Spotty wifi at St. Paul's Guest House

The on and off nature of the wifi where we're staying, plus it's short range, is making blogging difficult.  Hope to get a good account of our time in Cape Town uploaded soon. Meanwhile, a few pictures while the wifi is functioning!

Tuesday we had a walking tour with Lucy Campbell, who talks about the colonial history and slavery in Cape Town.

We then visited the Slave Lodge museum to learn more about the history of slavery.  After lunch on our own, we toured the District 6 museum, learning about forced removals in Cape Town from a man, Joe, who lived through it all. 

We then ended the day attending a dinner theater - first time for some of us - and the buffet was excellent!

Highlights on Wednesday:

We were bussed to the University of the Western Cape to visit the Mayibuye Archives of the apartheid resistance 

This was followed by lunch at the Kopanong B&B in the township of Kayelitsha and a walking tour of the surrounding area.

Our last visit of hand day was to the Philani Maternal and Child Health Center - all and all a very interesting and eye opening day

More later!

Off to Cape Town

Before heading to Cape Town, happy birthday to Marisa!

Everyone was pleased that the flight to Cape Town went off without a hitch.  We've certainly run the range of jet sizes on this trip. Interestingly, one of the South African immigration people was very interested in making sure the group of us that went through his booth had return tickets - seems like more to address the issue of human trafficking than plain old illegal immigration of young women.

We are staying at St. Paul's Guest house in the heart of downtown, near Long Street - known for its shops, restaurants, and clubs.  It's a good location for the nights where we have dinner in our own.

Etosha!

Sorry that I haven't upgraded to a digital camera with Bluetooth - a few pictures from the iPhone will have to suffice for now!

Lunch on the road:

Braii Dinner at Okokuejo

Game drive!

Dinner at Namutoni

Dune 7

The climb up Dune 7 near Walvis Bay is always fun and the view spectacular (sorry to say I don't have pictures on my device from the top)

Walvis Bay (Walvisbaai): of Flamingos, Port of Namibia, and Dolphins

On Thursday afternoon we headed down the coast to Walvis Bay, after a picnic lunch by the lagoon, with lots of flamingos and a few pelicans, we had a tour of the port and visited the Namibian Dolphin Project offices.

Our back-to-back speakers of the afternoon provided a remarkable contrast.  We first went to Namport - the Namibian Port Authority- and learned that the port at Walvis Bay is a major port (one of few along the western seaboard of Africa with a bay deep enough for big the really big ships). Tons of material destined for other African countries and other destinations makes its way through this port.  We saw a slick presentation on the current and planned expansion of the port and then toured the actual port.  It was facinating to see actual containers being loaded onto a ship from close up!

The importance of the port to Namibia and its economy is readily apparent. (No wonder the British maintained control of this small area during German colonization and it remained under South African control for several years after Namibian independence!)

Big contrast with the information from the Namibian Dolphin Project, a shoe-string operation run by grad students working on Ph.D.s in marine biology.   Walvis Bay is home to two species of dolphins, one of them endemic to the region - so found nowhere else.  Of big concern is how the land formation (called "reclamation" by the port authority) involved in expanding the port is altering water flow, sediment buildup, etc. and may influence the food chain.  Of even bigger concern is the acoustic effects of construction, increased boat traffic, etc.  Dolohins use echolocation to navigate, find food, and communicate.  Although we can predict that with more boat traffic there will be more deaths due to collisions, the harder thing to predict is the impact on dolphin behavior and long term population trends in this changed environment.  It's unclear how well the system of environmental impact statements and risk analysis is working in this instance.   But we certainly came away from it all rooting for the Dolphins!

Lessons from the Coast

I It's been a whirlwind and without internet connections (except in a few restaurants), we haven't had a chance to post about our experiences -- what we've seen and what we've learned.  

This seems counterintuitive, but the trip to the coast takes you from semi-arid to full out desert. With all that ocean, it is dry, dry, dry.  The fact that the ocean current running south to north is very cold results in the formation of lots of clouds and fogs that roll inland.  There are desert organisms in the Namib desert adapted for collecting fog as their sole source of water!  The cold ocean currents bring plenty of nutrients up fro the ocean floor and the Namibian coast is highly productive - much more so than the nearby land.  

Our first afternoon in Swapok (as Swakopmund is often called), we toured the black township of Mondesa, constructed during the apartheid era, and the neighboring informal township (shanty town), called the Democratic Resettlement Community (DRC), which started in 2001 as a temporary resettlement area for people waiting for subsidized housing.  The influx of rural people to urban areas over the past decade has overburdened the city, just as in Windhoek.  The streets of the DRC are wide and orderly, and the government has supplied street lights, communal community water spigots and communal pit toilets.  So ordered and yet so disordered.  The failure of the system to keep up with the incredible demand for housing is a constant. And some of the newer government homes are as small as what the apartheid government built.   Yet we've learned that it is so much more complicated than what it seems at first.  A portion of those living in the shanty towns can actually afford a home in an established neighborhood, yet choose to send money home to their families instead of living in permanent housing.  

