They represented the age of freedom, civil rights and democracy for all people. As they continued to share their experiences we embraced with memories on the walls, photographs of Congressman John Lewis walking hand in hand with Martin Luther King, we could see the riots and fighting amongst the freedom parties and the police…and as their stories continued; you could see the pride they took in fighting against injustices! A valuable moment during the discussion was when the Congressman said, “THE YOUTH IS TOO QUEIT, YOU HAVE TO MAKE NOISE AND SHAKE THE WORLD FOR CHANGE!’’. This made me realise, we have been silent, and the youth today do not have the zest and the fighting spirit of our forefathers. We tend to sit idly by and hope that change will happen. Ultimately it is our future and the outcome is solely on our shoulders.  The racial segregation in South Africa has become a point of departure when discussing influences of social development and growth since our young democracy. When discussing the challenges we wish to tackle as a country and the vision we have as a society, we seem to have to very broad spectrums.

On the one side we have the ‘’flower power’’ approach, this basically means that the past is in the past, words such as apartheid, black, white, coloured and other stigmatised words should be erased and that we should hold hands and sing KUMBAYA. The flower picking, blue skies and green grass, with a serein and happy vision on the horizon! In a land where we all live in peace and harmony as one as the true rainbow nation.  This pictures view is followed by a blend of not only race and genders, but a society where racism is a distant and far-fetched notion.

The other side of the spectrum, is the ugly, revengeful, dark and sullen world. A world were no growth is possible because the soil is polluted and the air is heavy. The growth of our society is rooted in the polluted soil of racial economic segregation, poverty, crime and the racial hate that is a commonality amongst our community.  

These two opposite end is the split vision I see in my society. None of which have paved a way to find a solution to help evolve democracy and the way we view race. My suggestion, was to break away from what I coined ‘the RACE FACE’. This is a behaviour pattern I noticed both in the States and in South Africa. People are rarely honest about their opinions, emotions, experiences and understandings of race. IN my opinion, it has become very superficial, were race is something people only little touch on. As forgetting the scars of what the diversity of race has left us, is possibly a dream, it should however remain a topic of discussion till we fully understand and breach the inequality that exists.  The “RACE FACE’ strives to do this. By removing your “RACE FACE” you can truly understand the position of the other person, their experiences and compare and find common ground. Please do not misunderstand me, I am not presupposing that people aren’t genuine with people of another race; my experience is that people tend to be more comfortable around their own “kind”,(* I use the word ‘kind’ because grouping races can get really tricky in South Africa).This means they share commonalties, and share easier than they would around a more diverse ethnic group. I feel that the youth should start peeling away the “RACE FACE’ factor, and talk about it openly and honestly. This will cultivate a better narrative of race and the growth we intend to make.

I compared the States to South Africa and found that we aren’t treading far behind in the RACE. We are trying to change the narrative of South Africa’s classification of race, and broadening our understanding of the role it continues to play in society’s growth.  This gives me hope to continue to change the way we view race as a prominent fixture in South Africa. It made me realise that we have the potential as a rainbow nation has to break the mould of race, and accept the potential ‘flower power’ our country has!

THE RIPPLE EFFECT

So there I was, standing in the middle of a United Nations tour, staring at a picture hanging against the wall. The photograph was of young African women, sitting on a chair, leg and arm amputated, scars on her face and burn marks on her body. At first was completely saddened by their physical appearance. However the part of the image that drew me to this photograph from all the others was that the young African girl was smiling. Still sadden by the scars and pain I can only imagine she had been through, i asked a fellow sawipean, mpumi- why is she smiling- mpumi looks at me and says that’s the ‘’African way’’

Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished guest ,loving Host families, work supervisors and the sawip class of 2011, I am Ilke Bosman, I am a proud 4th year law student at the University Of the Western Cape. I am also the eldest of three, and I am extremely family orientated. Hailing from the beautiful city of Cape Town, I live in a small town of Kuils River and I am an extreme social justice ambassador. As an enthusiastic young South African I value the ideals of shaping South Africa and our social justice system. One of my proudest moments in life was being afforded the ability to go to university, and I am extremely grateful that my parents worked and studied to afford me this. I come from a long linage where people achieved so many with so little, and taken into account the political situation of their time, I aspire to do the same and more. They laid the foundations for me to be a leader and shaped my mind into being a strong South African woman. Thus in deciding my career path I chose to use my mind by applying the law.  South African civil society has an illustrious past with a strong tradition of advocacy and lobbying in the context of the struggle against apartheid.

