Four Men

Internet access has been slow, my blogging entries will be back-dated. Most importantly will be for me to write about the observances I have made about the women I have met and seen in action.

It is week two. Week one was filled with observation; I was breathing in the culture, society, politics, gender relations, etc. Week two has been a period of reflection; this nation has embraced our travels in a warm, in-depth and accepting manner. In such a short period, I have not been able to get my head around South Africa's societal state since apartheid. Apartheid is such a significant, omnipresent part of everything I have witnessed. I have not been able to formulate my own perspective on equality concerning gender or race. What I have been able to understand clearly is economic disparity as a polarizing force.

Four men have crossed my path from the various meetings we have held. Usually we are meeting with women who are on the ground working to fight AIDS, poverty, HIV infection, social problems such as domestic violence and access to food. Conversations with men are more rare. So, though I have not yet decided my own perspective on race and gender in South Africa, I am able to point to a dichotomy that I have heard from the voices of four men.

I met two white men on two different business occasions. I met two black men on two different business occasions. In South Africa, it is appropriate to identify people as white, black or colored, thus the reference to the race of the men above. On discussing South African progress and change, the two white men told me that South Africa is getting worse, that safety, poverty, infrastructure, and the economy are worsening every day. Conversely, two black men told me that South Africa is getting better. One referred to a suburb of Johannesburg, Soweto, and stated with hope that there has been so much improvement since 1994. The dichotomy involves the government, the economy and public health and welfare.

The truth is that both points are equally valid. This is a country in the midst of power shift, a new democracy, and a battle field for HIV/AIDS. Though I have not yet conceived of how I truly perceive this nation, I do see hope and good as well as struggle and challenge. I also see women who are deeply connected to their communities and working tirelessly for the welfare, equality and improved public health of this country. The women have not openly stated whether things are getting better or worse, they are entrenched in the work to save the country.

There have been men that we have seen who are also working for the public good, and are supporting and encouraging the type of work that needs to be done to pull this country out of its problems. But from my observance, mainly women are on the ground from doctors and nurses to community care workers, teachers and lawyers. Women are taking the lead with the situation they have inherited and doing the best they can without disclosing their perspectives of the direction ahead. Rather than debating the dichotomy, they are in action, hands joined, mobilizing to transform what this country faces.