Johannesburg impressions

As I pulled into Joburg, my first thought was: This is LA. Nobody walks in LA... or Joburg. It is a city dominated by cars. The hectic and busy central downtown area of the city is surrounded with hilly suburbs of wide, tree-lined streets. Like LA, in order to travel through the city in comfort, you need a car and a map that will help you navigate the network of freeways and six lane streets. Unless you are me, of course. I don't have a car, but I have spent the last two weeks mentally mapping the routes of the hundreds of trusty minibuses. I wish they had minibuses in LA! At least through these buses, I can still cling to a semblance of familiarity with the Africa I have left behind.

Another comparison with LA (although it is much more disconcerting in Joburg): segregation. I have gotten some strange looks as I board these tro tros (shared minibuses). I get the feeling like this is a color thing. In all places except Southern Africa, I have been welcomed into these transporting machines with smiles and curiosity. Here, things are a little different. In my first two weeks in Joburg, I have never seen another white person board these buses (except for Andrew, the Greenpeace activist who came to visit me over Easter). On board these buses, one can often witness an interesting social experiment which highlights how people mediate conflict. One person sometimes doesn't pay the fare and the whole bus erupts into a swarm of accusations in Zulu.

During most days, I go from the wealthy suburb that I am staying in by minibus to visit the city center. Mostly this is because Internet and everything else is far cheaper in town. Compare 5 rand an hour to 60 rand an hour. Through this commute, I have come to understand the not so subtle reasons for a government initiative called Black Economic Empowerment. If the discrepancy in prices varies this much with all goods and services between black and white neighborhoods, there is a huge inequality present here. Recognizing this, the government has taken bold steps to require businesses and government sectors to equalize race ratios. Black Economic Empowerment is a program designed to level the playing field, fast. But for right now, it is happening too quickly for comfort and is causing a lot of disorientation.

Where do I fit in? I am not so economically empowered at this point. The campaign is quickly running out of money. For the time being, I belong to the less empowered population here in Joburg. But, I am one of the only whites I have seen in this category. Despite the robbery, I like walking around "town" or central Joburg. I am way too fascinated to stay away and fear the place. It is a city unlike any other I have seen. Hawkers and food sellers line the sidewalks, selling goods at bargain prices chanting tenrandtenrandtenrand. Yet, these distinctly African market sellers are nestled in between a grid of gray skyscrapers that house offices and stores. Two blocks down (beyond an invisible boundary that keeps these sellers out: South of Market Street and West of Harrison), is the headquarters of a continent-wide bank. I inquire from a young white office worker how to find an Internet cafe in town. He replies: "I don't know this area at all, I only come here to work and then I go straight home." Hmmm. It seems people are scared, which I understand from the experience of the knife in my throat.

Third comparison point: commercialism. Luxury cars, shopping malls, mansions with electric fences protecting all of the stuff people buy, bars with strict dress codes with names like fashionbar that hire extremely nice people to turn you away, cocktail happy hour, bed and breakfasts, vacations to Durban and Cape Town, shall I go on? This only highlights existing inequalities.

The pace in Joburg is overwhelming. And things are changing, with an unreal pace. South Africa is moving from a time of insecurity to one of prosperity and economic strength. I spoke with a white South African man today whose wife had recently been murdered. He described South Africa in the following way: "It's like Alice in Wonderland." South Africa and its epicenter, Joburg are such a strange and psychedelic mix of poverty and wealth, morality and depravity, black and white, that to begin to understand all the undercurrents will only get you drowned. A survival mechanism could be to know that "everything is changing" and that you should look out for the wormholes. The last ten years since the end of apartheid have forever altered the priorities, goals and hopes of the nation. People are trying to figure out if they should join the tea party and where they should sit.

I am up for the challenge of Joburg because anyone can recognize that this is an exciting place filled with promise. Most multinational companies operating in Africa have headquarters here. Businesses can rely on a rule of law (and a court system) that is unparalleled in Africa. Furthermore, I like Alice in Wonderland and the hallucinogenic way that time and space collide.

Fundraising challenges

Piggybacking on Nate's last blog: We are almost out of money. But don't lose all hope yet. I have been working on getting us sponsors every day. I don't have a computer, I can barely afford a phone but I am doing my best. As every professional fundraiser knows, finding money is not an overnight effort. It is about building relationships. Realistically, I don't want the boys to rely on the fact that I can secure enough funds ($15,000) in the next two or three weeks to complete the trip. Joburg is not like West and Central Africa, where you can waltz into a board room without an appointment. But I have a strategy and it will take some time to execute it. I have been chatting with various people, making calls incessantly and speaking with a few key people to build relationships. Hopefully, we can get sponsorship through these efforts. Hang in there!
* posted by Tuuli at 4:16 AM