Wylie shifting emotions from exhausted & numb to committed & hopeful

The group on their final hike to the top of Lion's Head

Sitting on the plane in London, about to leave for New York, I feel exhausted and almost numb.  I started tearing up a little at our final house meeting in Loch, and a bit before we left the Cape Town airport.  It was really hard saying goodbye to Marita, Vernon, Ben, and Erin, and also to the few of us who were staying on in Cape Town.  It was also hard to say goodbye to my beautiful city through the window as our plane crept higher in the night sky.  But I really felt the pain of leaving at our connector stop in Heathrow, where we said goodbye to a good third of us who were travelling in Europe.  I felt very overwhelmed (and I hate crying, especially in public!!)— even though we had left Cape Town behind, it still felt like “Cape Town” while we were mostly together.  Now that about half of us were separated, it started to become a reality that our adventure had ended.  At the same time though, I feel so thankful to have befriended such amazing, cry-worthy people. 

Outside of our group, I miss so much about Cape Town already: minibuses, Khayelitsha, Fat Cactus, Mowbray, Rondebosch, Malleson, UCT, Woolworth’s, TAC, Xhosa, samosas, Kirstenbosch, Muizenburg, Joburg, curiosity, spontaneity, diversity, vibrancy.  I need to work on bringing these things home with me, because I know they are still in my heart.  I am so sad to be leaving the places and people I have fell in love with, but I know I will be back.  And the best feeling is that it will feel like “Cape Town” again— my UConn Cape Town community will be back on campus with me in the fall.

As I wrote in one of my first journal pages after arriving in South Africa: “I’m on an adventure, and what is an adventure without facing a little bit of struggle.”  I’m struggling to accept that the end of our “scheduled” adventure is over, but I am opening myself to be able to continue all that we have created with a new adventure at home.  It is with a renewed sense of growth, and increased compassion, confidence, and determination that I hope to re-enter my US world with.  I hope to stay committed to all that I have learned about activism, privilege, and non-violence by channeling my feelings into positive places.  I have so much hope for the future, so much love for the people whom I have met, and so much potential to do good. 

Over the time I’ve been writing this, I have experienced a shift in my emotions; out of my initial sadness has come the realization of all these wonderful, beautiful feelings— from nothing, something.  I am realizing that “I Am” an agent of change, and that spreading this message is the best way to constantly keep South Africa, my friends, and my experiences in my heart.

With love, peace, and hope for endless possibilities. 

Wylie's final day at TAC

My last work day at TAC was on a beautiful, breezy, sunny, autumnal day in Khayelitsha.  We had a “regular” workday, except with goodbyes and cake to celebrate our time there.  It was amazing to think about all the people we had come to know— the TAC leaders, administration, volunteers, and members.  So many people came in to the office over our months of working there, and it felt overwhelming to say goodbye to everyone.  It was particularly hard to say goodbye to Abdul, our doorman, who was perhaps one of the most incredibly kind, humble, and inspiring people at our workplace.  I miss speaking French with him, learning Congolese words, and talking about his engineering exams each morning when he greeted us.

After saying goodbye to the office, I went to my final BM branch meeting.  It was held in the same place as prior weeks, and I loved having the opportunity to say goodbye to the BM community.  Afterwards, my three closest BM coworkers gave me a final tour through the section, showing me where their families and friends lived, and where they lived.  I was invited into their homes and introduced to their parents, siblings, and children.  It was an incredible honor, and something I will never forget.  The sun was setting over Khayelitsha as they walked me to get a minibus—seeing Table Mountain in the distance was incredible.  It was a difficult goodbye, but I felt exceedingly thankful for all of my experiences in the township.     

My minibus ride to the Site C rank was long and quiet, and I spent the time thinking about Khayelitsha, TAC, and leaving.  I had so many emotions to wrestle with— sadness, thankfulness, love, anxiety.  I kept thinking about these things as I arrived in Site C and got into a minibus for Mowbray, and sat waiting for it to fill up.  After a while, I was distracted by a young woman with two young sons who got into the minibus—I realized that I needed to pull one of her toddlers onto my lap to make room for other passengers.  It was perfect: here I was, musing on all of my experiences in Khayelitsha, sad to leave, getting sentimental, and I had a final opportunity to do something that epitomized what I loved about this place.  It was my responsibility as a person, as a “Sisi,” to hold him on my lap.  This sense of community oneness is so special— strangers are expected to, and want to, help others with living.  The boy fell asleep in my lap on the way to Gugulethu, and I shared a smile with his mother.   

Wylie at TAC

Over the past few months, we have been given the opportunity to gain an understanding of the relationship between the TAC branches and our office (the Khayelitsha District office).  The Treatment Action Campaign is special due to their bottom-up, grassroots approach to community action.  While there are national, provincial, and district offices, the branches are the “heart” of TAC as the organization relies primarily on the branches within established districts to educate and mobilize the community.  Therefore, every TAC member belongs to a branch, and TAC employees who specifically work with the branches are called Community Mobilizers.

I have adopted the BM Branch in Site B, Khayelitsha for my membership because it is close to the office and because it’s where several friends from my internship live.  Last Wednesday, I was able to go to my first branch meeting, which took place at 5pm in the BM informal settlement.  After work, I walked with my friends Thulani and Thombisa from the TAC office to the meeting, which took about 10 minutes.  On the way, we passed a very sandy, charred area where over 300 shacks had burnt down in the New Year’s fire; many people I work with or who I’ve met have been personally affected by the fire (For more information, an article is at http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/3-dead-4-000-homeless-after-new-year-blazes-1.1446663#.UXUjjCuPiw4

I am still struck by how colorful and beautiful I find the shacks, in all of it’s complex winding and rambling, despite the indignities and safety hazards that come along with living in them.  I think the BM section is especially beautiful, with rows of new shacks made from a shiny silver metal with colorful linings. 

