Xenophobic Violence - Hate Making Headlines in SA

Between election season, Ashley Simpson's wedding, and a story about an Oreo Cookie truck overturning in Oregon, there isn't much space left in the US news media for international news. And given the recent devastating natural disasters and the further unfolding humanitarian catastrophes in southeast Asia, I was surprised when South Africa was once again in the headlines on cnn.com and the BBC World News for all the wrong reasons. For those of you unaware, South Africa, notably Johannesburg, has been hit be very serious, very violent mob attacks against foreigners over the last week. My purpose with this rather somber blog, therefore, is to first offer an on-the-ground account of what's going on and, most importantly assure you of our safety, and, second, to offer my usual unsolicited opinion on the matter.

First and foremost: Jeremy and I are fine, but aware. The violence is generally confined to the townships and the scary parts of the Jo'burg CBD that we probably wouldn't visit anyway. The perpetrators of the horrific attacks are mobs of poor South African blacks taking out their anger over the government's apparent inability to lift them out of poverty on other (similarly poor) foreign nationals, mostly from Zimbabwe. While we are fortunately not confronted directly with the violence, it has touched us indirectly. Some of you know that I have been teaching physics in Alexandra, a township east of Jo'burg and the ignition point of the violence last week. In light of concerns for our safety and that of our students, we canceled classes this week and are looking into options for bringing the kids to our office this coming week as it will likely still be unsafe to be there. My Zimbabwean colleague is understandably especially concerned. One of the support staff in Jeremy's office, a South African, had her house (a generous term) in Alexandra township looted and burned...the mob even stole her cooking pot. We of course continue to take our usual precautions and certainly we take the situation very seriously, but do assure our friends and family that we aren't in any immediate danger and of course promise, promise, promise, that if we were we'd get the hell out of here immediately.

Second...why in the world is this happening? My simple one-word answer: poverty. Once again, I believe we are witnessing the violent manifestation of poverty. Poverty is more than sad pictures of kids with swollen bellies and appeals by rock stars. It is angry, violent, it burns people alive and steals a cooking pot. It is a savage mob, embodying all that is bad and evil in this world. It is people with nothing to loose loosing their dignity and right to exist as human beings.

30 percent of the South African population is unemployed, uneducated, angry, and has nothing to loose. We have between 3 and 5 million foreign nationals, and the large majority of these are from Zimbabwean. The Zimbabwean immigrants are largely illegal and are easy targets for whites and blacks who want to complain about the crime in South Africa. For the two of you out there who don't know, Zimbabwe is in a state of economic chaos, with inflation at 160,000 percent and 80 percent unemployment. The ruling party's (Zanu-PF) refusal to release the results of national elections for over a month before declaring a runoff was shocking at best and insidious at worst. Thabo Mbeki, president of South Africa (who happens to be Robert Mugabe's brother in law) insisted that "There was no crisis" and refused to overtly pressure Zanu-PF to release the results. Needless to say, most of the Zimbabwean immigrants fleeing for South Africa are poor and also have very little to loose. I read an editorial in the paper last week criticising the South African government for not putting more pressure on Zimbabwe not out of concern for the principles of democracy, but because of the additional pressure the immigrants put on the economy for jobs and services. Apparently, if even one third of the Zimbabwean immigrants went back home, South Africa's unemployment would drop by double digits. This may be true and I believe that stable neighbors would make for a stable South Africa. But still, the angry mobs are using the foreign immigrants as the archetypal scapegoats that humans have relied upon since time immemorial as an excuse for our inability, unwillingness, or simple failure to solve our problems. Frequently, that problem is poverty.

When it took power in the early 1990s, the ANC pledged to build millions of homes, bring clean water and sanitation services to the poor, and to begin righting the wrongs of apartheid. Certainly there have been improvements, but there is a long, long, long way to go. There are a few blacks who have become very rich off of the government's Black Economic Empowerment policy, but still only a quarter of all black South Africans have received a high school education and the median annual income among working-aged black males is less than $2000 USD. To make matters worse, immigrants from Zimbabwe and further afield in Africa arrive in South Africa willing to work for even less than that as domestics and security guards. Imagine the despair when you loose your $2000 a year job that does not even feed your family to begin with to a foreigner who will work for $1000 a year because his family is starving in Zimbabwe and he will go without food himself just to send a little bit of money back home. We have poverty here in South Africa and poverty abroad moving to South Africa, a lethal combination and a sad one at that.