One message coming very clear is that with every issue there are shades of gray.  A good example of this is what we've learned about rhino horns.  Nambia, by creating conservancies where the wildlife is an asset to the community and managed by the community, has had less of an issue with poaching than in other countries.  Rhino poaching does occur, however, and an earlier speaker (Chris Brown) told us of the current debate around whether or not to allow trade in rhino horns that are harvested  from live rhinos (the horns regrow so could be seen as a renewable resource). Rhino horn would be managed using the same model as the diamond trade.   We heard from Jeff Muntinifering from the Save the Rhino Trust while in Swakopmund who pointed out that a lot of work is being done on the demand side and to start allowing any trade will send mixed messages.  Our sense was he did not think it a good idea to allow any trade.  

In some places we see strong connections to things in Minnesota.  In central Swakopmund is a large statue commemorating German losses during the fighting with the native populations in 1904.  Just as we have come to talk about the Dakota War in Minnesota in a different a way, acknowledging the right of the Dakota Souix to have defended themselves and their way of life, there is a movement here to change the way the conflict in 1904-08 is acknowledged and represented. It was just this year, more than 100 years after the massacre of thousands of Herero and Nama people by imperial German troops that Germany has acknowledged that it was a genocide.  (And one that involved the use of concentration camps and experimentIon).  We met with an activist working hard to get the monument sent back to Germany.

Now in Swakopmund

After a 4 hour drive to the coast, we're now in Swakopmund - a lovely town that's a definite tourist destination with lots of German architecture in the downtown area.  Our afternoon tour of Mondesa - the black township just out of site of the nice part of town - let us know that apartheid was alive and well here also.  But both the formal township and informal settlements seem much more ordered than in Windhoek. 

But now it's time for dinner!

Lots of lessons learned

We've had two days with speakers and discussions - lots of time in the classroom (aka living room).  By afternoon it's gotten rather warm and it's been a bit hard to sit for so long, but it's been well worth it.  The speakers have increased the depth of our understanding about what has made Namibia successful and not so successful at the same time.

For instance, from Professor Phanuel Kaapama we learned that one can only understand the continuing economic power of the white minority by knowing of the compromises made during the United Nations negotiations for independence.  A key provision was that "there will be no nationalization or expropriation of property or assets without adequate compensation." Negotiations also resulted in article 141 of the constitution that says "any person holding office under any law in force on the date of independence shall continue to hold such office unless or until he or she resigns, or is retired, transferred or removed from office in accordance with the law."  Civil war was avoided and civil servants all kept their jobs.  Stability and peace were maintained, but huge disparities continue to exist between most blacks and the white population.

The issue of land is big.  One might think that the big push would be to get the white-owned farms back into black hands, and certainly there is frustration over the slow pace of the "willing buyer, willing seller" approach to land redistribution.  However, as we heard from the young activists of Affirmative Repositioning (AR), it is the need for urban land and housing that is coming to the forefront.  One has only to view the extensiveness of "silver town" (the informal settlements of shacks with no services) to know the incredible need for affordable housing.  The fact that housing in Cape Town, SA is 30% cheaper than in Windhoek shows something is really off with the housing market in Windhoek.  AR has mobilized thousands of young people to put pressure on the government to come through with promises of housing - it will be interesting in the future to see what the follow through is on the plans that the government has recently agreed to.  

Amazing things are happening on rural lands - both on freehold (private) land and on communal lands, the move is away from raising livestock and toward the formation of conservancies where wildlife becomes the economic driver.  Raise steers for meat and you eat them or sell them.  Raise springbok, impalas, oryx, giraffe.... and you can not only sell the meat but bring in tourists to view them, trophy hunters to hunt them, sell them live to other conservancies.   As Chris Brown informed us, in such a dry climate the market forces actually work to increase wildlife.  Namibia is one of a few places where wildlife populations are on the increase.  

It was stunning to hear the story of Pauline Dempers from Breaking the Wall of Silence (BWS), an organization that advocates for the rights of those detained by SWAPO during the Namibian War of Independence.  Pauline was among several thousand activists and members of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) who fled Namibia as part of the fight for freedom and who were accused of being enemy agents by SWAPO.  Imprisoned and tortured, Pauline was among just 169 men, women, and children that were repatriated to Namibia from dungeons in Angola.  The rest are the disappeared.   SWAPO continues to be the ruling party and BWS continues to work to get them to admit wrong-doing and exonerate the wrongly accused.  

