Africa, the cradle of mankind; a continent of vast blue skies, of red earth, rich in both mineral and natural wealth but with a troubled history. As many will be aware, I was recently given the chance to visit South Africa and Swaziland, on a two week delegation with UK based campaigning organisation ACTSA (Action for Southern Africa). ACTSA were the UK based anti apartheid movement. aAnti-Aapartheid organisation Movement Before I went, I knew it was not going to be anything like a holiday and had mentally prepared myself for a tough time. I had no idea.
The Republic of South Africa, or South Africa as it is more commonly known, is a country with a recent history unlike any other. Ruled by the descendants of Europeans, the country was, until recently, an illustration of many of the worst aspects of human nature, of ignorance and institutionalised cruelty. My short time in South Africa opened my mind to so many things and made me very angry. How is it possible that someone of my age (28 in case you wanted to know) could be so ignorant of events that have happened in my lifetime? I had a little knowledge of South Africa, due to the fact that I have family there and the fact that my mother took great pains to explain to me that the SOWETO necklace, which was covered in the news when I was young, was not something that was likely to happen to a five year old living in Devon.
The Republic of South Africa, or South Africa as it is more commonly known, is a country with a recent history unlike any other. Ruled by the descendants of Europeans, the country was, until recently, an illustration of many of the worst aspects of human nature, of ignorance and institutionalised cruelty. My short time in South Africa opened my mind to so many things and made me very angry. How is it possible that someone of my age (28 in case you wanted to know) could be so ignorant of events that have happened in my lifetime? I had a little knowledge of South Africa, due to the fact that I have family there and the fact that my mother took great pains to explain to me that the SOWETO necklace, which was covered in the news when I was young, was not something that was likely to happen to a five year old living in Devon.
The politics of South Africa are complex and I found that the more I learned, the more difficult the situation was for me to comprehend. The Afrikaner National Party who were in power from the 1940’s onwards were incomprehensible and shamelessly abused people, using the colour of their skin as a reason. Black people or Bantu as they were sometimes known were treated differently from coloured people (those who were not black, perhaps the descendants of Malaysian slaves taken by the British, or those of mixed race) who were again treated differently from white people. To say that the regime favoured whites would be an understatement; there was blanket segregation, to the point that black communities were cleared from their homes and moved to new areas, because the government did not want the colours to mix. There were benches marked “Europeans only” and the government even brewed a beer, Bantu beer, which was marketed only to black people and was designed to make them infertile. Cut through a history that no amount of words can convey, to the 1980’s and 1990’s where violence was seemingly the preferred form of communication from both sides. It is not my place to comment on the rights or wrongs of the use of violence as a form of protest, or as a form of control, that is for you, the reader to decide. Whatever you do decide, the fact is that the protests and action lead to South Africa having its first democratic election in 1994, where the African National Congress (ANC) won power. The country is in the early stages of democracy as we know it and it is impossible to say what will happen. Whatever the future holds, the present is stark; the contrast between rich and poor is like nothing I have ever experienced and driving past a car sales room with umpteen Ferraris in it, knowing that within fifteen minutes you will be in a township, where people are living on less than $1 per day (the international standard for extreme poverty) is a very surreal experience.
Away from the city centres, poverty is everywhere. Thousands of black and coloured people live in varying degrees of depravation, from those who are living in government built social housing, to those who have collected scraps of corrugated iron and have fashioned it into homes for themselves, in areas so full that officials have difficulty even estimating the population. In Diepsloot, near Johannesburg, the population is somewhere near 300,000, but it is apparently difficult to tell, due to the high level of people who have migrated from Mozambique and Zimbabwe. In the townships, as all over South Africa, H.I.V and AIDS are a massive problem. Although the South African government has made an effort to increase access to medical aid and the education that could prevent the spread of the disease, the country is still under resourced. Community initiatives and big business work together in the more deprived areas such as Diepsloot, where the Coca Cola sponsored Olive Leaf Foundation run projects on issues such as sexually transmitted diseases and gender based violence. One of the major barriers to education is money. In the year 2000, 189 world leaders signed up to eight measurable goals and targets to:
1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
2) Achieve universal primary education
3) Promote gender equality & empower women
4) Reduce child mortality
5) Improve maternal health
6) Combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7) Ensure environmental sustainability
8) Develop a global partnership for development.
These are known as the millennium development goals (MDG’s) and if you have been following current events, you will know that those countries and businesses involved have pledged £25.5 billion to achieve these goals by the deadline of 2015.
In my humble opinion, the sooner our countries get on and help the better. Doubtlessly there will be some who read this who will wonder how the UK, in the midst of recession, would even consider pledging money to help the disadvantaged abroad, when there are so many here who need help; charity begins at home. Charity does begin at home, but in all honesty, we have little reason to moan. I do not consider myself well off, sometimes it is a struggle to make ends meet, what with the student debts and all, but seriously and sincerely, we all have to take stock and realise how lucky we are.
The thing that made me realise just how lucky I am, was not sitting in a cafe with a grown man who had never eaten in one before, nor staring into the scarred face of a former child soldier who had given his best years to fighting for justice, not spending an evening talking with a white man who was imprisoned for 22 years for fighting against apartheid, not even seeing the endless vista of tin shacks, but meeting a man who was begging. It really affected me, as I wonder what must have happened to someone to make them beg. Many will disapprove, but I feel that if someone has lost their pride to the extent that they will ask strangers for money, then it is not for me to judge, but for me to give. Perhaps it was the strange environment, or the horror stories I have been told, but that day, I did not give. The man followed us, perhaps he was two sandwiches short of a picnic, but he had a point. He was saying, “Just two rand, what can you do with two rand? What kind of people are you? God save you!” Two rand is about 20p. If 20p could make a difference to his life, but little difference to our pockets, why not give? Some people prefer to give through official channels, so go on, give your 20p; it might just make that difference to someone’s life.
