I was in South Africa shortly after Nelson Mandela passed away, I have to say, his passing in Botswana went without fanfare. It was on the news, however, in my observation people weren’t affected by it. Batswana would say things to the effect of “he was a good man” “a hard worker” etc etc. South Africa was a different story. Everywhere you looked there was a memorial of some sort. Here are some photos from Cape Town.
Being a white female in Botswana comes with an interesting set of privileges. Often, I find they are uncomfortable privileges. Botswana is a largely black country, whites are in Maun and Gaborone. In rural Botswana where I live, being white is a “novelty” there is a common thought that all white people are amazing at everything. Its uncomfortable. Traveling in South Africa….was interesting. I think that many Americans are overly sensitive to racal issues. White guilt? I am not sure…
As a white American watching interactions between whites and blacks in South Africa (and even in places in Botswana) is frankly uncomfortable. The slums outside Cape Town are literally fenced off. I saw an advertisement to “visit the other South Africa” which was a slum. Because you should take a slum tour? Like people who are forced to live in substandard abject poverty are animals in the zoo?
I don’t mean to diminish the racial divide that is in America either…however I have never been so aware of my whiteness before. Perhaps I was just living in an mainly ignorant filled bubble in America. Or a bubble filled with little to no diversity...
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