There is an interesting twist to this wave of violence against South Africa. In the struggle against apartheid in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, neighboring southern African countries provided refuge to ANC leaders in exile as well as guerrillas training for forced resistance to the oppressive regime of the National Party. Oliver Tambo and President Mbeki are some notable South African freedom fighters who spent significant amounts of time in exile. Now South Africa has to bear the burden of the brutality of the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe in the form of exiles and illegal immigrants and many would say that South Africa has hardly risen to the occasion. This irony has not been lost on scores of columnists and op-ed writers.

We have only 2 more years until the Rainbow Nation that Mandela promised the world hosts the world for arguably the greatest sporting tournament in the world. Right now we are dreadfully off course. I actually for once give credit to Jacob Zuma, current head of the ANC, for doing more than issuing a bland statement "condemning the attacks." But we need more than statements. We need police officers to stop the stake outs against people using their mobile phones while driving and start restoring order in the townships and CBD. And the ANC needs to have the courage and humility to stop looking after just a few cronies and start addressing the real scapegoat here: poverty.

Learning Manners and Nearly Drowning in Uganda

Last week we were lucky enough to have two public holidays...even luckier when our good president, Thabo Mbeki, declared an additional third public holiday. It seems that the Day of Goodwill, March 21, fell on the same day as Good Friday this year and, as a result, hard working South Africans missed out on one of their holidays. And so people complained all the way up the food chain. Now, the Rand is struggling against the dollar, the economy is having a tough time because of the power outages (commodoties are holding South Africa together, check out the price of gold), crime is pretty high...so, what would make everyone feel better? Another day off work! Unlike the U.S., public holidays are not optional here...so our employers had no choice but to quickly add in another day of overhead for everyone. I can't exactly say we were unhappy about this development.

Jeremy and I took SAA flight 161 4 hours north to the equator and the shores of Lake Victoria...Uganda! It just so happened that Jeremy ended up with some work to do (inspecting a rice paddy) one day so we decided to make a holiday of it. Entebe Airport is right on the shore of Lake Victoria...and the runway actually crosses the equator. Being a geography buff, Jeremy was in heaven.

We stayed three nights in Kampala and even managed to get in 18 holes at the Uganda Golf Club. Much to Jeremy's dismay, playing at the equator did not correct his slice.

Kampala is a really neat town...just big enough so an expat can enjoy some creature comforts, but small enough to make moped taxis and efficient way to get from one end of the city to the other. It was also really nice to have the opportunity to walk around at night with out fear of crime...I forgot how much we missed that in Jo'burg. Maybe we should move there next...

On Tuesday morning we were scheduled to be picked up at a shopping mall and be transported from Kampala to Jinja, about an hour and a half east of Kampala along the shore of the lake. This is where the lesson in manners and just being a good person comes in. Being a plan-ahead sort of woman, I took the opportunity to find a toilet before embarking on the journey. Seeing a sign marked, "toilets," I marched off and, in doing so, walked straight passed the janitor, an older woman, who was sweeping the side walk. To my dismay, the door to the public toilets was locked and so I turned around and went back to the janitor to ask if she'd be so kind as to unlock the door for me. Before I could get my request out, she interupted, saying, "you just walked straight passed me and you didn't even greet me or say good morning. But now, now you need my help and only now are you paying attention to me." To say that her comment stopped me dead in my tracks is an understatement. As I pulled my jaw off the floor and tried to get my face to stop turning red, I did my best to apologize. I haven't felt so humbled ever, I don't think. Interestingly enough, she didn't hold a grudge. She said that, yes, the toilets were still closed but, "you cannot help nature so I will unlock them for you." She even walked in with me to make sure there was toilet paper. So a lesson in humilty and forgiveness, and all before 7:30 in the morning. Darned if God doesn't pick unlikely places and people to deliver some very important messages.