My South African story started 14years ago. I attended a predominately white school at the age of 8, after my parents relocated our family from a predominantly coloured area. I had to adapt to the new environment and for the first time I was race aware.

When my family and I moved there, we were the only coloured family in our street, and this was a very apparent issue, as our neighbours made it very clear we were not welcome, by throwing stones on our roof, and unwelcoming comments. The only family, who welcomed us, was a white family up the road, who had a young girl my age. We became friends, and have been ever since then. This was the first time I had a friend of a different race and experienced a different culture from mine.

And as I stand here today, I have my second culture- exchange experience. An exchange very different from our post-apartheid policy, an exchange where I am able to understand the working of society and its people, and exchange that lead to growing and experience D.C to its full extent.

This program allows us to grow and learn in so many aspects that the effects of what we learnt should still be uncovered. Our work placements and networking opportunities have left with a hunger to learn and experience even more!

Furthermore the program allows us to rest our heads and fill our tummies in some of the best places in town. Thinking back on my pre D.C trip, I went back to my VERY LENGTHY and in DEPTH application and I wanted to see if the board members and management team used our applications of if they just wanted to see our level of endurance when we were in applying for the program.

My letter prior to even making it on the program was as follow:

I am a young south African student, with an enormous sense of humor and a hunger to learn and experience life. I love laughing and have the habit of telling jokes, who some might find lame, and corny!

I am very family orientated and thus I feel I am comfortable around all kinds of people! I have never been over-seas and never lived with any other family except my own. I am therefor very excited with the idea of experiencing this and all the lessons which come with it.

I love music; I am a shopaholic, and a big book worm. I have a weakness for food, and I will never pass up the opportunity to sing... (Not very good at it) but that a good mood will show you in no time. I’m an easy going girl, who doesn’t need many frills; I’m very down to earth and can’t wait to be part of a true life adventure!

Being part of your household would not only be an honour but would also be a stepping stone to my true life adventure.

Now let’s forward this process about three months, HOST FAMILY! Right off the bat, my host mom, Mrs Jennifer Love, put her surname to good use, and just showered me with LOVE. We arrived at their home, which is perfectly shaped and moulded to raise and grow as a family. I was introduced to Mr Dion Love, who made me feel welcomed and comfortable from the minute I walk through the door. It was the most natural, and unpretentious environment I could wish for. I was welcomed to my room, and given a helpful and tasty goodie bag. A special note should go to the Love residence, as they host the most attractive little boys this side of D.C could ever dream of! Mr Jordan Love , is the smartest, funniest and I’m convinced; tallest 6 year old I have ever seen, he is followed by a sweet, angelic 3 year old, Mr Jaime Love who walks around with Jen’s phone and sings the whole day. The last Love child is Mr Evan Love, who is only 5 months old; I think they had so much love in their house that the excess of ‘Love’ over flowed into his cute and adorable essence and created a baby capturing the true heart and soul of the Love family! As stated in my application, my host mom has introduced me to great literature to keep me company on the long rides on the metro, gone shopping with me to the outlets, and AS Jamie loves to sing, we both pretend we in a music video and he doesn’t make me feel bad for my..erm lack of backup vocals! This 5 weeks, have indeed been a true life adventure! I would like to commend them and all the host families for opening their homes without anything in return. Allowing us to eat, sleep, and come in a ungodly hour. In giving us lifts to the metro, directions, and aiding in our daily needs. And when the yearning for home and our Loved ones is too much, asking us how you could help by allowing us to make calls to SA, or in my case allowing me to just talk about them and memories of home.  The foundations of my D.C experience are found in the support my Host family gave me, they were truly my home away from home moment!

So there I was…in the middle of a UN tour, starring at this picture and it reminded me of a poem by Maya Angelou- I know why the caged bird sings-

The caged bird sings

with a fearful trill

of things unknown

but longed for still

and his tune is heard

on the distant hill

for the caged bird

sings of freedom.

South Africa, is the land where we learnt to grow play and dance to the tune of freedom. We are the generation that will mould and create a country that we hope will open the gate way to Africa, and when we look back at the path way that lead to us creating  the dream we have for south Africa, we will remember the faith and belief SAWIP, work supervisors and Host families had in us in D.C and here after!

