We're staying at the Lakeview Airport Lodge in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Lodge is run by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA). Day 1 was an orientation with all of the women from the U.S. and the women from southern Africa; lots of introductions and opportunities to get to know each other, as well as what this seminar experience will be all about!
Some things learned so far (among many!):
- There are 11 languages spoken in SA; from the age of 4 years old, most children already know 4 or 5 different languages!
- About 70% of the people in and around Jo'burg speak English
- The racial make-up of SA is: 79% black, 9.6% white, 2.5% Indian, and 8.9% 'colored' (ie., mixed race) .
- Gold was discovered in Gauteng (essentially, the county that Jo'burg is in) in 1886; several mines around the Johannesburg area soon followed.
- European immigrants - primarily "Dutch and British with a few Germans, French Hugenots and others" (P. Knutson) - took colonial power because of the discovery of gold and diamonds; Union of SA was established in 1910.
- Africa was divided and boundaries were drawn by Europeans, not Africans; borders were drawn based on 'claims' by different countries, to protect their 'interests' when it came to various natural resources they were hoping to discover and make a profit on.
- "These boundaries/borders weren't created by God. They're killing us. AIDS, global warming, immigration; these all transcend ANY boundaries." (P. Knutson)
- "How do you undo colonialism? How do you undo cancer without damaging the other organs?? It can't be undone nicely." (P. Knutson)
- Apartheid was established in 1948
- Apartheid ended in 1994
There is much, MUCH info between these last 2 dates (MUCH, MUCH, MUCH more) when Apartheid was taking place in South Africa. More to come on this after tomorrow's sessions that will relate to race relations in SA: the Apartheid Museum and the Gold Reef City Mines.
- There are 11 languages spoken in SA; from the age of 4 years old, most children already know 4 or 5 different languages!
- About 70% of the people in and around Jo'burg speak English
- The racial make-up of SA is: 79% black, 9.6% white, 2.5% Indian, and 8.9% 'colored' (ie., mixed race) .
- Gold was discovered in Gauteng (essentially, the county that Jo'burg is in) in 1886; several mines around the Johannesburg area soon followed.
- European immigrants - primarily "Dutch and British with a few Germans, French Hugenots and others" (P. Knutson) - took colonial power because of the discovery of gold and diamonds; Union of SA was established in 1910.
- Africa was divided and boundaries were drawn by Europeans, not Africans; borders were drawn based on 'claims' by different countries, to protect their 'interests' when it came to various natural resources they were hoping to discover and make a profit on.
- "These boundaries/borders weren't created by God. They're killing us. AIDS, global warming, immigration; these all transcend ANY boundaries." (P. Knutson)
- "How do you undo colonialism? How do you undo cancer without damaging the other organs?? It can't be undone nicely." (P. Knutson)
- Apartheid was established in 1948
- Apartheid ended in 1994
There is much, MUCH info between these last 2 dates (MUCH, MUCH, MUCH more) when Apartheid was taking place in South Africa. More to come on this after tomorrow's sessions that will relate to race relations in SA: the Apartheid Museum and the Gold Reef City Mines.
No comments:
Post a Comment