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| Sun setting on her time remaining in Cape Town |
This
is the last blog I will write in South Africa. The knowledge of this saddens me
greatly. I can’t believe we leave in just over a week. I have done everything I
really wanted to do, and a couple weeks ago I felt ready to go home, but now,
realizing how little time I have left, I don’t feel quite so ready. I have used
my time here well, have done so many different things, but I am still sad to be
leaving so soon. I have enjoyed every day here and have loved living with my 16
other co-educators, and can’t imagine what it will be like to no longer see
them everyday.
This
was a great second-to-last week here in Cape Town. I went to a protest with SJC
outside the SAPS (South African Police Service) Headquarters; we were
protesting the new police station being built in Muzienberg, a largely white
and safe area of Cape Town. Muzienberg in the past year had 27 murders. There
are other communities in Cape Town such as Khayelitsha and Nyanga, which had
279 murders last year, that need these police resources to a much greater
extent. But mainly people of color live in these areas and with
institutionalized racism still governing South Africa they are often ignored.
This is very frustrating to me and I enjoyed having the opportunity to protest this
unfairness and prejudice with my organization.
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| Muizenberg |
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| Nyanga |
I
also got to go to Khayelitsha this week for a soccer tournament that the
Firefighters, a youth boy’s football (soccer) club that several of my
co-educators help out at for their activist project, hosted. Although it was
quite cold, I thoroughly enjoyed being able to help make the event run
smoother. Soccer provides a safe space for these kids who live in a dangerous
area, giving them something to do after school and on weekends to keep them
away from the violence that is prevalent in Khayelitsha. This is such an
important cause and it was nice to see how many people came to both play and
watch. The event seemed like a great success and I am happy I was able to help,
even in a small way.
It
was also my 21st birthday last week. The day was at first a little
hard for me, partially because it was a long day of work with internship and
class, but mostly because I have a twin sister. Although we have been apart for
our birthday before, we have never had a 6 hour time difference to work around.
Because of the time difference, our busy schedules, and the poor internet at our
house, we were unable to Facetime or even call. This was hard for me but my
fellow co-educators were so nice and helped make sure I still had a great day,
even cooking me dinner and getting me a free ice cream. This was so kind and
made me feel so happy, but also sad knowing that in two weeks I will no longer
be living with them all.
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