We have experienced, learned and grew and we have yet to uncover the effects of journey on our lives, but I know we will continue to cause ripples, and that is why i found this quote so fitting.

“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centres of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. ”Robert F. Kennedy Cape town, June 6th 1966-

Be the ripple guys!!

Socio-Economic DevelopmentàDoes it exist?

This week threw me for a loop, as a law student business and numbers, different funds and development phases put me into an instant trans! However the SAWIP management team introduce to a Socio Economic and Sustainabilty program this week where a 2 hour conversation was not sufficient for the amount of questions we had!

The panel discussions this week taught me what Socio-Economic development was. As a humanitarian and social justice believer, my belief is that corporations are profit driven and contribute very little to the social wellbeing of the society they feed off! I was set in my ways and the idea working for a corporation would invoke suicidal thoughts! The passion I shared for Non-profits and Non-Governmental organisations, made me very sceptical to the idea of Socio economic developments, however a very inspiring women enlighten me to the possibility and potential corporations have to contributing for the good of society.

This inspiring women, is called Sandra Taylor. She is strong, qualified and well-spoken women, and the passion she has for socio economics development kept me captured the entire 2 hours we spent with her! After our interaction with her, I was confused on what socio economic development was.

In a nutshell and in laymen’s terms, it’s a new trend and endeavour of enterprises to ensure making profits to sustain the business but to do so in a socially aware and developmental manner. This is done through ensuring that the company is fully aware of their company’s policies and how this affects society.

It’s a hybrid of social justice and the company system and goals. A perfect blend of ensuring the business grows and the economy strives. Many companies are jumping on the socio economic band wagon, with regards to the environment, workers welfare and the impact they are making on society. As many countries depend on good governance to ensure economic growth; Social Economic development in big corporate companies are most likely to secure economic and social growth through mutually-reinforcing institutions and practices that support social awareness and analysing their social impacts , these institutions and practices must be the end-product of a healthy profit driven and socially conscious company or business.

However this is a relatively new term, and whether companies will continue promoting both healthy profit driven schemes and their responsibility to society must still be seen. The corporate machine is growing and with poverty and inequality rising in various parts of the world, I hope more companies adopt a socio economic development policy and that it grows into a mandatory part of their business plan.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn and research this topic, it was indeed a thought provoking week!

Democracy  =  ''DEMOCRAZY''!!

As the challenges of the week subsided, and by week two, I was coping well with the metro, directions and my internship! This week the theme was Democracy and we as the SAWIP team was fully hyped up that we could experience and learn what democracy meant in different aspects, versions and developments.

We had a thought provoking panel discussion with IDASA on Monday night, experts in the field, Eric Robinson (National Endowment for Democracy), Jon Elliot (Human Rights Watch) and Dr. Chloe Schwenke (Africa Bureau of USAID) gave us a brief idea of the work they do and how democracy as evolved.

As a law student I found myself thinking about how different ideologies create and shape democracy in a country. Africa as a continent is still trying to understand the notion of democracy and it has become a proven systematic means to ensure that countries rights and responsibility is vested in a sound democracy. However throughout the years one still reads and finds that democracy has become a faraway notion and is developing at a slow pace. My idea of democracy is founded in our constitution. A humanitarian and breath-taking piece of legislation which captures the true essence of our plight for human rights, and Ubuntu! Emulating South Africa’s legislation would in my opinion be a stepping stone in assuring a democracy. Africa has for too long depended on the United Nations, and other independent bodies to ensure peace, stability and democracy in their countries.

With our post-apartheid and newly found democracy…I think our country has become complacent. Our leaders have had democracy for 17 years, and a constitution which protects promotes and enshrines humanity, yet we still have inequality, poverty, and corruption. We as a society don’t defend our democracy with the will our parents, leaders and the previous youth do! We have forgotten how people died to have our rights protected, how the right to vote is a privilege which many did not experience two decades ago; how the levels of poverty, illiteracy and corruption continues to slap the  idea of ‘ubuntu’ in its face!

I called this blog DemoCRAZY, because with all our freedoms, we have forgotten to tend to those in need. THIS IS PURE MADNESS, taking into account the plight of people to ensure our rights and dignity! The systematic change our parents and forefathers struggled for was to ensure a healthy South Africa and a DEMOCRATIC change! Currently our society as gone CRAZY! With the democracy we possess, instead of uniting for policy change, economic growth, and sustainability, there is blatant racism, an increase in inequality and a continuation of focusing on the past and not the present! This is crazy, as we live in a country that is rich with diversity and fertility! As a young hopeful I want to shape our demoCRAZY into an ubuntu loving and diverse DEMOCRACY!

