As of tomorrow, the public workers' strike will have been in effect for 3 weeks. Three weeks without schools, with limited health care, limited services....
Today I saw a very interesting commentary by the editors of a popular Black newspaper, The Sowetan. I'd like to reprint it here.
"TEACH, DON'T CHEAT THE FUTURE"
"Few things are as infuriating as the sight of adults behaving like irrational delinquents. It is worse when teachers--those people who are supposed to shape our leaders of tomorrow--revel in such conduct. It is, in fact, tragic for our teachers have become a runaway train of destruction. When they are supposed to be teaching our children to live by the dictum of live and let live, they are practically telling them 'do as we do(strike in this case) or you are an enemy to be destroyed.' They have conveniently forgotten that we all have a right to say no to the strike. It is time for SADTU and COSATU to stop denying that some of their striking members are behaving like a pack of wild hounds. Many of us witnessed their members' wanton attacks on others, the tearing of a fence, trashing their surroundings and beating up teachers at a private school in Soweto. Shivering with fear, one teacher locked himself in a toilet as the mob ran amok. Such thuggery will remain an enternal blight on our democracy. We urge SADTU to join us in our call for a halt to the rampaging. SADTU and COSATU must also act now against such barbarism, lest their cause be riddled with the blood of innocents."
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
A Humble Request
The strike continues....
Things have intensified recently in South Africa, where COSATU and other prominent unions are engaged in action against the government. Striking workers are getting more and more worked up; incidents of violence are not uncommon anymore. People are being threatened by gun-wielding union-sponsored thugs at some places. What started off as legitimate demands from the unions (and still are, to some extent) has been overshadowed, in my mind at least, by what some union members have been doing. They give other union members a bad name.
Here is what I think about the strike.
The strike seems set to intensify. Currently, the government has raised its offer up from the initial 5.5% up to 7.25%. The union has also decreased from its initial stand of 12% down to 10%. But they seem locked at these figures, and so the alliance of unions has been reaching out to other labor unions across South Africa; if demands are not met by Monday, they are threatening a total shutdown in the country. All workers at all stores, municipal offices, etc. could strike. Public-taxi and bus service would stop. Nobody would be able to get anywhere; nothing would run. We here in South Africa are waiting to see what the next step is.
In the meanwhile, I’ve been busy. This week I spent four hours working with Grade 12 students at the local high school; they have been without a Mathematics teacher for some time, and their Matric exams are coming up in October. I’ve volunteered to help teach the class once classes resume; this week was my first time doing any work with them. Some of these kids are very bright (and some are not) and I think it will be a pleasure to work with them.
On Wednesday after I finished up with the Grade 12 students, I was walking through my village, on my way to get a taxi to take me into town (for a meeting with the Red Cross), when something very mundane, very common, and very illustrating happened. I saw a half-naked toddler sitting in the dirt, wailing, crying inconsolably. As I passed the house, I waved at the crying young one; he immediately stopped crying and looked at me with a blank, fascinated stare. I waved some more; his older sister told him to greet me (in Shangaan), so he waved back. The beginnings of a smile had begun to creep into his face. This is one of the small pleasures of my life....something so simple, that happens very often, but says so much.
I’ve been hectic to an extreme recently. In addition to what I’ve mentioned above, I’ve been incredibly hectic with stuff for my HIV project, and when I’ve had free time I’ve been intensely studying for the GRE, which is less than a week away. In fact, in only a few days, I’ll be leaving my village, heading down to Gauteng to take the test.
After the test, I’m not coming back to my village; it’s Winter Holiday, from June 22 until July 15. For the first time since I’ve arrived in South Africa; I’m actually very guilty to leave my village for such a long time. I’ll be gone well over three weeks. Ordinarily I wouldn’t mind, but things have been gearing up into full swing with my HIV project and I’m leaving a lot undone and in the hands of my committee members, who will be working with Erica to get stuff done.
(For details about my HIV project, see my previous entry, “MY VAST PROPOSAL”)
Things are looking great with the project, though. We’ve gotten amazing support from the Municipality. The Red Cross is extremely helpful, excited, and eager to help us make our testing drive a success. The Department of Health is also on board. We have secured major support from local businesses, the most popular radio station in the province, and even Coca Cola!