From Linda Baumann of Out-Right Namibia (ORN) we gained perspective on the status of LGBTI people and the efforts to improve quality of life and access to legal and social justice for sexually diverse persons.  From Jennifer Gatsi of the Namibian Women's a Health Network we heard of the work to help the large number of poor women living with HIV and the shocking tales of HIV positive women who were sterilized without their knowledge while in the hospital when they gave birth.   Overall, I think we all have come away from the talk (and experiences while in the home stays) with a sense of how important the status of women is and that this is a key issue here.  

 Lots of learning!  We need some time to process this all.  

Tomorrow we head to the coast and will spend two nights in Swakopmund, then off to Etosha National Park.  Wifi access will be iffy for the next 5 days or so - so we may not be able to post blogs for a bit!

Martha & Donna

Back To CGEE House

Back from home stays

While we had a quiet weekend of grading, reading/ planning and sightseeing (China town, the Namibian Indepence Museum, the gardens of Parliment and a couple of awesome restaurant experiences), we were always aware of our cell phones, feeling a little like "empty-nesters" while students were being immersed in the culture in another way - living with families to experience everyday Namibian life. 

The CGEE staff does a wonderful job setting up this opportunity. (Thank you Sarah, Attila and Linda.) They interview families, visit their homes, explain the rules, and met with the parents Tuesday night to finalize everything while we were still en route. Many of these folks have done this many times before.  There was also an orientation for students to let them know what expect, how to dress, and what to do in case of emergency, etc.  They reported being both excited and anxious as they packed a weekend bag and awaited the arrival of their families.

It was exciting to see the families come one by one to claim "their children" for the weekend. Some students waited on the balcony watching for cars to slow as they approached the CGEE house. Others were in their bedrooms listening for their names to be called. It was really heartwarming to meet members of the families - sometimes dad, or mom, brother, sister or various combinations - all with ready smiles, handshakes or hugs (see pictures in previous entry).

What leaps of faith on both sides. Families opening their homes. Students, their curiousity. Both opening minds and hearts. Willing to be ambassadors to challenge stereotypes and build relationships that may continue long after this weekend. 

Here are some of the students' testimonials:

'The immersion aspect of the home stay made our time in Katutura all the more amazing. Our energetic and strong-willed host mom made it a point to reveal to us the injustices that govern the living situation in Katutura. Placed so close to 'Silver town' (Informal housing), our stay constantly served as a reminder of how much of a contrast life is in Windhoek. The highlight of our adventures was being able to visit the Goreangab Dam where we caught an amazing view of the ruthless Namibian sun setting and leaving a wonderful array of colors. The homestay experience is nothing short of unforgettable' 

- Nina and Nicole

Our homestay with The Madison family in Windhoek will definitely be a highlight of our study abroad experience. They went completely out of their way to make sure we were comfortable living in their home, yet they also made sure to push us out of our comfort zones and exposed us to some of their Namibian family traditions. They put us to work in the kitchen and taught us how to make some of their fabulous dishes they make regularly. We also got to attend their Sunday church service where we sang many songs and got to meet many of the locals. Fun fact: the president of Namibia can be spotted on most Sunday mornings! However, they also took us out to the local mall in town for a fun night of bowling. We had a lot of variety during our stay which we truly enjoyed, and will miss them dearly!

- Bri and Sarah T.

"Living with our Katatura host family was a wonderful opportunity to experience a piece of Namibian culture. We cooked together, attended a church service, and talked for hours about topics ranging from current political issues to the latest dance crazes. Our host family was incredibly kind and ensured  we were both comfortable, yet adventurous in experiencing new foods and meeting new people. They also had a son whose energy was endless, which provided plenty of laughter and smiles. He was happy to teach us Afrikaans and demonstrate his best Kung fu. The hardest part was saying goodbye (and telling their son that, unfortunately, we didn't quite have room in our suitcases to bring him back to snowy Minnesota with us). This was definitely an experience we will remember."

-Kayla and Emily

Of Homework, History, and Land

While our students are all doing home stays, we are busy grading the latest critical reflection papers on "The Institutionalization of Racism: Jim Crow and Apartheid."  Yes, they do have reading assignments and homework! (Including a reading assignment over the weekend). It's easy to feel like this is a trip - but in reality it's still a class - a travel seminar - with a great mix of the experiential with readings, videos, speakers, and discussions.  And, because all Global Search for Justice courses are writing intensive (one of four all students must take), there's a lot of writing. It's all hand written while we're in country, and there's a research paper to be completed when we return.  This group has been good about doing the academic work and we're sure they'll appreciate the days coming up where we've scheduled less - such as while we're in Etosha National Park 

On  Friday, before leaving for the home stays, we had a speaker on the history of Namibia, Romanus Shivano (previous director of CGEE Namibia).  He gave us a great overview, starting with a colonial studies analysis -- the drivers behind European colonial expansion, the initial actions that de-territorialize and remove existing culture and authority structures, and those that re-territorialize the colonized land under "white" control.   We're all gaining a strong sense of how important it is to know history.  The ultimate impacts and legacies of European imperialism are far reaching and long lasting.  

