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Trip to South Africa Stirs CCA Instructor’s Soul

Contributed by: Tracy Williams on 8/7/2007

Written by Jerry Roys, CCA Freelance Writer

(Aurora, CO) -- CCA's Public Service Program Coordinator and Instructor Margaret Ann Uchner had a life-changing experience while visiting South Africa in June. She, along with 17 other college professors and instructors from around the United States, attended an international faculty seminar on building a multiracial, multicultural society in South Africa.

Uchner attended lectures on subjects such as education, literature, South Africa's new constitution, human rights violations, the labor movement, and HIV/AIDS. She also toured areas around Cape Town, Pretoria and Johannesburg.

"It has taken awhile to talk about it. I'm still processing the experience," Uchner said. "It rocked my world. Changed my world."

One experience that altered Uchner's world in particular was her visit to South Africa's "shanty towns." The overwhelming poverty that exists in these areas astonished her.

With a 40 percent unemployment rate, many people of color live in these settlements, most of them displaced from their homes during apartheid. Their houses are nothing more than shacks made from whatever materials they could get their hands on. Many homes have no running water, so residents use communal toilets and water taps.

The government is now trying to deal with reparations to these displaced citizens. It is one of the many problems to resolve from the apartheid period.

"I knew poverty was there," Uchner said, "but to actually see how they live was shocking to me."

Uchner did find it heartening to see that even though the residents are poor and live in squalor, their homes are clean and they have a gift of helping, caring, sharing with and accepting one another.

Uchner's activities there also included a look at some of the more beautiful areas of South Africa including Table Mountain in Cape Town, the Cape of Good Hope (where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet), Boulders' renown penguin colony, the colorful buildings of Bo-Kaap, some South African restaurants and, along the way, a few "wild animals" including baboons, giraffes, lions and zebras.

One of her favorite experiences was having dinner with a host family in Ocean View where she shared a home-cooked meal with a family that had been forced from Simon's Town during apartheid.

"They were very warm and welcoming," said Uchner, who was touched by their gesture of hospitality.

As part of the educational aspect of her trip, Uchner visited the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg and learned of the human rights violations the South African apartheid government imposed on its black and colored (South Africa's term for mixed race) citizens.

In 1976, hundreds of black school children who were holding a peaceful protest march were slaughtered. The Hector Pieterson Memorial was built to honor those children. Pieterson, a 13-year-old student, was the first child killed by the South African police. The media images of this event caused an increase in international attention and disgust for apartheid.

Uchner's tour guide, a former political prisoner, took Uchner to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for his political activities during apartheid. Her tour guide had been a political prisoner with Mandela. Even in the prison system apartheid was present. The color of the prisoner determined his/her treatment. She said Mandela, upon his release, asked blacks to forgive and not hate, as this would be the only way South Africa would move ahead and heal.

Uchner said in the fourteen years since apartheid ended, South African blacks and coloreds are still feeling its effects. Though blacks and coloreds are receiving more education, it is still insufficient. Although South Africa has a Black Economic Empowerment program, similar to affirmative action, it is a slow process. The key for South Africans moving ahead is educating their youth and improving skill development.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is also a huge problem in South Africa. There are those, including government officials, who believe the disease is caused by poor nutrition, not the virus. Other misconceptions include the belief that HIV/AIDS can be cured; that it cannot be contracted through sex; and (most unusual) is that "sleeping" with a virgin is a cure. Programs exist to provide education for all and treatment to those who are infected.

Uchner's experience in South Africa moved her and has given her a passion to share what she witnessed and examine the parallels in U.S. and South African histories with students and the community.

She emphasized, however, that teaching students the historical facts about South Africa and human rights violations under apartheid is the easy part.

"I want people to know that the globalization of our community can only occur when people with differences are able to first recognize and communicate about their similarities," she said. "It is difficult to move on productively without this type of communication."




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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Tracy Williams

Aurora , CO

Tracy Williams has posted 327 stories and 0 comments since joining on 1/2/2007. Tracy Williams 's average story rating is 5.
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