SAWIP continues to invoke thought provoking panel discussions, and as we strive for growth in Democracy, we are encouraged to hash out the problems and overcome the challenges ahead!

EMERGENCY!!

In my second week I had the ‘privilege’ of having a medical situation. This continues to make me realize that I am somehow bound to have a first of many more! In 2011 I was the first one to have my airport luggage lost, and subsequently the first one to have gone to the doctor! Panicked and worried, as we were leaving to New york the next day, I called the Management team and we were on our way to the HOSPITAL…I would like to use this opportunity to say that I was hoping I would not have to go to the emergency room, I wanted to see a doctor who would be able to give me a cream, and I could go on my way. However as my luck would have me, as a foreigner I could only get medical attention at the emergency room.

Well, I had a sneak peek into the medical system of America, and I must say; their system is extremely complicated. However as complicated as it is, it is very efficient!!The things I have heard about the health system, was that it was extremely expensive, lacks professionalism, and adequate care! I agree that private hospitals are extremely expensive; however I found that they had speedy service, welcoming doctors and I was put at ease with the level of professionalism. I agree that my opinion to the USA health system is biased as I did not experience a public health clinic, or hospital, but I cannot complain about the experience I had.

I will admit, its defiantly not a ‘Greys Anatomy’ moment, but I did feel like a special patient. Since my bite mark was unidentifiable, I had two doctors, and they gave me my medication immediately! 5 tablets later I was drowsy and sleepy, with management (Vivek) making sure I was home safe!

I had to leave Africa for a American bite mark! My experience with their health system, wasn’t unpleasant, they gave me first class treatment and I felt confident in their abilities!

Diagnosis-Insect Bite

Type of Insect: Unknown

Cause- Unknown

Medication- Antibiotics, followed by rest and water

Outcome- A healthy SAWIP intern, who is looking forward to New York

Thank you SAWIP management for holding my hand…literally, as well as the calls and the SAWIP team for the get well wishes!

EXCUSE ME??

I arrived to a beautiful, rainy yet scorching hot Washington D.C. We were all welcomed with colourful welcome bags and a great team of people at the airport. Yet as my luck would have it, my luggage was delayed! I would like to think that meant it was a sign to be creative with the takkies(Sneakers)I had on and try to look presentable for my first day my internship! With my fashion disaster on my brain I tried to positive, which was easy because I was in D.C! The excitement I was feeling couldn’t even be restrained by nuclear bomb! Therefore to some up my first week, this blog compromises of four sections, namely the ‘beautiful’, the ‘challenges’, the ‘growth’ and the ‘excuse me? .

The ‘BeautifulJ’

The first thing I got to do was to feast my eyes on a beautifully green, leafy and clean place. It’s like driving through a forest; the only problem was that all the drivers were seated on the wrong side of the road! A change I still need to wrap my head around. For the last week, every time I get into a car, I still find myself walking to the driver’s seat!We had a peaceful braai(Barbeque) at Anne and Frank Cantrell’s house, beautiful home, and perfect for our D.C welcoming. We socialised, laughed and ate till we couldn’t move, the only problem was that I had the worst jetlag. To this day the first two days of D.C is a blur, how I got from point A to point B amazes me! We had a stunning welcome to D.C event where I learnt the meaning of networking, an art I’m trying hard to perfect! This was followed by a scavenger hunt, and my first baseball game. I can truly say cricket is much easier to follow, but to each his ownJ.

The most beautiful, without a doubt is my HOST FAMILY! Right off the bat, my host mom, Mrs Jennifer Love, put her surname to good use, and just showered me with LOVE. We arrived at their home, which is perfectly shaped and moulded to raise and grow as a family. I was introduced to Mr Dion Love, who made me feel welcomed and comfortable from the minute I walk through the door. It was the most natural, and unpretentious environment I could wish for. I was welcomed to my room, and given a helpful and tasty goodie bag. A special note should go to the Love residence, as they host the most attractive little boys this side of D.C could ever dream of! Mr Jordan Love , is the smartest, funniest and I’m convinced; tallest 6 year old I have ever seen, he is followed by a sweet, angelic 3 year old, Mr Jaime Love who walks around with Jen’s phone and sings the whole day. The last Love child is Mr Evan Love, who is only 5 months old; I think they had so much love in their house that the excess of ‘Love’ over flowed into his cute and adorable essence and created a baby capturing the true heart and soul of the Love family!

