Week Seven in Cape Town

Let me start off by stating that this past week was one of the most difficult weeks I have spent working here at PASSOP. I am unsure of whether it was due to the surplus of refugees we had coming in each day that week, or whether it was due to my overall stress with Home Affairs, whom by definition is responsible for the civil registry, issuing identity documents, managing immigration in south Africa, and finally “handling” refugees and asylum seekers. I must be careful with what I say due to obvious reasons… However I want to openly state that dealing with Home Affairs is incredibly challenging.

Monday morning started with a staff meeting to discuss all the challenges the organization has currently been facing. It is no secret that we are in a serious financial crisis, and that we must work as a team to solve this problem. It breaks my heart to see our staff this way. Morale and spirits have been very low around the office, yet refugees continue to flood in by the dozen each day, so as an organization we must keep our heads up and continue to trudge forward.  

I read a quote recently concerning migrant children that stated:  “When we populated our planet we didn’t have invisible lines we call borders to hold us back. Yet now we isolate ourselves by region and geography and culture. To me this is how flat-out wrong we are as a global society. It is the blatant reality of how broken we are in forgetting our intrinsic reality that we are all interconnected”

- Eve Conant, National Geographic

My time here at PASSOP has lead me to discover the harsh realities of immigration and migrant people, and has ultimately opened my eyes to the disconnect our global world possesses. At PASSOP we do what we can to help bridge that gap, yet I often find myself feeling caught in a position of extreme uselessness and knowing my work is appreciated and needed.

I am fully aware that it takes a group to make change, and to achieve something it cannot be done by a single individual, yet I have the hardest time accepting that what I do and what PASSOP does is only an inkling of what needs to be done.

And for those of you thinking to yourselves “you can’t think that way” or “a little goes a long way” I full agree. But perhaps this week has just shown me that this line of work can be extremely difficult at times quite frustrating.

Rumbidzai and Munashe

 On Thursday I went to visit one of the members of the DCSP group by the name of Rumbidzai. Rumbidzai’s son, Munashe has recently had to undergo a major operation on his legs for he suffers from cerebral palsy and is unable to uncross his legs. I wanted to check in and see how the operation went. Seeing the two cooped up into a tiny room was incredibly hard to digest. Rumbidzai, who honestly is one of the strongest women I know has been struggling tremendously to keep her head up and feel hopeful for her son. I spent the afternoon with them, which gave me a little insight on their day-to-day life. Munashe requires full time care throughout the day and could never be left alone, therefor the two spent everyday all day seven days a week together. They eat, sleep and bathe together.

It broke my heart to hear Rumbidzai speak about the hopelessness she often times feel and about the sleep she looses over the thought of not knowing she can survive this. She is a prideful woman and hates asking for help, yet I couldn’t help but feel her overwhelming frustration and need for some assistance financially.

Munashe

Unfortunately PASSOP currently has been tight with funds; therefore I knew I would have to come up with an alternative solution then to be able to take money from the PASSOP funds. I would make it my mission to come up with a little money for them.

On a more positive note, that weekend I had the great pleasure in being able to experience a trance festival on the outskirts of Cape Town. Surrounded by a breathtaking view, my friends and I danced the weekend away to a new style of music unfamiliar to the majority of us. It was spectacular to say the least. I had been so overwhelmed and quite down honestly by the past week, it was refreshing to get out and experience that utter most feeling of being in the present. My time here has been indescribable.  The people I have met here have all touched me in their own unique ways. I am beyond blessed to have had this experience. 

THANKFULLY it is not yet over yet! I look forward to my last couple of weeks here and am excited to see what else Cape Town has to offer me.

The girls and I at Sunflower Festival 

Week Five and Six in Cape Town

I must first say that I am sorry for not having posted a blog in the last couple weeks. I have been incredibly busy at work as well as with exploring this beautiful city, therefore I have decided to combine the last two weeks into one to get back on track.

The week after garden route was fairly uneventful. However, in my case uneventful is all relative, especially comparing it to my last couple of weeks here, which have been so busy. I finished up several different grants and continued to do daily screening of the refugees. Selfishly I was yearning for the following week when my boyfriend would be coming to visit me for ten days. I was getting anxious at the idea of having the freedom to explore the city and do all the things I had not had time to do yet.

On Friday of that week we had the pleasure of going beer tasting (side note: Capetownians LOVE their craft beers) where I got to  discover and sample some very interesting hand crafted beers. I got to learn how this beer was made through a detailed explanation of the process. It was a wonderful way to end my week.

