The conditions at Rotary Hall continue to worsen. Trash is piling
up on the fringes, people and their belongings are covered in dust, and disease
and body lice are spreading like wild-fire. We are still doing all we can to
stay on top on the municipality to get housing for the 200 some-odd people
living there. In the meantime, we are still taking bread every day and doing a
weekly shop to keep people’s nutrition up. I try to spend some time there with
the kids every couple days to play games and offer some kind of entertainment
for them, but it is still difficult with the language barrier, even after 11 months’
time, to do any kind of organized activities. People are beginning to get
restless and, worse, seem to be losing hope. Looking back at pictures that were
taken just over a month ago, it is hard to believe that this is the same lot of
people. They look so downtrodden and discouraged when each day brings only
empty promises of housing and no results. Going there is like re-opening a
wound every day and I get so angry when I think about all of the events that
have led to this. These actions – the bulldozing, the displacement, the
complete disregard for the dignity of these people – are like events straight
out of the Apartheid era when demolishing settlements and forcing people to
move was common ground. Only now they are done by the people’s government;
brother opposing brother. It saddens me that in this country where there have
been many great strides made towards reconciling and righting the past, this
kind of stuff is still happening. Though Apartheid is over and has been for 18
years, I think there is still another step; there will still yet be another
reawakening in South Africa. The racial tensions and the massive gap between
rich and poor are still so tangible and so thick. I was reading today and came
across something that Nelson Mandela said that I think sums this up:
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."
Though South Africa is free of the bondage of Apartheid, it is still a long way from freedom.
Thanks for tuning in-
Uxolo,
Karen
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