“Seeing their experiences filtered through an outsiders lens might, I hope bring new perspectives or insights. Anthropologies David Graeber once wrote: When one carries out an ethnography, one observes what people do, and then tries to tease out the hidden symbolic, moral, or pragmatic logics that underlie their actions; one tries to get at the way people’s habits and actions make sense in ways that they are not themselves completely aware of. One obvious role for a radical intellectual is to do precisely that: to look at those who are creating viable alternatives, try to figure out what might be the larger implications of what they are(already) doing, and then offer those ideas back, not as prescriptions, but as contributions, possibilities—as gifts.”
The above quote is from Catherine Besteman’s Transforming Cape Town, which is a part of the pre-trip reading for Team Ubuntu. Before we boarded the plane, I gave the girls various readings on the history of apartheid, the anti-apartheid struggle as well as its legacies today ... Cape Town, South Africa could perhaps be one of the most beautiful spaces in the world. Before coming I imagined what it would be like to visit a place I had dreamed about since I was told of its existence. The journey here was long, but well worth it. Team Ubuntu met in Tyson Mcghee Airport in Knoxville, TN to start our trip. Liz and I and the girls, Lizzie, Isabel and Morgan, gathered with our family and dear program mentor and sponsor, Townes Osborne, to say farewell. Before leaving, Townes reiterated that the greatest and most important thing we could bring were our smiles. So we began our journey with smiles in tow. An hour and half later we were in Atlanta. The next 8 hours in the air took us to Amsterdam and 11 hours after that we were in South Africa!
South Africa is such an unbelievably gorgeous place yet one is confronted everyday with the realities of a country still trying to heal and transform itself from its former infamy. It is seen as a beacon of light for the “good triumphs over evil” narrative, but no place is perfect and in this post-apartheid era I see both hope and disillusionment. The need is immense.
And while this may depress others, this gives me hope in the resiliency of the human spirit to resist in subtle and more obvious ways systems of oppression and inequality that are not as stark as apartheid, but that are still active today. I think this will become more real as we travel to the informal housing areas and townships with the Knysna and Stanford Rotary Clubs and away from the comfort of Cape Town Proper. It is my hope that the above quote stays with the girls so that they can find the larger meaning in the smaller conversations and experiences we’ve had and will continue to have. So I know we will return with smiles, but not just because of excitement but because of much deeper understanding and connection to place much like our home.
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