Something that i found very interesting while doing my research was how other events in World History related so much to the conflicts in the South African, namely, the apartheid. The Apartheid was when racial discrimination laws called “apartheid laws” were implemented in South Africa in the 1940's. The laws prohibited things such as white people marrying non-whites, the authorizing of “white only” jobs, and only the white citizens were allowed to vote and take part in government, black South Africans were prohibited. The white people thought of it as "Miracle" and “clear proof that God was watching over his Volk”. Of course, this made for the whites to have better jobs, better healthcare, better schools, etc.
So while this was happening in South Africa, many other key events were happening at the same time that all are similar. During this time, India was being ruled by the British. While South Africa was finally being freed by the ANC, India was being freed by Ghandi. Another key event that relates to segregation that was happening in the 1940’s was WWII, when the Holocaust began, of course a result of racial segregation.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
South African Government Website - good info!!
Last week I found a great website that was beneficial to writing the narration for my movie script which was about South African culture, economy, political system, and environment. Of course, this website could possibly be biased since it is a government-owned website from South Africa, but I think it is also trustworthy because of that. Since its government owned there has to be some truth to it, unless its a completely corrupt government, but South Africa actually has a great government so I would trust it. Anyways, this website has links to everything you would ever need to know about current South Africa and actually gave me a lot of insight and information on things I didn't know about, actually, it provided me with everything that I needed to know about. I would recommend you check it out.
http://www.info.gov.za/aboutsa/index.htm
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Coli's Fantastical Interview Reflection With Added Commentary By Me
Today I will be commenting upon Coli's interview reflection. Whilst looking for a post to respond to I stumbled across Coli's interview reflection and couldn't get over the pure fantasticalness of it so I really can't not respond to it.
So, basically, instead of just stating the boring facts, she really made her interview reflection interesting and like a story. She provided lots of details that made me feel like I was right there re-living the interview over again. If people who weren't present for our interview read her post, they would know exactly what it was like. Here's an example of her reflection, which is actually the very first sentence, and it immediately captures your attention and paints (or rather, writes) a picture of exactly what it was like
"The loud and constant beeping and ringing of the telephones added credence to the harried look of the busy workers as they swarmed around the small office space in desperate attempts to justify their presence there." It doesn't seem like a little assignment to simply respond to questions about the interview but it feels like a real story, and yet she still manages to keep all of the necassary information in it. I know this really has nothing to do with Africa, but, if you want to learn about the man from Africa who we interviewed, after reading this post, hopefully you will now want to read Coli's post and therefore you will learn about Africa. So, here you go:
http://cocacolisblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/interview-reflection.html
So, basically, instead of just stating the boring facts, she really made her interview reflection interesting and like a story. She provided lots of details that made me feel like I was right there re-living the interview over again. If people who weren't present for our interview read her post, they would know exactly what it was like. Here's an example of her reflection, which is actually the very first sentence, and it immediately captures your attention and paints (or rather, writes) a picture of exactly what it was like
"The loud and constant beeping and ringing of the telephones added credence to the harried look of the busy workers as they swarmed around the small office space in desperate attempts to justify their presence there." It doesn't seem like a little assignment to simply respond to questions about the interview but it feels like a real story, and yet she still manages to keep all of the necassary information in it. I know this really has nothing to do with Africa, but, if you want to learn about the man from Africa who we interviewed, after reading this post, hopefully you will now want to read Coli's post and therefore you will learn about Africa. So, here you go:
http://cocacolisblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/interview-reflection.html
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Earliest Documented People
I found a website that I thought was really cool. We used some of the information to make our 30-second movie script but the information on it was actually really interesting to me. The article was basically about the earliest civilizations of people in Africa who are called the San and the Khoi Khoi. South Africa has actually been the home to people for 2.5 million years of years, much longer than anywhere else in the world. You would think that that would mean they are the most advanced country in the world, since they've had the longest amount of time to make it better. However there are a variety of reasons that have prohibited this from happening such as lack of proper resources, and being taken over by the Europeans, and more recently, all of the wars that have been going on. However, South Africa is definitely the most developed part of Africa, which may lead back to how it all started somehow. Anyways, if you want to learn more about the eariliest documented people, check out this website:
http://motherearthtravel.com/history/south-africa/history-3.htm
http://motherearthtravel.com/history/south-africa/history-3.htm
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Interview Reflection
Yesterday, September 10th at 3 PM we interviewed a man named Rashid Ismail who is originally from Somalia. Our interview took place at the IRC, which is the International Rescue Committee for refugees, where Rashid is a project manager. We interviewed him in his little office cubicle. The people who were present for the interview were Rashid, Jonathan, Coli, and me.
Rashid was born in Ethiopia in a city called Fiq. He was the middle child of 18. He grew up by the beach and spent his time herding cows and roaming in the fields. When he was 10, he moved to Somalia to attend school and later joined the Navy and was sent to the Soviet Union. Eventually, the Navy led him to the U.S. where he now resides.
The actual interview was very enlightening to me, and sad at the same time. What surprised me the most was that he actually liked Africa much, much more than he likes America, and said that if the war was gone he would move back in a heartbeat. Most Americans have the idea that America is the greatest country in the world and that anybody who came to live here would be surprised at the magnificence of it. We are free here, and developed, and have nice houses and buildings and electronics. However, Rashid said that in Africa, everybody is so much happier and more whole. Everybody knows each other and loves each other. You are never stressed. This is what he said: "There, if you get a piece of bread that day and a cup of water and even though you don't know what you will eat tomorrow, it is not under your control, but you are happy. You can go to your neighbors, you talk with them. I've been living here in the same place for three years and I don't even know my neighbor. Who is my neighbor? But there, everybody knew me and everybody knew my children and everybody was very whole."