There is a MAJOR problem with all of this, though. My HIV project, the “Tithembheni Tshamahansi” HIV Testing Drive, was funded by a VAST (Volunteer Activity Support & Training) Grant, which falls under Prez Bush’s PEPFAR Initiative. VAST funds are topped at USD $5,000; this is equal to about 35,000 Rand. That money is being stretched to the extreme; we are using it to fund a LOT of stuff. The Municipality is helping us out a lot with resources, but they have also imposed some extra conditions on the project to bring it up to Municipality-acceptable standards.
The biggest draw when speaking to anyone in my village about the testing drive has been the cash prizes that will be offered in the raffle. The real draw that we have, which we are hoping will draw people to the testing drive, is the raffle. There’s also going to be a free party and free meal for those who are tested, with special guests, etc. but the people are excited about the money. Someone who would be very apprehensive about getting tested for HIV will literally change their mind in an instant when faced with the prospect of winning a large amount of money. That’s what poverty will do to someone....the desire for any money is so strong that a person will reevaluate any existing preconceived notions. In most instances, this is a terrible thing; people will sink to robbing their neighbors or selling their bodies for any pittance. But in our case, with this project, it’s a benefit because it is drawing people toward something that will help them in the long run.
I may be a cynic; I believe that most people are motivated by greed. That’s why the money is so important. But I’m also an optimist at times; I believe that these improperly-motivated people will be exposed to a lot of informative material and confront their own health and their own behavioral choices when going to get tested; they will go through the experience and will leave the clinic having learned about HIV, about their own lifestyle, and about their own health. They will also leave the clinic knowing a lot about how the HIV test works. All of this new information will spread among the village; people will tell their family, their neighbors, their friends, their significant others. (Notice, I said OTHERS, not OTHER)
Basically, to sum up, the cash prizes are THE MOST IMPORTANT aspect of this HIV testing drive.
That brings us to the problem.....we don’t have the money for the cash prizes. The VAST funds don’t cover prizes (and we wouldn’t have enough left over for prizes, anyway, after all other expenses are accounted for). Erica and I have been busy going to businesses in Mokopane, sending out requests to local and international Rotary Clubs, etc. So far, the response has been tepid. We have received some small donations, a few hundred Rands here, a few hundred Rands there.
But, I’ve been advertising that I’m going to offer 10,000 Rand (approx. USD $1,500) in cash prizes at the raffle. That’s what’s been getting the attention. I hate asking for money (although I know I just asked for KLM donations a few months ago), but at this point Erica and I have exhausted all of our other options and are, basically, desperate.
Maybe you’re reading this, but you don’t think you can donate enough. Any small donation will be very helpful. USD $10, $20, $50, $100 ---anything would be helpful. My mother has Power Of Attorney for me; any (cash or check) donation could be addressed to me (Omar Ahmed) and sent to her; she could then deposit the funds into my bank account, which I have access to here in South Africa.
Her address is:
Nooshi Ahmed
1590 Westview Drive
Yorktown Heights, NY
10598
If you donate, I will gladly send you pictures from the event, a thank-you letter, and a report from the event. I know all about the pros and cons about giving a monetary donation to a foreign country; I’ve read Paul Theroux and I know that throwing money at a problem won’t make it go away. But I truly, truly believe that this situation is different. Your money WILL make a difference. I wouldn’t have spent so many (literally hundreds) of hours working on this if I didn’t believe that down to the bottom of my heart.
If you donate, you truly will be making a huge impact and I can’t tell you how grateful I would be.
Things have intensified recently in South Africa, where COSATU and other prominent unions are engaged in action against the government. Striking workers are getting more and more worked up; incidents of violence are not uncommon anymore. People are being threatened by gun-wielding union-sponsored thugs at some places. What started off as legitimate demands from the unions (and still are, to some extent) has been overshadowed, in my mind at least, by what some union members have been doing. They give other union members a bad name.
Here is what I think about the strike.