Meanwhile, we arrived in Jinja...the new extreme sports capital of Uganda. I didn't know they had an old one, but there you are. We stayed at the Nile River Explorer Backpackers...if nothing else to remind ourselves that, yes, we are softer than we used to be and we really are getting older. But, for $11/night, it's hard to argue. The backpacker's served a good breakfast, played the important English Premier league games, and had a cool bar complete with a picture of Idi Amin (someone's idea of a joke?).

We went mtn biking, as usual with our bike rides we were the tourist attraction. The kids in the villages we passed through made a game of trying to keep up with us, running surprisingly fast in bare feet. They were so cute and happy that you could almost ignore the swollen bellies, the telling sign of malnutrition.

The following day we played some more golf, undoubtedly the most painful 9 holes Jeremy has played in a while. Fortunately the evening G&T canoe/float trip through Lake Victoria and the source of the Nile provided an opportunity for him to forget about it. We did exactly 10 minutes of paddling and then our guide happily announced that the bar was open...pulling out on of those big orange Gator-Aid cooler things...filled with G&Ts. Our travelling companions were two Americans, one who works for the UN World Food Programme in the Sudan and another who works for a non-profit that aims to lend focus to the plight of women in war-torn countries. Suddenly Jeremy and I didn't feel so noble in our career choices. After a couple G&Ts, we did manage to convince Brian, the UN WFP worker, that he should come rafting with us the next day...he might still be bitter about that.

The Nile...it is 6700 km long (longest in the world) has an average monthly flow at our put-in site (just below Lake Vic) of 2.25 billion cubic meters per month. That's a lot of water. I've done a lot of rafting in Colorado and West Virginia....and never have I exited the raft involuntarily so many times. At the safety briefing at the outset our guide aquainted us with the "get down" command...where you stop paddling, squat in the raft, and hang on until your knuckles turn white. They don't have the get down command on the Arkansas River. Pictured are the Bujagali falls. Again, the tourists are the attraction...a bunch of school children were on a field trip to look at the falls and watch the rafters go swimming. The sign should have warned us away. I wonder who the Bujagali Falls Management is?

We hit 12 rapids, half of which were class 5. We portaged half of the last rapid...it was a class 6. We put in for the class 5 portion at the bottom. A "gentle" set of rapids called "The Bad Place." Just as an aside, when it comes to rapids (as opposed to ski slopes), their names really do have meaning...it's not just to scare tourists. As we entered The Bad Place, our guide gave us the "get down" command with a new twist. We were also to seriously THROW our paddles out of the boat. Reason being, so that when we were thrown out we'd be less likely to take a paddle to the face. Unfortunately I caught a paddle to the hip and have a bruise that looks like a Picasso painting. While I can't say that I truly feared for my life, I will say that running myself through the washing machine would have been more relaxing. The worst of it was the force of that much water ripping your shorts off! Clearly I wasn't drowning, because I did have the presence of mind to pull them back on. I am happy to report that I am recovering well from the whiplash and can't wait to go raft the Zambezi...

A Visit From the States Part 3: Serious Wildlife

The last weekend of my parents' visit we drove 4 hours north to Madikwe Game Reserve, located just south of the Botswana border. We found almost all the Big Five...unfortunately the leopard eluded us. We did, however, see a pack of 14 African Wild Dogs take down an Impala. Since the African Wild Dog is the second most endangered predator in Africa and seeing just one of the is special, this was once in a life time. Thanks to our fabulous guide JP!

For once I am going to keep my comments to a minimum...most of Jeremy's photographs really speak for themselves.

I am the king and you are not....

...and I have the teeth to prove it. (he was yawning, not attacking us)

the white rhino, much more common than the black rhino

African sunsets, there's nothing like them.

This owl was not amused in the slightest by Jeremy's flash.

Riddle me this: white with black stripes? Or black with white stripes?

Female spotted Hyena

...and her baby!

Female lion...

...and her baby.

Fully grown bull elephants eat 250 kg of food daily. Even Fuggles doesn't eat that much.