Ian arrived on Sunday where upon arrival we quickly hurried off into City Center where I got to play tour guide and show him all my favorite places in town. That entire week was filled with different activities that I had been longing to do: shark cage diving, hiking table mountain, visiting the famous Robben Island…

I had been so excited to share my experience here with someone and Ian was the perfect person to be able to do that with. Shark cage diving was definitely one of my favorite activities. It was a perfect blend of adrenaline and excitement all in one morning. It was rather funny actually, I had given the captain of a the boat a fair warning of how I am prone to getting sea sick and his response was nothing but a loud chuckle followed with "oh darling, I can assure you will not be the only one".

I am not sure if that was his attempt at calming me down or hoping that would help in some sense, but assuring me that I was not alone in the harsh and violent act of getting sea sick definitely did not soothe my stomach. About an hour, in around 50% of that passengers were bent over the side of the boat. It was quite a site. I would be lying if I were to tell you I wasn't amongst them. Besides this unfortunate event that you all have had the pleasure of now hearing, once in the cage in the water I felt much better... That is until a shark came face first in our direction nearly knocking into the cage all together. Ian was beyond stoked and completely lost amidst the excitement. 
Later in the week Ian and I decided to it would be a good idea to tackle the mighty Table  Mountain. Not sure what delusional state we were in to think it would be a good idea to do that, but there we were, three hours later and about 10 minutes into the hike realizing we had made a terrible mistake. Our first mistake was bringing a single water bottle and no sunscreen. I had also thought, being the athletes we were it would be no problem getting up, but boy were we proven wrong. After a torturous 2 hours of hiking and scaling rocks, we arrived at the top. And even after everything, I am beyond happy we decided to do it. The view was gorgeous. The satisfaction of it all was surreal. 

All in all, my week with Ian was truly incredible. I got to explore and see even more of the city I didn't know existed, all while getting to share it with the most incredible person! 

Week Four in Cape Town (Garden Route)

Garden Routes Beautiful Drive 

This past week was hands down one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had the pleasure to partake in, and therefore, this weeks blog will be a bit different from the last couple of blogs I have written. I want to try and attempt to describe as best as possible my adventure. Along with seven other girls, I took off for the West Coast of South Africa on what is known as Garden Route.

I would have to say the first major challenge was having to drive on the left side of the road. As designated driver for the trip, I took on this task as confidently as possible. Besides the several times I drifted too far into the right side of the road nearly driving off the ledge all together, and the time I took a right hand turn and drove into the wrong side of the road, my driving on the wrong side was a success, or so I believed. The scenery we got to experience was astonishing; the drive alone could have sufficed as an exceptional trip.

After having driven for 5 hours we reached our first destination, which was the most adorable hostel, nestled into the small town of Oudtshoorn. The eight of us shared a bunkroom where we chatted like schoolgirls at summer camp until the exhaustion of driving overcame us, and we all fell fast asleep. The following morning we woke up bright and early and hurried off to our first adventure: the Cango Caves. The Cango Caves are located in Precambrian limestone’s at the foothills of the Swartberg range in the Western Cape Province, and were first discovered in 1780 by a local farmer named Jacobus Van Zyl. The caves are a series of breathtaking chambers. Unfortunately, being the Closter phobic wimp that I am, I was unable to partake in the adventure tour with the other girls, which consisted of crawling through tiny tunnels ranging from 30 centimeters to 50 centimeters wide. Instead I took a nice stroll through 5 different spacious chambers, where a guide explained the detailed history of the cave. The stories were spectacular.

Later in the day, after having rid an ostrich, yes you heard that correctly, I proceed to walk a cheetah at the Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Center. It was quite spectacular being in the presence of such an amazing animal, yet alone being able to walk with him. Bearing in mind that I believe myself to be an animal lover, I was at first quite skeptical of the idea of visiting wild cats in captivity, but after having spent a couple hours at the sanctuary, I grew quite appreciative of the work the trainers were doing. It was not so much as domesticating the animals as it was to helping to inform the population of their endangerment. 

They served as a sort of ambassador for all other species of their kind to remind people that they are wild animals and that if we continue to kill them there will be none left. That evening we stayed at Wild Spirits or what I like to call a hippie’s backpacker’s paradise. It’s quite difficult for me to paint an accurate picture of this hostel, since the way I will attempt to depict it won’t be able to capture the vibe and spirit that lived in this amazing spot. 

To put it simply the hostel consisted of one of the most beautiful views I have seen so far, along with the most diverse crowd of people, all the while baboons chaotically run around. We had the luxury of staying here for two nights.

