Two Worlds

In the people of South Africans fit into three different categories of races, mainly "Whites," "Blacks," Coloured," (comprising mostly of Indians and Malays). When I first read about this, when I did my research on AIDS back in Carleton, I had thought that the terms are very racially charged. But after being here for 3 weeks, it seems like it is just a way of classification, just like there are Chinese, Malays and Indians in Singapore. A comedian at the Funny Festival I went to mentioned that the term "mixed blood" is even more offensive than the terms "blacks" or "coloured" here.

But the onset of apartheid law which started in the 1948 have polarised these racial distinctions within S.A. to socio-economic status of these groups of people. (If you want to know more, the autobiography of Nelson Mendela seems to be a good read.)

I talked to a few locals here and it seems like it has been changing, with the Constituion that requires that all these groups are employed in a certain proportaion (including disabled people) in any business or company. This is only on paper, and as with any policy changes, it would take time, and much effort to ensure that what is written on paper is practiced.

Even then, social mobility for the lower income groups seem to be difficult. I have also witnessed that certain places are patronized by only the whites, while some schools are predominantly black. One incident when I realised this is when my colleague, Angie and I boared the third class train cabin (yes, the subway/trains here are categorised into first class, second class and third class) and met with stares of people, mostly blacks.

Another incident was when I had lunch at a restaurant by the beach on 4th July. This is what I saw:



Two Worlds:
The girl was playing in the playground while the "black" boys watch over the fence. I have to admit I editted the photo to be a little more dramatic, and this racial and socio-economic distinction is not always present in South Africa. There are many "blacks" who live in my apartment, which is a very high-end accomodation in Cape Town by the local standards.

I am not sure if I am viewing this wealth divisions along the lines of pre-determined racial groups, but I can't help but notice.