The meeting took place inside a little building, where a person lived during the week and which served as a church on Sundays.  It had a dirt floor with patches of old cloth, peeling dark pink paint, and a corrugated tin roof.  In the corner of the room was a giant skin-covered drum and candles, to be used for church services.  The meeting was attended by about 15 people, many of whom I knew or recognized, and was conducted entirely in Xhosa.  Despite the language barrier, I still think it was a learning experience; the meeting was well organized, every member had a chance to speak, and the environment was amicable.  Music and prayer was used intermittently as a way to ease tension and unify the group.

I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to interact with my branch community in this way, and I’m excited to go to next Wednesday’s meeting!  

Wylie gathering valued memories

Kruger National Park was one of the most amazing recreational experiences we had on the trip.  After a lengthy drive from Johannesburg, we arrived at the gates of Skukuza Park and were not disappointed— just moments after entering, our bus pulled over to the side of the road to get a better look at a family of elephants in the foliage!  I had hazy memories of riding elephants as a young girl in Singapore, but I couldn’t believe how huge these creatures were.  There were probably six or seven, including smaller, younger elephants, and we watched as they slowly receded into the bush.  After arriving at the campgrounds, we went into our own huts—ours was beautiful, with a thatched roof and an outdoor kitchen.  Baboon and monkey warnings were everywhere, and we constantly had warthog visitors outside of our steps.  Over the next two days, a sunset game drive, sunrise drive, and walking tour provided many opportunities to see more animals.  I feel extremely fortunate to have seen animals like baboons, impala, antelope, monkeys, warthogs, hippos, giraffes, springbok, chameleons, BIG spiders, and four out of the five “big five”—lions, elephants, rhinos, and leopards (damn it, water buffalo!)  Even though elephants are my favorite animals, seeing the leopard was one of the most special moments at Kruger.  It had a quiet, predatory beauty that absolutely stunned everyone in our drive vehicle, especially when it crept within 10 feet of us.  I think the leopard at sunrise will be a valued memory for the rest of my life.    

Wylie's first South African rugby experience and more . . .

On Monday, I had the opportunity to go to a UCT nighttime rugby match against the University of the Witwatersrand, a college in Johannesburg.  Excited for my first South African rugby experience, Aimee, Lindsay, and I hopped on the jammie at the end of our road to go to the UCT campus, where the match was being held.  As the campus is set at an incline at the base of Table Mountain, the rugby pitch was nestled between the “grand” steps for lower and upper campus.  Therefore, the pitch is situated right in front of a huge ivy-covered wall, in which steps for upper campus are laid.  Spectator rows of spectator seats are lined against the wall.  It was really cool to get the “college-y” school-sprit feel at the game—although we go to UCT once a week for classes, I have never really had an opportunity to participate in community activities with UCT students.  It actually reminded me a lot of UConn— enthusiastic, rowdy fans and school colors everywhere.  Of course, the one thing UConn doesn’t have on our campus is a beer tent!  UCT ended up winning, which was fun, but my favorite memory of the night actually has nothing to do with the rugby match.

 

It was late when the game ended, and we took one of the last jammies home.  As the jammie pulled away from the stop, we noticed that a young woman (definitely a UCT student) was desperately running after us.  Instead of shaking his head and continuing to drive, the jammie driver promptly stopped the bus to let her on.  When realizing that our jammie line didn’t go to her destination, he radioed to a different jammie ahead of us, asking them to stop and wait for her.  He then drove the young lady to the appropriate jammie, and we continued on our way.  This experience really affected me because there have been many, many times when I’ve ran to catch a UConn bus without any sympathy from the driver.  I doubted very much that any of the UConn drivers would have approached the woman’s situation with the same genuine empathy and kindness.  It showed me that simple acts of kindness really do make a difference, even if it’s saving someone from a long, lonely walk home.   

Wylie's a rewarding human rights weekend

Last weekend, our group drove through rolling hills and grazing sheep pastures for about an hour until we reached Goedgedacht, an olive farm and retreat, for a human rights training weekend with Africa Unite.  I loved the farm, and especially loved their mission— to grow peace, develop a path out of poverty, and help rural children.    

Our program was unique because it allowed us to stay, interact, and learn with young adults from all over Africa— South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Angola, and more.  We lived together, ate together, and shared the experience of the weekend with one another.  I loved the special community centered around human rights and respect that we created together, and also valued the different perspectives each individual brought to the training.

Bringing out the Human Rights major and scholar in me, I really enjoyed learning and revisiting human rights theory and documents.  Some of the topics we discussed included the definition of a Human Right, the different categories of protected rights, the definition of a refugee and asylum seeker, the ways to stand up for human rights, background on major HR documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and the importance of a human right education.  It was especially cool to learn about human rights within the context of South African legislation and enumerated rights.  Learning about Human Rights in the United States, a country which has both a poor human rights legacy and promotion, is very different from learning about HR in a country where it is part of the public school curriculum.  Indeed, South Africa has one of the most progressive and human rights conscious constitution in the world.  However, aspects of the training reminded me that simply constitutionalizing human rights norms doesn’t make them realized (although it certainly helps.)

Another aspect of the training that I really enjoyed were group simulated activities, where each group represented a country in order to explore human rights issues.  Our country was Cote D’Ivoire, and I found it both challenging and rewarding to limit myself to the perspective of that nation.  I also found it challenging to confront idealism, and realize that outcomes aren’t always fair or equal. 

Wylie at the conclusion of the Human Rights for Social Cohesion Weekend Training.

My weekend with Africa Unite was extremely rewarding, and I’m thankful for the learning experience of being in a diverse community to dissect real human rights issues.