South Africa

The Rainbow Nation, South Africa

By Seth Nickinson

The contrasts within South Africa have not ceased to astound people. The beauty of the land, the pollution of the townships. The beauty of people, the crime through people. The rainbow nation, many cultures together yet every one makes its own stripe, it's own color.

Seth Nickinson tells a story from an outside perspective of a black township in South Africa. A third world country scene of houses made from tin, starving people, diseases etc. Within this scene Seth Nickinson also saw the hope, hospitality, and life His story can only be told in his words, just as it happened:

A group of like 60 of us walking around with a tour bus. Which was weird but it was also we didn't know how to react to it. It was organized by the South Africans, the black South Africans I don't know if they were from the townships but We had done a lot of things that morning, we showed up in the township, we got off this bus and they were taking us to part of the work that had been done there was a new school as well as a new community center across the street that they were now showing it off. So we got off the bus many of us white Americans but also exchange students from all over the place and we were greeted by like you know the town band. This was like a marching band. The girls were in like glittery skirts and everyone had sashes and they were playing and we sort of had those like whole regal welcome and we felt sort of weird about it. Part of you doesn't want to be welcomed that way because it seems sort of crazy but part of you also has to learn that its not about rich and poor or white and black but that Southern Africans like to welcome people. And its not really about, well maybe in some ways it is about them sort of thinking that you are more important or whatever. And they were beating drums and they were singing and then we went to this school. Well it was very like, they arranged a basketball game between the local High School kids and our guys and they beat us of course. So we were at this school and there was this huge reception and they were playing music in the street and we went to this school and they sort of did a little, a whole ceremony where they welcomed us and they were happy we were a part of the University of Cape Town and they talked about some of the work they had already done and the teachers brought up the principle and for some ungodly reason, this always happens, someone asked me to, you know, speak on behalf of the students. I'd been in South Africa for like a week, and I didn't have anything to say. So I got up and I don't know I probably said something like I want to thank you all for being here today I see how much effort you put into your community and at that point I knew one phrase in Xhosa, I don't remember what it was, it was probably something like it is so nice to meet you but that got a good rise out of the crowd. That was sort of my crowning moment.

And that was definitely overwhelming, not because well partly because I had to get up and say something to all these people I didn't know but I was definitely moved by the situation and that sort of stuff is not made up about the culture of black South Africa. They get very musical. So people were doing like, you know, chants or the kids were singing. You could definitely feel this environment there were tons of kids in this school all screaming and yelling like little kids would but you definitely got the sense like they were all there in their cute little uniforms. And you had this sense, of hope that things are getting better and everyone's happy and thinks there's possibility and they really were legitimately excited to see us They may not know why but they were like people are coming to our town. Yea the kids were proud, the teachers were proud to show off their kids. And so then we sort of went out to the streets and walked around. My buddy, Eli, use to be a gymnast like spent 20 minutes entertaining the kids doing headstands and handstands and they just thought it was the greatest thing ever. They were having like handstand competitions I remember in the middle of this township. And the kids were... each of the kids was like "no no no I can do it better!" and they would like compete with everybody

But then as we walked around we sort of left the Community Center and went off in small groups I don't remember we sort of walked around took a spin around the block kind of thing and I remember seeing a lot of stray dogs, probably rabid, and then just sort of seeing peoples homes up close; little kids sort of smiling at us from behind barbed wire mish-mash fencing but definitely feeling like there was a lot of challenges. I realized for all the hope there are a lot of huge challenges.

Discussion Questions

* What examples of challenges and hope do you see?
* Is Seth Nickinson idealistic or realistic in his vision of hope in this community?
* Can you relate to this story of hope and challenges? If so, how?