The strike seems set to intensify. Currently, the government has raised its offer up from the initial 5.5% up to 7.25%. The union has also decreased from its initial stand of 12% down to 10%. But they seem locked at these figures, and so the alliance of unions has been reaching out to other labor unions across South Africa; if demands are not met by Monday, they are threatening a total shutdown in the country. All workers at all stores, municipal offices, etc. could strike. Public-taxi and bus service would stop. Nobody would be able to get anywhere; nothing would run. We here in South Africa are waiting to see what the next step is.
In the meanwhile, I’ve been busy. This week I spent four hours working with Grade 12 students at the local high school; they have been without a Mathematics teacher for some time, and their Matric exams are coming up in October. I’ve volunteered to help teach the class once classes resume; this week was my first time doing any work with them. Some of these kids are very bright (and some are not) and I think it will be a pleasure to work with them.
On Wednesday after I finished up with the Grade 12 students, I was walking through my village, on my way to get a taxi to take me into town (for a meeting with the Red Cross), when something very mundane, very common, and very illustrating happened. I saw a half-naked toddler sitting in the dirt, wailing, crying inconsolably. As I passed the house, I waved at the crying young one; he immediately stopped crying and looked at me with a blank, fascinated stare. I waved some more; his older sister told him to greet me (in Shangaan), so he waved back. The beginnings of a smile had begun to creep into his face. This is one of the small pleasures of my life....something so simple, that happens very often, but says so much.
I’ve been hectic to an extreme recently. In addition to what I’ve mentioned above, I’ve been incredibly hectic with stuff for my HIV project, and when I’ve had free time I’ve been intensely studying for the GRE, which is less than a week away. In fact, in only a few days, I’ll be leaving my village, heading down to Gauteng to take the test.
After the test, I’m not coming back to my village; it’s Winter Holiday, from June 22 until July 15. For the first time since I’ve arrived in South Africa; I’m actually very guilty to leave my village for such a long time. I’ll be gone well over three weeks. Ordinarily I wouldn’t mind, but things have been gearing up into full swing with my HIV project and I’m leaving a lot undone and in the hands of my committee members, who will be working with Erica to get stuff done.
(For details about my HIV project, see my previous entry, “MY VAST PROPOSAL”)
Things are looking great with the project, though. We’ve gotten amazing support from the Municipality. The Red Cross is extremely helpful, excited, and eager to help us make our testing drive a success. The Department of Health is also on board. We have secured major support from local businesses, the most popular radio station in the province, and even Coca Cola!
There is a MAJOR problem with all of this, though. My HIV project, the “Tithembheni Tshamahansi” HIV Testing Drive, was funded by a VAST (Volunteer Activity Support & Training) Grant, which falls under Prez Bush’s PEPFAR Initiative. VAST funds are topped at USD $5,000; this is equal to about 35,000 Rand. That money is being stretched to the extreme; we are using it to fund a LOT of stuff. The Municipality is helping us out a lot with resources, but they have also imposed some extra conditions on the project to bring it up to Municipality-acceptable standards.
The biggest draw when speaking to anyone in my village about the testing drive has been the cash prizes that will be offered in the raffle. The real draw that we have, which we are hoping will draw people to the testing drive, is the raffle. There’s also going to be a free party and free meal for those who are tested, with special guests, etc. but the people are excited about the money. Someone who would be very apprehensive about getting tested for HIV will literally change their mind in an instant when faced with the prospect of winning a large amount of money. That’s what poverty will do to someone....the desire for any money is so strong that a person will reevaluate any existing preconceived notions. In most instances, this is a terrible thing; people will sink to robbing their neighbors or selling their bodies for any pittance. But in our case, with this project, it’s a benefit because it is drawing people toward something that will help them in the long run.
I may be a cynic; I believe that most people are motivated by greed. That’s why the money is so important. But I’m also an optimist at times; I believe that these improperly-motivated people will be exposed to a lot of informative material and confront their own health and their own behavioral choices when going to get tested; they will go through the experience and will leave the clinic having learned about HIV, about their own lifestyle, and about their own health. They will also leave the clinic knowing a lot about how the HIV test works. All of this new information will spread among the village; people will tell their family, their neighbors, their friends, their significant others. (Notice, I said OTHERS, not OTHER)
Basically, to sum up, the cash prizes are THE MOST IMPORTANT aspect of this HIV testing drive.
