Why
South Africa
is like 1950s
US
1. Racism is
blatantly and shamelessly expressed.
South Africans often pride themselves on living in the
‘Rainbow Nation’ because SA is more diverse than many other African
nations.
However, ‘rainbow’ gives a
false impression that everyone has been living happily and peacefully after apartheid;
in reality, there is still significant fear and ignorance about people of other
races or religions.
Even in the post-apartheid
era, some people feel justified in their racism and express it freely.
Sometimes they will preface their comments as
“I’m not being racist or judgmental,” which is invariably followed by a racist
or judgmental statement.
In
Durban, people still self-segregate
so interracial relationships—marriages, dating relationships, even platonic
same-sex friendships – are extremely rare.
People of mixed black and white descent (‘coloured’) are at the bottom
of the totem pole in
Durban.
They are considered the people who commit
crimes and abuse drugs and alcohol.
Since Akbar is well-liked and respected here, when Indians are being
racist, I bring up that Akbar is actually biracial to challenge their
preconceptions about how much one’s race actually reflects one’s character.
 |
| Alien, a single South African mother, raising a multi-racial family. |
2. Across all races,
gender
roles are male-centered and male-dominated.
During apartheid, women were traditionally held as inferior
to men; these ideas stemmed from traditional African beliefs as well as
misreading of the Bible. A recent church
bulletin (in a mostly Indian church) stated, “Feminism is dead wrong!” Even though many women in SA work full-time and
more are getting university educations, it is still commonly women’s
responsibility to do all of the domestic work.
If both spouses work, the women still act as primary caretakers of the
children, and do all of the cooking and cleaning while husbands sit at the
table and wait to be served. People are
shocked when we tell them that our fathers can cook for themselves, and well. They are even more shocked to learn that
Akbar’s father lives on his own and does not need a ‘helper’ (i.e. maid), to
cook and clean for him. ‘How can a man
ever survive without a woman?’ is their unspoken question.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_South_Africa)
 |
| Tai Long, 1 month old, growing up on the rough streets. |
3. Homophobia is
rampant and often leads to violent crimes.
Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican
Archbishop of Cape Town
and Nobel Peace Price winner, has said that homophobia
is "every bit [as] unjust" as apartheid. Since SA’s post-apartheid constitution
outlawed discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and legalized same
sex marriage, the only African country to do so, SA has advertised itself to
homosexual tourists as a “gay-friendly” nation.
Nevertheless, hate crimes are common and human rights organizations have
criticized how the SA police and government handle these crimes. Gay women in particular are frequently
victims of beatings, rape, and murder. In
some cases, male perpetrators claim that rape will “cure” the woman of her
sexual orientation. In a country where
most people come from a faith background, they somehow have forgotten that God
loves everyone and calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves.
(http://www.afrol.com/articles/13584
& http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_South_Africa
4. The ‘meat and potatoes’ diet
is alive and well.
Despite decades of research proving that a high fat, high
carbohydrate diet and large portions lead to heart disease, diabetes, and
premature death, people of all races here continue to indulge in generous
portions of white bread, potatoes, sodas, red meat, and sugary desserts. To justify their ‘carpe diem’ attitude, they
blame poor genes as the cause of their central obesity, clogged arteries, and
early-onset diabetes. As an American, I
did not think I could be impressed by another country’s obesity or ridiculous
eating habits; South Africa
has proved me wrong. South Africans die
of heart disease and uncontrolled diabetes as early as their 30’s – especially
those of Indian descent. It is actually
quite unique and sad for a country to be plagued by both developing world
illnesses, such as malnutrition, HIV and TB, and developed world illnesses,
such as diabetes, heart attacks and strokes.
 |
| Pumpkin, 1 month old, hiding from the smoke and pollution. |
5.
Smoking is common and
accepted.
Many people smoke on a daily basis as if the link between
smoking and cancer has not yet been discovered.
We frequently find ourselves sitting and chatting in a group, even with
doctors, where we are the only non-smokers.
Unlike the US,
there is no shame in smoking around non-smokers, whether they are babies,
patients, or pregnant women. (Or sometimes the pregnant woman is also the smoker.) Although
smoking is not permitted in restaurants or hospitals, the rule is not
enforced. Nevertheless, restrictions on
smoking areas and advertising, have decreased overall smoking. In 2000, 43.8% of men in SA smoked, down from
51.4% in 1993. Progress is further
evident in the 40% decline in cigarette consumption between 1990 and 1999. SA has made smoking its 2nd health
priority after HIV. One man we met
always complains that his wife and children are such horrible asthmatics,
needing to carry their inhalers all the time, yet he smokes over a pack a day
and refuses to recognize that he may be exacerbating their symptoms. Another man who was recently diagnosed with
TB, for the 2nd time, reports that smoking helps his chest feel less
tight. I often wonder what health
consequences we may have after a year of regularly inhaling second hand smoke
(and the sulfurous gases from the oil refinery half a mile down the road).
(http://archive.idrc.ca/ritc/sarelease3.pdf
& http://www.cansa.org)
Obviously, these problems exist in other countries as well
as SA.
However, they are pervasive here
to a degree that, despite its relative wealth and political stability, the
country’s development is adversely affected by them.
On paper, SA’s goals are that of a
progressive, forward thinking 21
st century nation that has far
outpaced its African neighbors.
The
attitudes of average citizens, the daily lives of those struggling in poverty,
and the health outcomes and social indicators data tell a different story.
 |
| Samson, a fatherless South African child found on our doorstep. |
South African Fact:
There is a national campaign to circumcise males between 15 to 49 years
old in an effort to decrease the transmission rate of HIV.
Our hospital has an entire ward dedicated to
adult circumcision and, surprisingly, men line up there daily, waiting to be
circumcised.
The new interns are
expected to perform 100 circumcisions each before the end of their 2 year
internship. (I suggested that we give vasectomies at the same time; far too
many fatherless children are raised in poverty by their grandmothers, or are
abandoned to the streets.)
 |
| Circumcision campaign poster in hospital hallway. |