While in South Africa and Swaziland, we met with so many inspiring individuals and organisations, that it is impossible for me to list them and explain what they do, for that, have a look at the blog I kept while I was away: http://www.beshliegoestoafrica.blogspot.com/
Whilst on the ACTSA delegation, we also had the opportunity to visit Swaziland. What a country. Without the brutal history of apartheid and with the sunshine filled tourist adverts, it would be easy to assume that it is just another off the beaten track holiday destination, but the reality is very different:
20% : Unemployment, although sources suggest much higher.
41: The average life expectancy
26 - 40%: Population infected with H.I.V
69% : Population living on less than $1 per day.
77% : Population living in rural areas.
Swaziland is the only absolute monarchy in Africa, which means that what the King says goes, no questions asked. Political parties are banned, presumably because the King fears that he might lose his power if he allows even a hint of democracy. In fact, the King and his regime seem a little paranoid; for example, his police force has been known to intimate and attack people for doing such outrageous things as wearing a t-shirt with the name of a political party on it (parties are banned under anti-terrorist laws). That man later died in Police custody. The Swazi people suffer under his regime; his people starve while he keeps his wives (at least fourteen of them) in luxury and according to the Forbes 2009 list of the World's Richest Royals, King Mswati is worth a reported $100 Million USD. Many of his people support him as the head of state, but do not want this decision to be absolute; they want democracy in their homeland and the freedom to express themselves through their everyday actions. Imagine living on less than $1 per day and having no real avenue for change.
77% : Population living in rural areas.
Swaziland is the only absolute monarchy in Africa, which means that what the King says goes, no questions asked. Political parties are banned, presumably because the King fears that he might lose his power if he allows even a hint of democracy. In fact, the King and his regime seem a little paranoid; for example, his police force has been known to intimate and attack people for doing such outrageous things as wearing a t-shirt with the name of a political party on it (parties are banned under anti-terrorist laws). That man later died in Police custody. The Swazi people suffer under his regime; his people starve while he keeps his wives (at least fourteen of them) in luxury and according to the Forbes 2009 list of the World's Richest Royals, King Mswati is worth a reported $100 Million USD. Many of his people support him as the head of state, but do not want this decision to be absolute; they want democracy in their homeland and the freedom to express themselves through their everyday actions. Imagine living on less than $1 per day and having no real avenue for change.
Shamefully, King Mswati was educated at Sherborne School in Dorset, England and one would have hoped that he would have put such an education to good use, rather than forgetting to engage his brain before opening his mouth. In the year 2000, it was either King Mswati or one of his ministers who announced in a parliamentary debate that all HIV-positive people should be "sterilized and branded". Considering that at least 26% of the population are infected with the life threatening disease, one can only suppose (and hope) that he did not think the implications of his suggestion through thoroughly. With such a high rate of H.I.V, comes undeniable pressure on society. One of the highest rates of H.I.V transfer is from mother to child and with little provision for medical aid and so many living in the hard to get to rural areas, there is a real problem. Community organisations such as SWAPOL (Swaziland for positive living) are doing a sterling job of unifying sufferers within the community and in turn, using co-operative type schemes to help those with H.I.V and AIDS to improve their lives, by doing things such as generating an income from nurturing seedlings, or attracting funding to set up places where orphans and vulnerable children can have a meal and be kept out of mischief by women from the community. With the aforementioned statistics, it should come as no surprise that many of the children are H.I.V positive, often with very sick parents who are unable to provide for them, being cared for by women with H.I.V. MDG’s feeling important yet?
Unemployment in Swaziland currently sits at about 20% (although much higher among the youth) which means that the thriving garment industry is of high importance to the Swazi economy, employing approximately 22,000 people. The conditions some workers face are atrocious, for example, some women have been forced into giving birth at their sewing machines and the majority are not even paid enough to live on, yet employment is so scarce, they are left with little choice. Do you think about the workers when you buy that cheap jacket? Or even the expensive one? Corporate social Responsibility (CSR) is not high on every businesses agenda, but it should be, particularly when considering companies such as GAP, Wall Mart and Addidas. Before I go further, I will state that I am not commenting directly on any of those companies; but those who systematically abuse the people who work in the factories know who they are. Many of the factories in Swaziland are owned by investors from Taiwan, some of whom (we hope but cannot prove) may have signed up to the ethical trading initiative, an initiative which commits business to a set of core labour standards. Inspections are undertaken at the convenience of the factory, so the managers have time to prepare and are allegedly able to dupe the inspectors into believing that everything is hunky-dory. SMAWU want the inspectors to meet with the union in order to convey the reality of the situation. It is a veritable mire, but IRALE (International research Academy for Labour and Education) are working with the TUC to build capacity amongst trade unions in Swaziland. Who thought that a pair of trainers or a jacket could be responsible for so much horror?
Despite the difficulties suffered by the peoples of southern Africa, there is no hint that we should jump in and tell people what to do, but I do believe it is our duty to encourage and support actions of the South Africans and the Swazi’s that we believe in, particularly when we have contacts and experience that may be beneficial. (Trade unionists I am pointing at you). We can show solidarity in many ways, through donations directly to charities and organisations or campaigning support through ACTSA. If you want to know more about the people and organisations I met with, have a look at my blog. To find out more about ACTSA, go to http://www.actsa.org/
