JNB … the worst airport in the world! Part I

Last year, I visited South Africa for my first time … actually that was my first visit to the continent of Africa.  The purpose for my trip was to present a paper about the integration of culture into United States medical schools.  So, the presentation was my primary reason for going to Johannesburg or Jo’burg as the citizens call it.  Besides I had talked extensively with a South African who said there was not much reason to go there.   She was right, except she didn’t tell me how terrible the airport is!

Our first experience, we fly from Livingstone, Zambia to Jo’burg on South African Airlines [great airline by the way].  Our first signs of trouble started with customs … we were coming from Zambia.  Remember, English is the common language spoken in South Africa, but we couldn’t tell from the airport employees, who seemed quite irritated that there were all these people in the airport.  And, yes they did speak English.  Okay, maybe this was just an example of lazy employees.  Practice your maze skills before you go … you will need them if you want to exit the airport.  Even as a native English speaker, this is something is I should have done given the poor signage. 

So, we finally think that we make it were we need to go and we had, but where are all the taxis … “oh, they can’t come to that part of the airport, you have to use a shuttle and the last one is about to leave,” is what we are told.  We honestly did not see any taxis either.  So, we have to pay this employee and he gives us a receipt to give to the driver.  I thinking, is this a con job, is this guy just taking my money and not going to take me anywhere?  A little confusing, no?  The ride was not inexpensive either.  Well, this is apparently how you get to your destination from Jo’burg International (JNB), since we presented the specific driver we were told to wait for with the receipt and he took us to our destination.

Trying to depart from the airport is even worst!

When animals attack … no!

While on holiday in Cape Town, South Africa, we had a “when animals attack” experience … almost like the ones that you see on the television show, ”When animals attack.”  I have to confess that I have never seen the show except for the promotions, but in retrospect, I can laugh about our almost-animal-attack.

We were on a tour, or should I say adventure, around the Cape.  As citizens of the United States, we had never seen baboons in the wild.  Our first siting was on our way to the Cape of Good Hope. 
We thought, how cool.  Our tour operator, Hendrien, warned up that these “cute” animals are animals and can be quite vicious.  So, she gave up some tips about what to do if a baboon approaches up.

1. don’t run, stand still.
2. show the baboons your palm, not fist, or threatening.
3. don’t look the animal in the eye.
4. look slightly away.

  We learned that human expansion, much like what is occurring in parts of the United States, is encroaching upon their territory.  Frequently, these baboons are attracted to food and will fight for it.

So, as we are walking to the parking lot for the lighthouse, a baboon, seemingly from no where, starting running toward us.  Remembering Hendrien’s advice, I remain still, show my palms, and look away.  To my surprise the baboon stops! 

So, the moral of the story, animals attack when human encroach.

Contradictions, Conflict, and the Legacy of Apartheid — Cape Town, South Africa

Visiting Cape Town, South Africa was one of the most conflicted trips I have taken to date. The country is beautiful, has a thriving wine industry, has a diverse mix of cultures and ethnicities, and is one of the more stable countries on the continent. However, the entire time that I spent in the country, I could not help but notice the legacy of apartheid and what I perceived as troubling policies of the ANC, the governing party, which became the governing party in 1994 when Nelson Mandela won the presidency, finally ending the practice of apartheid.

I think that it would be hard to find anyone who does not acknowledge that apartheid was socially brutal, if not physically so. Before we traveled to South Africa, I wondered how we would be treated as African-Americans (blacks) from the United States. I didn’t think that we would be treated poorly or thrown in jail or experience racial slurs. I was interested in the non-verbal clues and there were non-verbal clues … except they were mostly from the black South Africans. Now, I am not trying to be grossly anti-politically correct when I say black South Africans, but the first thing that we learned was that South Africans consider the country as being comprised of three major groups: blacks (members of indigenous tribes), coloreds (multi-racial and ethnic groups, as well as Indians), and whites.

The whites were overall the friendliest group with whom we interacted. The coloreds were moderately pleasant; however, the blacks were not friendly and often did not even acknowledge our presence. This was the experience across all encounters, whether we were on an organized tour, shopping, or taking one of our few and limited walks. I understand that South Africa has a complex history of race relations and we were probably clearly identifiable as not being South African blacks by our dress and clearly by our accent [I'm from Georgia (United States) and I sound like it].

While we were in Cape Town, we had a wonderful guide, Hendrien, whom we enjoyed talking to very much and became comfortable talking candidly about apartheid and ANC policies. The way that I would describe our conversations with white South Africans is that they allowed themselves to be blind to the horrors of apartheid, and they largely credit Nelson Mandela with shepherding a smooth transition from apartheid to a democracy.

The consistent criticism of the current ANC government is that they have abandoned path Mandela laid by instituting an open immigration policy [perhaps, in the hopes of maintaining a permanent majority] and implementing a quota system for employment and resources.

1. The immigration policy is stressing the country’s infrastructure and purse, because many of the immigrants are unskilled and become a surplus in the labor market.  Because there are no jobs for these immigrants, they become dependent on the government and contribute to the spread of “informal settlements,” temporary houses or more appropriate, shacks.  Additionally, this creates a public health problem as well, because these “informal settlements” often do not have running water or bathrooms and become sanitation nightmares.
2. The quota system may have more of a negative impact than the open immigration policy where businesses are required to hire a “representative” number of blacks, coloreds, and whites.  The impact is quad-fold:  unqualified people are hired (sure, this happened under apartheid, but the question is magnitude); quotas create a sense of entitlement (I deserve this job); qualified whites are leaving the country in mass, since they represent the smallest group and subsequently receive the least number of jobs; the practice also raises the question of fairness and retribution.

Some whites feel that the ANC has abandoned Mandela’s Truth and Reconciliation where you remember and acknowledge your sins and crimes, but move forward toward unity.

While I did not see any obvious racial tension, I sensed that the country is at a crossroad where it will become mired in conflict and decline or it will focus on unity while remedying the legacy of apartheid through education and economic opportunity.  Undoing the damage of apartheid where black self worth was significantly damaged will take time and can not be repaired overnight or necessarily in a decade.

Take a look at my Cape Town photographs.

Staying in the bush … a Zambian experience

We visited Livingstone, Zambia June 2007 and had a little concern about where we would be staying.  Making lodging reservations for Zambia is different from our experiences in the United States Europe, South America, and other places.  I must admit that I am addicted to Expedia and to a lesser extent Travelocity.  To my dismay and chagrin, I could not find any lodging to reserve online …  I like to use credit cards, because it’s easier to get refunded, if you are scammed.  [This is another blog.]  To make a long story short, I finally found a lodge on a tourism site that I sort of trusted and took a chance on Taita Falcon Lodge.  The Lodge had a website (which doesn’t mean anything) and I couldn’t find any blogs criticizing the Lodge (which doesn’t mean anything either).  After I wired a lot of money to the Lodge (their form of payment), I fretted for several months hoping that everything would be fine, including staying somewhere nice while staying in the bush. 

Staying in the bush was one of the highlights of the trip.  While I say we were in the bush and we were, the accommodations were quite nice and modern … toilet, shower, running water, comfortable netted bed, sitting area.  We were also at one of gorges where we could hear the rushing Zambezi River.  To get to the Lodge, we had to drive through a real African village, which we visited and purchased a couple of craft items.  This was awesome!

More about the Lodge later …