Very few Americans seem to know about Namibia and much less that it was parceled out to the Germans in 1884 during the "Sramble for Africa" (Google that one!).  With the German defeat in World War I, the area was turned over to British-controlled South Africa in 1915 and remained under South African control through the their independence from Britain and until Namibia's final independence (from South Africa) in 1990.  Thus, Namibia shared the full apartheid rule instituted by the National Party in1948 in South Africa.  

It was interesting to learn about the various ethnic groups that have inhabited Namibia since before colonization.  The San people (hunter-gatherers) were the earliest Inhabitants, followed by a number of tribes, including pastoralists such as the Herero (cattle) and Nama & Damara (goats, sheep, cattle), and agriculturalists such as the Ovambo (Aawambo), Kavango, and Caprivi.  It will be interesting to hear what the students heard about the various ethnic groups during their home stays.  Apartheid policy was always to divide and conquer, housing people in neighborhoods by ethnicity/tribes and encouraging ethnic/ tribal tensions to avoid the different groups rallying together.  

Romanus Shivano also gave us much information about Namibia under South African apartheid rule and post-independence.  Too much to mention here, but we certainly have a much better understanding of the history of this fascinating country.  

Our next speaker, John Hazam, is from the Legal Assistance Center and has worked in several African countries with parks, community-based natural resource management, and environmental policies and legislation.  His overview of the various kinds of land (state owned land, communal lands, and freehold (privately owned) land) set us up well to understand some of the issues with access to land and natural resources. 

While in Etosha National Park (state land), we'll be learning of the efforts of the Hai//om (part of the San people) to again be allowed to hunt and gather in their traditional hunting grounds.  Issues of indigenous rights are complex, because other than the San (who all agree were first to be in Namibia), the other ethnic groups of African origin came at different times and some not that long before European colonization.   The Namibian government doesn't use the term "indigenous" but instead uses "marginalized" to refer to groups that may need special attention or restoration of land or rights.

Later speakers will give us more depth to the introduction that John gave us to things like community-based natural resource management and the moves of some freeholders to join their lands to create conservancies where instead of growing cattle they raise wildlife for hunting, tourism, etc.  Lots to think about!

Katutura Quest

Thursday was our day for the "Katutura Quest."  Katutura is a black township that was created by forced removals and forced settlements in the 1950s.  Twenty five years after the end of apartheid, it is still all black, and shows the long lasting legacy of forced segregation.  The students spent the day in Kautura and many will be in Katutura for the weekend homestays.  

The day began when groups of 2-3 students set off about 9 am with a guide from Kasie Adventures (young Namibians from Katutura) to visit an NGO, go to an outdoor market, have lunch, use a taxi...  This is a great experience where the students get to interact with a person their age and start to get a feel for the culture, foods, and and lives of people in Katutura.  

Many similarities and differences--all striking at first.  From their guides our group learned that college life is pretty similar in Namibia.  They found they like similar forms of recreation, listen to a lot of the same music, have seen many of the same movies....  The differences are small and large, like the shape and size of milk cartons, few busses but lots of taxis, eggs aren't refrigerated (since their protective layer of oils is not washed away as we do in the U.S.), meat can be butchered in an open air market...  

The groups visited locations such as Hope Village Orphanage, an Old Folks Home (yes, that's what they call it), the Katutura Youth Enterprise Centre (KAYEC) (a vocational school), a state hospital, a Community Art Center, a Lutheran church that has several outreach programs, and a clinic of the Namibian Planned Parenthood Association.  Lots of examples of people and organizations focused on addressing the needs of the community.  

When asked for one word to describe the experience they said: fun, spectacular, eye-opening, enjoyable, connected, different, refreshing.   Many came back now connected with their guides on Facebook.  

Many of the group have remarked at how surprised they were that countries in Africa are so developed.  The view we get from the media (from National Geographic to CNN to movies) is that Africa is a place of wildlife, rustic villages, starving children, and rebel militias wreaking havoc.  And that it is one thing, one country, rather than a vast continent with the large variety of different countries, each with large cities with downtown skyscrapers and suburbs.  If the 'developed' nature of South Africa and Namibia is so surprising to Americans, then what do South Africans and Namibians think they know about the U.S. that is equally mistaken?  Perhaps we'll find out during the homestays this weekend 

Friday Evening: Off to Homestays in Katutura