Hakuna Matata.......sing along kids!

African wild dogs hunting...

...successfully (yes, that's a rib cage).

A brown hyena has just arrived on the scene to try and get in on the feast...the dogs are on alert.

A Visit From the States Part 2: Cheetah Farming in the Free State

Let's be honest, most people come to sub-Saharan Africa in hopes of checking off the "Big Five." A good glass of wine in Cape Town is merely an added bonus. In case you're wondering, the Big Five is the term adopted by the Great White Hunters back in the day for the five supposedly most dangerous animals to hunt: elephants, lions, rhinos, cape buffalo, and leopard. My parents started at the Savannah Cheetah Foundation in the Free State, south of Jo'burg. It is an amazing facility dedicated to breeding and, hopefully in the near future, preparing cheetahs for re-introduction to the wild. Jeremy loves cheetahs because they are the athletes of the feline set...built for speed. Thanks to Pieter and his wife Estelle and their staff for all their work trying to fight for these animals. And thanks also to Pieter for being such a great host.

Cheetahs can go from 0 to 110 km/hr in 3 seconds. Try and do that in your BMW. Semi-retractable claws give them extra traction as they accelerate. They hunt largely alone and are much smaller than lions. As such, they are easily bullied off their prey and can be targetted by lions who want to rid their territory of competition.

Here I am getting a kiss from Nikita the Cheetah. About 5 minutes later I found out that not only am I allergic to horses, I am allergic to cheetahs as well. No pet cheetahs to keep Fuggles company.

Allergy or not, I really wanted to take this little one home.

Magnificent.

A Visit From the States

I am sure there was a pool going on some where back in the States as to how long it would be before my parents came to visit. The answer? Approximately 4.5 months. In the usual fashion, they didn't show up by themselves...they brought my Aunt Meg, my Aunt Claudia, Claudia's friend Tish who became my Honorary Aunt, and some friends. It was great to see them and to show them our new country. I can't say that my mom left any happier about us being so far away, but at least she saw where we live, that we're happy, and that South Africa is a really great country.

Any good trip to South Africa starts with wine tasting.

On to Cape Town for a scenic drive, and a visit to Africa's only colony of penguins.

It didn't take us long to realize that there is a not-so-friendly rivalry between Cape Town and Jo'burg. They have a mountain, we have 10 percent of the GDP of all of Africa. They have great white sharks, we have great white BMWs. We of course believe that Jo'burg is the best. But...don't tell anyone I said this....Cape Town is pretty damn spectacular.

"Jack Ass." No, I'm not expressing my views about the current administration in the U.S. These are Jack Ass penguins. And darn cute ones at that.

I hope I look this good at 60.

Climbing Table Mountain is a rite of passage...and worth the view. Okay, I admit we didn't climb it, we took the cable car. But we did hike around once we were up there. Table Mountain is actually a biosphere totally different than the land down below. Amazing.

Easter in Dubai

It just so happens that my amazingly brilliant cousin is currently studying abroad in Jordan this semester. And it just so happens that she turned 21 back in February. And what better way to celebrate a 21st birthday than to head to Dubai, one of the few places in the Muslim world where you can get an alcoholic beverage (sort of). We met up with Amy Kyleen in Dubai for a long Easter weekend. Of course the fact that we went to a Muslim country for Easter was terribly amusing to Jeremy. After picking Amy Kyleen up at the Dubai Youth Hostel and making a needed stop for chocolate eggs and potato chips, we headed east across the desert to Al Fujairah, a resort town on the Indian Ocean. I won't lie, we didn't do a heck of a lot beside sip brightly colored drinks and work on our tans...but I do have a few interesting pictures. We did visit the oldest mosque in the UAE, here on the left. We happened to arrive in time for the noon call to prayer and watched as several families of devout Muslims scurried in to pray. I am fascinated by Islam and would like to learn more, but, I must admit, the fact that non-Muslims are not allowed into places of worship makes it tough to try and learn more. I'm Catholic and our churches, for better or worse, are open to everyone, believers and agnostics alike. I am sure I am over-simplifying things...

