The Future of South Africa: The People

SASA has now arrived in the fast-paced, urban city of Johannesburg to round out our course after spending 15 exciting, busy days in the beautiful Cape Town. Our time in Cape Town was spent exploring famous tourist sites exuding the natural beauty and culture of the city, but most importantly Cape Town introduced to us the legacy and reality of the Apartied among the people. We have seen that South Africa is the most developed and modern country in Africa, especially through its economic growth of tourism, natural resources, and manufacturing capacity. Although South Africa has made significant and positive changes since the Apartied government, rates of poverty, unemployment, and homelessness still remain high. Through our ventures and exposure to the poverty-stricken townships and evident disparity of wealth among classes, it has led me to wonder what the future has in store for the people of South Africa.

Since 1994, South Africa has shown positive economic growth increasing every year, including areas such as tourism (including “eco-tourism”), the film industry, and their developed agricultural sector. We were all shocked to see how built up and modern the city of Cape Town was, especially with the amount of activities, shopping, and restaurants available to tourists. Within our first couple of days “it didn’t feel like Africa”, but instead a Mediterranean gem in which I never wanted to leave. It wasn’t until we entered to township of Langa, where I realized the aftermath of the Apartied is still very present among the people of South Africa. It was unbelievable to be in such a beautiful, prosperous city and within a couple miles enter a township where Africans lived in literal shacks, put together with access metal and garbage. It was here where we began to see how poverty continues to be widespread, unemployment high, and many people lacking necessities, even as bad as running water and electricity.

The government has began to build houses in these townships to create better homes for people living in the community, Nelson Mandela wanted to build 1 million of these houses to began to decrease the housing and poverty present in the country. Although these townships represent change, they also represent racial and housing inequalities that still desperately need to be attended to and improved by the current government. Many tourists also visit these townships, which is appreciated by the residents. They work to decrease the amount of crime in their community and care for each other so that tourists feel comfortable and safe visiting their township. Many donations are made to the housing and education efforts of townships on behalf of tourists that come to visit them. When we visited Vicky’s Bed and Breakfast, which is the smallest hotel in South Africa, she spoke of how she wanted people to come to the townships and see how the rest of South Africa is living, and the rich culture and sense of community they have to offer despite their racial and economic differences. It amazed me how the people living in these townships wanted to make a change for the better, for themselves, their family, and their county. I believe these people are the future of South Africa, especially as they want to encourage strong values and ethics in their children for them to have a better chance of eventually leaving the township to do something great. We have also learned about the importance of education, and how it is valued for the success of children. With strong education and after-school programs such as Ubuntu, an after-school mentor and soccer program to encourage children to engage in sports rather than trouble where I did my work-immersion, I believe the future for children in townships and high-poverty communities is much brighter.

We have also seen that with the urbanization and expansion of services driven mostly by tourism, South Africa’s labor force has grown significantly. During the Apartied, gross racial inequalities led to high unemployment rates, where blacks were denied political and economic rights. I have noticed that almost all of the commercial and manual jobs in Cape Town are occupied by blacks, including waiters, cab drivers, and the hotel staff. Almost everyone I have met have been extremely kind, welcoming, and polite. An employee at our hotel in Cape Town who works the night shift told me it was a pleasure to work at that time, and spoke about how thankful he was to work at the Fountain Suites. I feel that many South Africans coming from the townships or less economically successful homes are extremely grateful to have the opportunity to live and work in Cape Town.

South Africa is not only a beautiful, culturally rich country, but I have learned it is also full of strong, inspirational people as well who want a better future. I feel that the economic division and civil rights for black South Africans even after the Apartied still lingers here, more than back in the United States. Our generation is lucky in that we did not experience the fight for Civil Rights the way our parents or grandparents did, but there are still strong emotions of hurt and anger left in South Africans who still remember and experience racial inequalities of the Apartied. In time, I hope the future of South Africa holds a place of unity and forgiveness, and where the disparity among classes and race is gradually washed away.