That brings us to the problem.....we don’t have the money for the cash prizes. The VAST funds don’t cover prizes (and we wouldn’t have enough left over for prizes, anyway, after all other expenses are accounted for). Erica and I have been busy going to businesses in Mokopane, sending out requests to local and international Rotary Clubs, etc. So far, the response has been tepid. We have received some small donations, a few hundred Rands here, a few hundred Rands there.
But, I’ve been advertising that I’m going to offer 10,000 Rand (approx. USD $1,500) in cash prizes at the raffle. That’s what’s been getting the attention. I hate asking for money (although I know I just asked for KLM donations a few months ago), but at this point Erica and I have exhausted all of our other options and are, basically, desperate.
Maybe you’re reading this, but you don’t think you can donate enough. Any small donation will be very helpful. USD $10, $20, $50, $100 ---anything would be helpful. My mother has Power Of Attorney for me; any (cash or check) donation could be addressed to me (Omar Ahmed) and sent to her; she could then deposit the funds into my bank account, which I have access to here in South Africa.
Her address is:
Nooshi Ahmed
1590 Westview Drive
Yorktown Heights, NY
10598
If you donate, I will gladly send you pictures from the event, a thank-you letter, and a report from the event. I know all about the pros and cons about giving a monetary donation to a foreign country; I’ve read Paul Theroux and I know that throwing money at a problem won’t make it go away. But I truly, truly believe that this situation is different. Your money WILL make a difference. I wouldn’t have spent so many (literally hundreds) of hours working on this if I didn’t believe that down to the bottom of my heart.
If you donate, you truly will be making a huge impact and I can’t tell you how grateful I would be.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Strike and death
There's a lot to say. Life has been incredibly busy recently, and things are constantly changing. I knew that my last 6 months of Peace Corps service would be anything but boring!
(about 6 weeks ago, my friend Eric had a VAST event in his village. He put pictures up on his blog, check it out)
First off, I have not been to any of my schools for over a week. Why not? you're wondering. Well, last Friday, 1 June, all public sector employees in the entire country of South Africa went on strike. This includes all teachers, all nurses, police officers, etc. The nurses and police are so-called "essential services" which means that members can't officially strike (it would create chaos) but they have been taking part in the actions when possible and "going slow" when at work. COSATU, the Congress Of South African Trade Unions, which is the main participant in the strike, has been holding firm to their demands for a 12% pay increase for all members, in direct opposition to the government's offer of 6% (the government later raised their offer to 6.5%, but this was basically spat upon by the union). Both sides have been firm in their stances, and I doubt that the strike will be over anytime soon. The real losers in all of this: students all over the country. Grade 12 students especially are losing valuable time every day, since their Matric exams are coming up very soon.
The strike hasn't affected me personally all that much, however, because I have been so busy planning my VAST project. Every day has brought a new meeting---with a local mine, with local businesses, with the Municipality, with the Red Cross, etc. I haven't had a chance to rest at all!
Yesterday in town I saw a pedestrian hit by a car. He was lying on the side of the road, his body broken, sprawled out. A crowd formed around him, spectators. People walked by. The police arrived but nobody attended to him; he was still breathing and his eyes were twitching. The police put up traffic cones to direct cars away from him, and then just stood there. Nobody attended to him; it was like he wasn't even there. Time went by. 5 minutes. 10. 15. Eventually an ambulance showed up, at least 20 minutes after the incident. I'll remind you that this happened IN TOWN----imagine what would have happened if he had been hit in a village? It would have taken hours for any help to reach him.