The UAE is incredibly barren and inhospitable. Humans absolutely positively should not live there. I'll hold off on my rant on Dubai for another paragraph or so...BUT...some how I expected that at least this "resort town" of Al Fujairah would maybe be lush and green, some sort of oasis. It not. It's dusty, sunny, hot, dry, rocky, and, surprisingly, quite beautiful. If you are a camel or scorpion, this is exactly the place you should live.

I don't have anything profound to say about the pots, we just thought they were worth taking pictures of. Every roundabout in Al Fujairah had strange fountains in the center. Jeremy liked this one.

Okay, so now for my rant about Dubai. And, I promise, I'm not just bitter because I bought a brand new iPod Nano that turned out to be fake (okay, maybe that has something to do with it). I have never seen a place where humans are more hell-bent on forcing their environment to be something that it is not. Refer to my earlier comment. Humans should just not be existing in these numbers in Dubai. Perhaps it was fine when it was a few nomadic goat herders. But, I think one must seriously question the wisdom and sustainability of indoor ski slopes and green lawns in a place that make Las Vegas look tropical. I'm a civil engineer, my dad and sister are real estate developers. Believe me, I subscribe to the notion that if a little concrete is good more must be better. I can even (on a good day) justify the Three Gorges Dam in China. But Dubai left me speechless. Four lane streets that a pedestrian wouldn't dare cross. Medians that go on for literally miles. Everything that cities in the US and Europe have learned about modern urban planning seems to have been ignored in Dubai. My friend and urban planner Ken back in Denver would have a heart attack. Everything that, Denver at least, is NOT doing with respect to the revitalization of down town is being done in Dubai. Dubai is essentially one big middle finger pointed at mother nature. It's trite, but, as humans we have a tendency to assume that we can make nature be as we want it to be. Most of the time, we're right. But, once the oil is gone I have to seriously wonder whether or not Dubai will continue to be so brash.

"Under Construction"

Wine Tasting!

Finally a quick blog on a recent trip to Cape Town…and a few South African wineries! I know there’s at least one person out there who doesn’t really care to hear my diatribes on power issues and South African politics and would rather hear about South African wine. A business trip for Jeremy provided a much-needed opportunity to get out of the big city and spend a weekend in wine country. Unfortunately in our move we seem to have lost the cord that connects my camera to the computer, so I only have Jeremy’s pictures (which are more artsy than mine anyway). Jeremy and I, well, we are wino’s. No other way to put it. So there’s a fair amount of detail…

First, some general thoughts on South African wines. I would venture to say that South Africa’s flagship grapes are Pinotage (a cross between Pinot Noir and Hermitage) and Chenin Blanc. The Chenin Blancs are across the board drinkable, inexpensive, and fun. Unfortunately, the Pinotage is not so reliable. When it’s great, it’s velvet. When it’s bad, well the word band-aid comes to mind. Pinotage is a picky grape. At L’Avenier we learned that they ferment their Pinotage to avoid getting that horribly bitter taste, though if you don’t check it regularly that can also lead to a bacteria that causes a musty taste. Bordeaux-style blends (i.e., Cab/Merlot + others), are quite big here, which aren’t always my favorites. I tend to prefer Coté du Rhône-style blends (Shiraz/Grenache/Mourverdre). Lots of single-varietal Shiraz, not as many blends, though. Unlike other winerys we’ve been to in the States, tasting at all South African wineries is free and they are liberal with the pours…so one must be a little careful and you definitely need to hire a driver.

We stayed at a fabulous guesthouse in Stellenbosch run by a Swedish couple called The Beautiful South (http://www.thebeautifulsouth.de/English/index.htm) located right in the heart of Stellenbosch. Saturday morning we were up bright and early for a day of wine tasting. I am all set for tasting…guide book and bottle of water in hand. The first winery we went to was Tokara (www.tokara.com). A stunningly modern winery with sweeping views of the Simonsberg mountains. After a quick lecture from our guide, Annalee Stein, we sampled two of their sauvignon blancs (one from their coastal vineyards and one from their mountain vineyards). I found both of them to be a bit to mineral-y for my liking, though perhaps it was owing to the fact that it was before 10:00 in the morning. I did like their Chardonnay, however.

