After this week's readings, my perspective of South Africa is completely different. I knew what apartheid was but did not know much about it. South Africa has an interesting history making the country so diverse. Since apartheid was so recent the country still has building up to do for the tension between race and culture is still in existence. The government and its people are still trying to build up the country and create new policies to make South Africa a better place.
I was really surprised by all the colonization that was made and between different settlers in South Africa. I did not know anything about this so it was really interesting in reading the history. It really took me by surprise how the Boers were so religiously inspired. They prayed before the Battle of Blood River which is where they defeated the Zulu warriors. Their victory reassured them that "white predominance over blacks is God's own will".
A challenge I see for the country is that apartheid is still so recent that race is a very touchy subject. With the older generation who lived through this they are going to be very sensitive about changes going on. With that being said the younger generation can be taught that this was wrong and they need to implement changes to their communities. As a strength they are very diverse so this will bring many opinions into place they just need to find a strong leader to organize everything which is something they do not have at the moment.
The top three sports in South Africa are cricket, soccer, and rugby. The way rugby is described to be to South Africans reminds me of how football is to Americans. If the their team wins its excitement over if they lose their is so much disappointment. Its really interesting how during apartheid rugby was known as the white mans sport and soccer was for colored people. Thing have changed however they are still trying to make the sport available to all people of South Africa. The Springboks is where more people of color play the game.
My question to Dr. Gilmour is what is the biggest change he has seen occur in South Africa.
I also hadn't known how different the Boers were not only from the natives but also from the British settlers. I see race as being an emotional topic but I think because it happened more recently, talking about race relations will be less taboo than it is in America. It would be cool if we learned how to play a rugby game during our stay!
ReplyDeleteElisa, I too talked about how recovering from apartheid would be the hardest challenge the country will face, even though it is a post-apartheid society. I think it's pretty parallel to the United States' society during the reconstruction era after the Civil War.
ReplyDeleteHi Alisa! I too am very interested to see how the different generations perceive race. It's cool how every country has a particular sport that they cherish and get especially excited about.
ReplyDeleteI also thought the history of colonization in South Africa was very interesting. We read a book in high school called, "Cry the Beloved Country," so I was aware of Afrikaans and the Dutch settler, but I didn't realize how the Dutch being oppressed by the British played a role in the development of apartheid.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a big challenge for the nation is that race is a very touchy subject. Like Dr. Gilmour mentioned to us during his visit, South Africans are all very friendly people - but they just don't really interact with one another. They live in different physical spaces and occupy different places of work. Conversations about race need to happen, but the legacy of apartheid is still so fresh.
ReplyDeleteI'm also curious about the generation gap and am looking forward to talking to locals about this! I want to hear their stories, but I hope I can ask questions in a sensitive manner.
Elisa you brought up a good point about apartheid being so recent the country still has building up to do for the tension between race and culture is still in existence. This makes me really pause and think what are individuals who are currently living going through. It has been over 100 years since the United stats has been out of slavery and we are still having problems to this day.
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ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this blog- I feel like a lot of the convo, expressed by Dr. Gilmour is very similar to what you felt, too.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this blog- I feel like a lot of the convo, expressed by Dr. Gilmour is very similar to what you felt, too.
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