OF SOUTH AFRICA
By Kalin Thomas
my mind was screaming when I stepped off of the
South African Airways plane from Atlanta to
Johannesburg. My first impression as we drove into
downtown was that Johannesburg was similar to
many cities in the United States with tall buildings,
lots of traffic, and lots of people. But driving into
the suburb of Sandton I was shocked to see barbed
wire atop tall cement walls around many of the
white-owned homes.
major cities is a given, and I'm used to seeing fences and signs hawking alarm systems, but the barbed wire
really threw me. I wondered if the crime was really that bad, or if the whites were a bit paranoid. No matter, I
was on my very first trip to the African continent and I wasn't about to let thoughts of crime turn me back.
This was a three-week, dream trip courtesy of CNN. I was a producer and correspondent for the weekly travel
program, and traveled with another producer and videographer to shoot a couple of shows on tourism in South
Africa. I was the only woman and the only African-American on the crew. It was April of 1998, and we got in
town just when the country was celebrating its annual "Freedom Day", commemorating the end of apartheid
and South Africa?s first free elections that made Nelson Mandela President in 1994. The mood was upbeat in
Johannesburg or "Jo-burg", as the natives call it -- and we watched South Africans of all races celebrating and
enjoying the live entertainment with a sense of unity. When I heard the harmonious singing of the South
African National Anthem and looked around at the rainbow of faces all singing, my heart swelled with pride and
hope for the country.
South Africa is a beautiful country with landscapes that are as diverse as its people. The downtown, suburban
malls of Johannesburg reminded me of Atlanta. While the beautiful beaches of Durban reminded me of Miami.
Durban has the largest number of East Indians in South Africa. It's where we got some of the best Indian food
I've ever had. On the west coast, Cape Town is the most picturesque city with a waterfront surrounded by
Table Mountain -- it reminded me of San Francisco. We stayed at the Cape Grace hotel where President
Clinton stayed during his visit. I figured there weren't a lot of blacks, South African or American, who stayed
there and wondered how I'd be treated. But the white hotel employees treated me well. They seemed sincere,
though I wondered if it was only because I was a member of the media. Throughout our travels most of the
Black South Africans I saw at the hotels were working in housekeeping. However, at the Hyatt in the suburb of
Rosebank, outside Jo-burg, I saw Black South Africans at the reservations desk and other areas outside of
housekeeping. That gave me a sense of hope. Still I wasn't able to make any connections with the Black hotel
workers. I thought I'd be able to have a conversation with them and we'd tell each other about our experiences
as Blacks in our countries. But none of them seemed to want to drop their guard with me, and many of them
kept their head bowed when they spoke to me. That made me very confused and uncomfortable.
vineyards took over the landscape. It's not as picturesque as Tuscany in
Italy, but it's beautiful in its own right. South African wine is very good,
and now with the end of apartheid they are able to compete with
California wines. The wines are very inexpensive. You can get a nice
"everyday wine" for only $2. For the most part the vineyard owners
were very friendly, however there was one woman who seemed to
speak to me through very tight lips. I could tell she didn't expect me to
be a Black woman and seemed a bit resentful of my position.
On the other hand, I was impressed with Fairview vineyard which was
finally allowing its Black workers to own some of the land and start
selling their own wine labels internationally, a sign of economic growth
for the Black majority. I still keep my "Freedom Road" wine bottle for
sentimental reasons.
cultural villages where tourist view how Black locals lived before they were Europeanized. ?Shakaland?
showed how the Zulus lived during the rein of the infamous warrior, Shaka Zulu. We saw how they danced,
how they courted, how they cooked, and how they built their dwellings. They also dressed the part, with the
girls going topless. Again we felt a bit funny about some of this and wondered if it was exploitation. The man
owned the village was white. However one of the black managers said that working at the village was putting a
lot of the students through school. And he felt that it was also helping them to keep their old traditions alive.
The cultural villages were practically the only places where we saw traditional African attire. Most black South
Africans wear western clothing, unlike the people you see in countries like Ghana where traditional dress is
worn every day.
Reserve, and took the Rovos Rail luxury train
from Cape Town to Johannesburg where we
argued politics with passengers from South
Africa and Europe. I was the only Black
passenger on the train but conversations about
racial issues never offended me, though it's
always amusing to hear people trying to prove
how "liberal" they are.
On one of our free nights, the crew and I
decided to venture out to a popular Jo-burg
dance club called "Kippy's", even though
some white locals told us it was too dangerous
to travel at night.
Jazz, and traditional African music.
Two of the highlights of my trip were visiting Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent most of his 27
years in prison, and visiting SOWETO, the South Western Township in Johannesburg. At Robben Island I
toured the prison with a member of Parliament who was a fellow prisoner with Mandela. I couldn't believe
listened to stories of the courage it took to get
through those horrible years. And I was surprised
to meet the white prison guard who helped
Mandela smuggle out letters and the manuscript to
his autobiography. Today he owns a memorabilia
shop with books and photos on Robben Island and
South Africa's apartheid years. He was very
friendly and we actually took a photo together.
In SOWETO I toured the shantytown side of the
township, as well as another side I had no idea
existed. There is a large Black middle class section
of SOWETO where the houses are comparable to
the suburban houses in the United States.
show it off. We were amused to see that even his kitchen had a leather-covered ceiling.
English) took over their land. And yet there were little children playing and laughing, the same as you would
see in the ghettos of the U.S. They were so cute that the scene begged to be photographed. However, there
were times when we felt a bit guilty, wondering if we were exploiting the people we videotaped. It was a fine
line we walked throughout our visit. In an eclectic, international section of Jo-burg I met a Black couple that
owned a laundromat/internet café. Michael Giles is American and his wife, Bernadette Moffat, is South
African. They decided to move back to her country to help make a difference in the "new" South Africa. I
really took to them and we are still pen pals via e-mail.
Like most nations, South Africa is complicated. I feel I need to visit it a few more times to really get a true
impression of the country. The people were kind but guarded. So next time, I?ll try to stay with a family to
see the country from a different perspective.
First impressions never tell the whole story.
Kalin Thomas
www.seetheworldproductions.com
kalinthomas@yahoo.com
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