Our second winery was Rustenberg Wines (www.rustenberg.co.za). With 300 years of wine-making tradition, Rustenberg with its traditional architecture was quite the contrast to Tokara. They have three ranges of wines, Brampton (every day drinking) Rustenberg Regional (nicer) and Single Vineyard (nicest). In general, if you find anything by Rustenberg, buy it. Some standouts for me…the 2006 Brampton Mourvedre/Grenache, the 2001 John X Merriman (Bordeaux-style blend from the Regional Range), and the 2005 Five Soldiers Chardonnay (from the Single Vineyard Range). We also got the chance to sample their flagship, the 2004 Peter Barlow, made of 100 percent Cabernet from their Single Vineyard Range. Unfortunately, even a classy wine such as this couldn’t win me over as far as single-varietal Cabs go…that grape and I just aren’t good friends. One very cool thing we got to see at Rustenberg was the staff pressing this season’s Chardonnay grapes! In the picture below the grapes have just been through the pressing machine and the staff is shoveling the skins out of the big tray thing so they can do another load.

Next stop, L'Avenier where we were joined by Linda and Christian, on holiday from Sweden. Julian, pictured here, was a knowledgeable and attentive host and we hope he gets to go snowboarding in Colorado soon. I think as far as consistency across their entire range, L’Avenier won, hands down. We both liked everything we tried…Julian noted that the wine maker, a Frenchman named LaRoche was on a mission with their chenin blanc…he wants it to be “taken very seriously.” Chenin blanc is an outstanding grape and, outside of the Loire Valley, it is only grown in South Africa. But it can have a bit of a reputation as a “cheap and cheerful” porch pounder. L’Avenier’s 2006 chenin blanc was my favorite white wine of the day. It is crisp without being overly-biting, complex, great by itself or with food, aged in 5% French oak. No offence, Ken Forrester, but the L'Avenir Chenin Blanc leaves yours in the dust (not that I still don't have a case of Ken at home, however). I would love to try it alongside something from France. I also really liked their 2007 Rosé de Pinotage. Good nose, easy-drinking…happily it was also drier than I expected. The 2007 Sauvignon Blanc was smoother than that at Tokara, with nice notes of melon. The 2006 Chardonnay was lovely and far cry from some of the stereo-typical California Chard’s (i.e., Kendall Jackson) that many of us love to hate. Julian, if you’re reading this you’ll be pleased to know that our wine rack contains the L’Avenier Chenin Blanc, Rosé, and Pinotage. I don’t know how much and to where L’Avenier exports their wine, but if you can find it where ever you are, I highly recommend ANYTHING from their range. I think they are doing outstanding things with their wine.

Next stop, lunch….I’m going to skip the discussion of our visit to the Muratie Wine Estate because I didn’t actually taste any of the wines…I needed a break, so to speak. They have an excellent range of ports, however.

Last winery was Quoin Rock (www.quoinrock.com). I especially like the name because it reminds us of our friend Kristen Syverson’s husband, Quinn, who is in fact a rock star musician. We also got to see their cellar, which was really neat. Again, we tried their entire range (in case you’re wondering, wine tasting in South Africa takes serious stamina)…their 2005 Shiraz was the best single-varietal red that we tried all day and since we’ve been back in Jo’burg Jeremy and I have been through several bottles. We also liked their 2003 Cape Agulhas Chardonnay, which is aged 6 months in 70 percent French oak…an excellent example of how great wise use of oak can be. It brought out a nice subtle butterscotch without being a “butter bomb.” Quoin Rock also does a great vine-dried Sauvignon Blanc (dessert wine) that was a fabulous wine to end with. They actually go through the vineyard with pliers and pinch the stems so that water can’t get to the grapes and hence the sugars build up. Who knew?

This blog is already pretty long, so I’m just including some other cool pictures from our drive back to Cape Town for your viewing pleasure! If I figure out how to get my pictures off of my camera I'll post some more of Table Mountain and Cape Town.