Cape Town Impressions-Wednesday, September 3rd, 08

Leaving Cape Town today.  This city leaves me with many different feelings.  We were so warned about how unsafe this city is.  On the flight here, my seatmate was a young girl from Constantia, a very wealthy area of the city.  Her family had been the victims of a home invasion robbery.  She went to school in London, and told me she was desperate to live in the United States.  I asked her why she wanted to live in the US so much.  She answered, "Because the United States gets so many things right."   She believed that if parents loved their children they would move away from Cape Town.

But our guides love Cape Town.  It is, undoubtedly, a very beautiful place.  It actually resembles northern California a great deal.  When asked if I think it is beautiful, I answer, "yes."  It just looks a lot like home to me. This just shows me how incredibly lucky we are.

Close to the airport is a very large township.  A township is an area where most of the blacks in Cape Town live.  It is hard to describe.  They are nothing more than cardboard shacks with corrugated roofs over them.  We pass many people hovering near a bonfire built around several of these "homes." Our guide tells us that incest and rape are common here, probably due to the close living arrangements in townships.  South Africa leads the world in rape.

There are also "coloured" people in Cape Town.  This class consists of people who originally were brought to Cape Town as slaves and stayed-Indonesians, Arabs, etc.  Until about 15 years ago, a coloured person could be arrested for marrying a white person. This class is considered above the blacks and their living conditions are generally better.

I was told that even blacks who have good jobs do not usually move out of the townships.  They do not feel comfortable.  Fred and I pass many shops where "township" art is sold.  I cannot believe people would put these pictures up on their walls.  I cannot believe that the whites who live here do not die of shame.

Our guide also tells us that the Minister of Health for South Africa believes that the best way to cure Aids in their country is with fruits and vegetables.

I picked our bed and breakfast, An African Villa, because of its safe location in a residential neighborhood.  But the day we arrived, a Canadian couple on their honeymoon were held up at knifepoint.  They screamed and the robber ran away.  But the owner of the B & B sat us down, gave us a map and drew circles on it where it was not safe for us to walk.  He now circled two blocks from where we were.  

Usually, Fred and I get to know a city by taking public transportation and walking. Sadly, we end up taking taxis everywhere.

Fred says he would like to come back to Cape Town.  I cannot say if I would ever come back to this town. I feel uneasy being here.

So much diversity...so little appreciation of each other.