That quote is what struck me the most out of the entire interview and it is something I will remember. All of the things we have are not what makes us happy, but it is in the strength of family and friends and neighbors and simplicity that you can find happiness, and that is what I will take away from the interview.
The actual process of interviewing Rashid was very easy. He was a generally nice, happy, open man who did not make me feel nervous at all. He was pretty general in his accounts, which led to a short interview, but I felt that we got all of the information that we needed. I think it was an over-all great experience for my partners and me.
Rashid was born in Ethiopia in a city called Fiq. He was the middle child of 18. He grew up by the beach and spent his time herding cows and roaming in the fields. When he was 10, he moved to Somalia to attend school and later joined the Navy and was sent to the Soviet Union. Eventually, the Navy led him to the U.S. where he now resides.
The actual interview was very enlightening to me, and sad at the same time. What surprised me the most was that he actually liked Africa much, much more than he likes America, and said that if the war was gone he would move back in a heartbeat. Most Americans have the idea that America is the greatest country in the world and that anybody who came to live here would be surprised at the magnificence of it. We are free here, and developed, and have nice houses and buildings and electronics. However, Rashid said that in Africa, everybody is so much happier and more whole. Everybody knows each other and loves each other. You are never stressed. This is what he said: "There, if you get a piece of bread that day and a cup of water and even though you don't know what you will eat tomorrow, it is not under your control, but you are happy. You can go to your neighbors, you talk with them. I've been living here in the same place for three years and I don't even know my neighbor. Who is my neighbor? But there, everybody knew me and everybody knew my children and everybody was very whole."
That quote is what struck me the most out of the entire interview and it is something I will remember. All of the things we have are not what makes us happy, but it is in the strength of family and friends and neighbors and simplicity that you can find happiness, and that is what I will take away from the interview.
The actual process of interviewing Rashid was very easy. He was a generally nice, happy, open man who did not make me feel nervous at all. He was pretty general in his accounts, which led to a short interview, but I felt that we got all of the information that we needed. I think it was an over-all great experience for my partners and me.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Uncolonised Africa wouldn’t know what it was missing
Today I found an interesting article about early-day South Africa called "Uncolonised Africa wouldn’t know what it was missing"
This article is trying to say that before the white men came ad "destroyed" their way of life, it was better. Without temptations of the outside world, life was simple. Everybody lived in small huts and only grew the amount of crops they needed to feed their family, and they had no more animals than what they needed. They had no TV's, or phones, or whiskey, or cigars, but they were still happy and thriving without it.
I agree with what the author of this article is trying to say: that life probbaly was better for the Africans before factories and coal and machines and gold and cheap labour ever came to them. It was nice and simple with simple pleasures and simple hardships. It isn't factories and manufactoring and TV's and phones and Ipods and computers that makes us happy, because if you take all of it away, and you are left with just the bare essentials, cultures can be just as happy. Africa probably was better off before the white men invaded.
Here it the actual article:
http://www.thetimes.co.za/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=741855
This article is trying to say that before the white men came ad "destroyed" their way of life, it was better. Without temptations of the outside world, life was simple. Everybody lived in small huts and only grew the amount of crops they needed to feed their family, and they had no more animals than what they needed. They had no TV's, or phones, or whiskey, or cigars, but they were still happy and thriving without it.
I agree with what the author of this article is trying to say: that life probbaly was better for the Africans before factories and coal and machines and gold and cheap labour ever came to them. It was nice and simple with simple pleasures and simple hardships. It isn't factories and manufactoring and TV's and phones and Ipods and computers that makes us happy, because if you take all of it away, and you are left with just the bare essentials, cultures can be just as happy. Africa probably was better off before the white men invaded.
Here it the actual article:
http://www.thetimes.co.za/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=741855
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
A little research
Today I did a little bit of general research on South Africa.
South Africa was originally "found" by Dutch Farmers, more commonly referred to as "The Boers" in 1652. Then in 1806, the British took over and the Boers left to find their own republics. In the late 1800's, the discovery of diamonds and gold increased wealth of the country and The British became even more hierarchically significant. In 1899 The Boers tried to resist the British but lost in war which lasted until 1902. Now the British and the Afrikaners, which were more modern versions of the Boers were the major rulers of South Africa. But then in 1994, the first multi-racial election allowed a black majority rule.
Some basic facts:
Climate: Sunny, subtropical, and semiarid
Population: 43,786,115
Life expectancy: 42.37 years
Infant morality rate: 58.26 deaths/1,000 live births
People living with HIV/AIDS: 5.3 million
Ethnic Groups: Black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5%
Religion: Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%
Government Type: Republic
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sf.html
South Africa was originally "found" by Dutch Farmers, more commonly referred to as "The Boers" in 1652. Then in 1806, the British took over and the Boers left to find their own republics. In the late 1800's, the discovery of diamonds and gold increased wealth of the country and The British became even more hierarchically significant. In 1899 The Boers tried to resist the British but lost in war which lasted until 1902. Now the British and the Afrikaners, which were more modern versions of the Boers were the major rulers of South Africa. But then in 1994, the first multi-racial election allowed a black majority rule.
Some basic facts:
Climate: Sunny, subtropical, and semiarid
Population: 43,786,115
Life expectancy: 42.37 years
Infant morality rate: 58.26 deaths/1,000 live births
People living with HIV/AIDS: 5.3 million
Ethnic Groups: Black African 79%, white 9.6%, colored 8.9%, Indian/Asian 2.5%
Religion: Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Dutch Reformed 6.7%, Anglican 3.8%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%
Government Type: Republic
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sf.html
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