Perhaps you are thinking that this is a result of the police's "go slow." That might be the case, except that this isn't the first time I've seen something like this happen. Last October I was on a day-trip to Polokwane; some Peace Corps friends wanted to go to the public pool and I accompanied them. I didn't swim because I was fasting at the time, so I sat on the grass and lounged. I noticed a small commotion; a young male, probably high-school aged, had been pulled out of the pool, not breathing. Lifeguards eventually attended to him, while other pool-goers laughed, jumped in the pool, and pretended as if he wasn't there. Eventually the lifeguards gave up; he was dead. People just stood around, detached from the whole thing. After almost THIRTY minutes, an ambulance showed up. The paramedics calmly got out of the ambulance and strolled over to him; they confirmed that he was dead, calmly strolled back to their ambulance, brought out a stretcher and body covering, put him on the stretcher, covered him up, and calmly took him away. The real tragedy of the entire thing was that the public pool in Polokwane is only 100 meters away from a Medi-Clinic.
I have no idea what happened to the pedestrian yesterday. He was obviously badly injured; nobody's body should lie slumped in that position naturally. There's a good chance that he is now dead; the lack of attention given to him by police and the slowness of any paramedic's arrival obviously contributed.
But hey.....T.I.A.
There's much more that's been going on in my life recently, and I'll be updating again soon. Until then, take care.
(about 6 weeks ago, my friend Eric had a VAST event in his village. He put pictures up on his blog, check it out)
First off, I have not been to any of my schools for over a week. Why not? you're wondering. Well, last Friday, 1 June, all public sector employees in the entire country of South Africa went on strike. This includes all teachers, all nurses, police officers, etc. The nurses and police are so-called "essential services" which means that members can't officially strike (it would create chaos) but they have been taking part in the actions when possible and "going slow" when at work. COSATU, the Congress Of South African Trade Unions, which is the main participant in the strike, has been holding firm to their demands for a 12% pay increase for all members, in direct opposition to the government's offer of 6% (the government later raised their offer to 6.5%, but this was basically spat upon by the union). Both sides have been firm in their stances, and I doubt that the strike will be over anytime soon. The real losers in all of this: students all over the country. Grade 12 students especially are losing valuable time every day, since their Matric exams are coming up very soon.
The strike hasn't affected me personally all that much, however, because I have been so busy planning my VAST project. Every day has brought a new meeting---with a local mine, with local businesses, with the Municipality, with the Red Cross, etc. I haven't had a chance to rest at all!
Yesterday in town I saw a pedestrian hit by a car. He was lying on the side of the road, his body broken, sprawled out. A crowd formed around him, spectators. People walked by. The police arrived but nobody attended to him; he was still breathing and his eyes were twitching. The police put up traffic cones to direct cars away from him, and then just stood there. Nobody attended to him; it was like he wasn't even there. Time went by. 5 minutes. 10. 15. Eventually an ambulance showed up, at least 20 minutes after the incident. I'll remind you that this happened IN TOWN----imagine what would have happened if he had been hit in a village? It would have taken hours for any help to reach him.
Perhaps you are thinking that this is a result of the police's "go slow." That might be the case, except that this isn't the first time I've seen something like this happen. Last October I was on a day-trip to Polokwane; some Peace Corps friends wanted to go to the public pool and I accompanied them. I didn't swim because I was fasting at the time, so I sat on the grass and lounged. I noticed a small commotion; a young male, probably high-school aged, had been pulled out of the pool, not breathing. Lifeguards eventually attended to him, while other pool-goers laughed, jumped in the pool, and pretended as if he wasn't there. Eventually the lifeguards gave up; he was dead. People just stood around, detached from the whole thing. After almost THIRTY minutes, an ambulance showed up. The paramedics calmly got out of the ambulance and strolled over to him; they confirmed that he was dead, calmly strolled back to their ambulance, brought out a stretcher and body covering, put him on the stretcher, covered him up, and calmly took him away. The real tragedy of the entire thing was that the public pool in Polokwane is only 100 meters away from a Medi-Clinic.
I have no idea what happened to the pedestrian yesterday. He was obviously badly injured; nobody's body should lie slumped in that position naturally. There's a good chance that he is now dead; the lack of attention given to him by police and the slowness of any paramedic's arrival obviously contributed.
But hey.....T.I.A.
There's much more that's been going on in my life recently, and I'll be updating again soon. Until then, take care.
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