The other beautiful experience of my first week, was that we had an amazing Youth day!The day was filled with a thought provoking session on the past and future of South Africa, and how as the youth can make an impact on the challanges our country faces.

The ‘Challenges’

I had a very challenging week, as I’m sure most of SAWIP interns did, I was on time for my internship, at the Robert. F. Kennedy Human Rights and Justice Centre.  I needed to find my way back to silver springs, from Du Pont circle, and looking back on the past week it is relatively easy to find ones way! The problem was I am directionally challenged, and I got off the metro and walked for 2 hours!!This was both painful and a valuable lesson, one should rather spend money on a cab! The other challenge was that I did not have my luggage, so I had to be creative; I borrowed some shoes, thankfully had some clothes with me, and went shopping for the rest! This was indeed an expensive challenge!

The ‘growth’

The word growth is means to progress, evolve and amongst others to develop. In my internship I am doing all of these elements within the definition of growth! I have found progression in learning new information and research styles to come to grips with the work. I’m evolving into knowledge and awareness of social justice and the work they do at RFK centre, and this is nurturing my development as a Law student continuing my path of social justice and my humanitarian ambitions

The- ‘’EXCUSE ME?’’

I think most people who come to a different city experience this, but every time I opened my mouth I received the ‘Excuse me?’ sentence! This was very amusing to me, as I’m speaking English! The excuse me, usually comes with…WHERE ARE YOU FROM, ARE YOU IRISH, DUTCH, Someone even asked me if I’m FRENCH? However when I say SOUTH AFRICA the responses are…AAAH, interesting! This response is wonderful, because that means I get to talk about my beautiful country and act as a waving flag!

The excuse me, has become part of my daily life, however I hope I hear it for the rest of my stay in D.C. It’s an indication that I have my South Africa with me every time I speak, and a constant reminder of home.  Week one was all of these elements, and that means the next month will be an adventure of note!

D.C=Destination Commenced!

It’s been a turbulent week, and I’m happy to add, I’m o my way to The District of Columbia! Last South African blogs always feel so final. As I feel the hype of the SAWIP guys, and the intense planning we have to do, I could only be excited 2DAYS before we left, exams, and some wonderful leadership events made any time to get excited very limited! That meant I had 2 days to pack, get all my money and shopping in check…By the way, finding an adapter for the states…a really odd job!

A Pre D.C task that I found enriching was that we all had to find sponsorship and work our way through our financial obligations, I found my experience opened doors at my university that were unknown to me. The University of the Western Cape, has been perceived as a university on the rise, with more than 18000 students, our little piece of heaven is situated amongst nature and wild life, capturing the essence of the Western Cape. I learned that this institution was willing and able to move, shift, break and tear down any door you need to go through to reach your potential. As I packed, I can truly say, my university with its rich sense of justice, community spirit and OPEN DOOR policy, gave me the confidence to aspire to be a great leader.

So the trip to D.C was set, all that left me with was many goodbyes which would eventually lead to some/many tears! The foundation of a soul is found in one’s growth, I personally feel my growth stems from my family. This was a set of people chosen by God to be my pillars and root me in the right directions. Everything I have accomplished, and aspire to be is linked to their belief in me.

Thank you to everyone who work hard, slept late, and tolerated our schedules to allow us to learn, grow, and experience some of the most thought provoking events I have ever been to. After selection camp, we as a group are finally norming and growing. This would not be possible without a great team in South Africa and Washington. The impact of SAWIP D.C on my life is still pending, however, the SAWIP South Africa experience, has created a hunger to learn, and absorb as much as I can! Thank you,  Dankie and Enkosi Kakulu SAWIP management team 2011.

As my blog is called D.C-which really means to me, DESTINATION COMMENCED…I’m leaving South Africa, to COMMENCE my  DICTRICT OF COLUMBIA experience.  Like they say in AMERICA…SEE YALL on the other sideJ

This is my first blog, and as I reflected on SAWIP and the journey I led till now, these two words popped into my head, the intense process we have gone through, as well as the inclination we have attained, but striving to go higher and higher in our fields, lives and leadership abilities.