Friday, which had to be by far my favorite day, the girls and I went canyoning in the morning, and then later that day I bungee jumped off the tallest bridge in the world. Canyoning is one of those sports that must be experienced in order to be explained. Hiking, ziplinning and jumping off cliffs down a river doesn't do it justice. After several rolled ankles and near death experiences, we arrived at the end of the river. Now, after 4 hours of hiking down a river one would think to take a nap or even a little breather before proceeding onto next activities, but not us. No, we decided instead to go bungee jumping off the tallest bridge possible to bungee jump off of. 

I wish I could take the feeling of launching myself off a bridge and capture into a little box. I know for a fact that unless I jump off that exact bridge again I'll never get to experience that feeling of complete and total take over of adrenaline in my body as well as the the way I had to fully clear my mind of any thoughts to leap off this bridge. It was truly exhilarating. I would hands down do it again. Sorry maman! 

On Saturday, I got to familiarize myself with the majestic animal known as the elephant. We got to walk and feed them, as well as watch them in their natural habitat. These creatures are incredibly fascinating not just due to their enormous size, but also due to their patience and humble demeanor. Later, we kayaked and liloed through storms river. Overall this trip has been one I will never forget. The company I was able to share this experience with made it all the more exciting and unforgettable. 

Week Three in Cape Town

Week 3 started off with an unexpected adventure; early Monday morning, instead of meeting with my supervisor to review my grant proposal, I was ushered off into a tiny car with one of the board members of my organization to an ominous “meeting” in the wine country. In the car the founder spoke little of where we were going and simply informed me that I would enjoy the location, and be happy to be a part of the experience. I tried several times to hint at asking where we were going, and he simply spoke of this meeting that was in regards to the Palestine Solidarity Alliance movement and the current elections in Cape Town.

Boschendal, Franscchoek Winery

Upon arriving into the wine country I was taken aback by the scenery. It was something unlike I had ever seen before. The landscape was a blend of a long stretches of vineyards contrasting with the mountains.  It was a semi stormy day and the sky was trying to fight off the rain clouds. We pulled into the driveway of one of the most outstanding estates, and that’s when it hit me that we must be attending something quite important.I finally turned to Bram and told him to give me a quick description of the event so I could prepare myself. Turns on I got to meet the ambassador of Israel, the ambassador of Pakistan, the minister of agriculture of South Africa and other important political leaders. It was truly incredible. During lunch I was able to sit with these political figures and be apart of their discussions regarding a range of topics from the economic stability of South Africa, to the struggles of finding ways to have a free, non-racial and democratic Palestine State. Many South African anti-apartheid radicals were present, and it was curious to see the way they drew parallels between the South African apartheid and the Anti-Apartheid movement against Apartheid Israel.

Later that day, I had the opportunity to experience my first wine tasting in one of the most renown wine regions with Ebrahim Ebrahim, deputy minister of South Africa and member of the ANC, as well as Bram, the founder of Passop and one of the most interesting people I have ever met. I was fascinated by Ebrahims' stories and all the information he had to offer me regarding his time as a political leader. I sincerely appreciated the wine and was excited to get to learn about the different types and how they are distinguished from one another. 

The rest of my workweek was filled with tasks relating to the Disability Project. The director and I were on a time crunch to find a space for the day care center. We spent hours upon hours drafting the perfect proposal in order to finance the day care. Its quite helpful because we have an on going group chat with all the members of the project where the participants often share ideas regarding the project. We decided that we should make a promotional fundraising video where I will be conducting short interviews with each member in order to get their full stories. I have already met with one member, Rumbidzai where she shared with me her extensive struggle of a being a refugee mother with a child with a disability. Her son, Munsashe Mahoya is eight years old and suffers from cerebral palsy. She stressed the importance of finding him the right care and how it has been a great challenge. Its incredible to see someone who truly has had everything taken from them still possess the utmost care and compassion no matter how hard she has been beaten down. She explained to me that many people in her home country Zimbabwe, and now in South Africa, her country of refuge, belittle disabilities to the point where they won't help her because they claim disabled children have no future. It was devastating knowing that she has received little aid simply due to the fact that she has a disabled child. We also discussed possible plans for the day care center and what she hoped to see out of the project. Many members are satisfied with the simple fact that they have a network amongst each other which provides support. 

My weekend started off with surfing on Saturday with a group of friends and on Sunday, which had to be one of my favorite days in South Africa so far, I went to Mzolis. In order for me to properly give you an idea of what Mzolis is, picture a space filled with people from every part of town, heaps and heaps of different kinds of meat covering all the tables and loud music blasting through the air. By definition, Mzolis is a butchery in Gugulethu, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town. But for me, it was so much more. It seemed to be a place where a community came together to enjoy one common thing: meat. I feel as if it were a time were I was truly able to get a taste and small peak into the culture in the townships. We danced for hours throughout the days and enjoyed smokey, sauce drenched meat.