South African Conversations sample articles
Insight into who we are as a people. Empowering, practical information. A platform for people who are otherwise voiceless. Suggestions for action by individuals, families, concerned onlookers, businesses and policy-makers to help create a better world for all of us. The South African Conversations magazine is a source of practical, solutions-oriented information. It empowers individuals, families and communities, raises awareness about the lived reality of people who are marginalised, and suggests options for action by concerned onlookers, businesses and policy-makers. The magazine is for sale exclusively by unemployed people who earn 50% of the cover price. Our distribution network is through NPOs across South Africa. These Distribution Hubs earn 20% of the cover price for supplying magazines to sellers and negotiating safe sales spaces for them in places with high levels of affluent foot traffic. Enjoy these sample articles and look for opportunities sprinkled throughout to collaborate with us.
Insight into who we are as a people. Empowering, practical information. A platform for people who are otherwise voiceless. Suggestions for action by individuals, families, concerned onlookers, businesses and policy-makers to help create a better world for all of us.
The South African Conversations magazine is a source of practical, solutions-oriented information. It empowers individuals, families and communities, raises awareness about the lived reality of people who are marginalised, and suggests options for action by concerned onlookers, businesses and policy-makers.
The magazine is for sale exclusively by unemployed people who earn 50% of the cover price. Our distribution network is through NPOs across South Africa. These Distribution Hubs earn 20% of the cover price for supplying magazines to sellers and negotiating safe sales spaces for them in places with high levels of affluent foot traffic.
Enjoy these sample articles and look for opportunities sprinkled throughout to collaborate with us.
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southafrican<br />
CONVERSATiONS<br />
Challenging the divide<br />
SAMPLE<br />
ARTICLES<br />
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Here’s what<br />
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kind of world<br />
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to live in.<br />
Samples of the kind of content you’ll find in the <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong> <strong>Conversations</strong> magazine<br />
A forum for diverse opinions, interesting dialogue, eye-opening information and<br />
practical solutions towards a better <strong>South</strong> Africa.
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southafricanCONVERSATiONS<br />
Challenging the divide<br />
www.southafricanconversations.co.za/register-as-a-distribution-hub
<strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong><br />
<strong>Conversations</strong> is a majority<br />
Black-owned, social<br />
entrepreneurial enterprise<br />
on a mission to ease<br />
the suffering caused by<br />
unemployment, poverty and<br />
marginalisation.<br />
Our Vision<br />
• A world free from poverty,<br />
discrimination and socioeconomic<br />
inequality.<br />
• A world in which we, as<br />
<strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong>s, respectfully<br />
see ‘that of God’* in each<br />
other.<br />
• A world in which even the<br />
‘least among us’ are visible,<br />
able to sustain themselves<br />
and access information and<br />
opportunities that allow<br />
their full participation in<br />
society.<br />
* Walk cheerfully over the<br />
earth, answering that of God in<br />
everyone. – A Quaker saying<br />
Our Key Initiatives<br />
• Community <strong>Conversations</strong>.<br />
A platform for marginalised<br />
voices.<br />
• A monthly, printed<br />
magazine. Solutions-based<br />
journalism.<br />
• A Resource Directory. A<br />
printed toolbox of useful<br />
information & resources.<br />
All three initiatives offer<br />
opportunities for skilled and<br />
unskilled <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong>s<br />
to generate income for<br />
themselves.<br />
talk.to.us@southafrican<br />
conversations.co.za<br />
t. 021 300 0547<br />
southafrican<br />
CONVERSATiONS<br />
SAMPLE CONTENT<br />
5 Why print in the age of the Internet?<br />
6 Our Rainbow Nation<br />
10 The Plight of Our Students<br />
12 Child Headed Households<br />
13 Preparing for Your Death<br />
15 How to Start a Food Garden<br />
16 Edible Weeds & Wild Plants<br />
20 The Cultural Context of Greetings<br />
22 How About Learning My Language?<br />
24 The Rubbish Bin Scavengers<br />
28 Everything You Need to Know About<br />
Recycling<br />
32 Because My Mouth is Wide with Laughter ...<br />
33 Maids & Madams: Know Your Rights ... And<br />
Obligations<br />
34 Respect for Life Starts with Respect for All<br />
Living Things<br />
34 The Frightening Link Between Animal Abuse<br />
and Human Violence<br />
36 Crisis Pregnancy: What are the Options?<br />
38 Grandmothers Holding Families Together<br />
All Over <strong>South</strong> Africa<br />
40 Dictionary<br />
3
I TAKE<br />
THE PLEDGE!<br />
TO NEVER<br />
USE MY HANDS OR MY WORDS<br />
TO HURT ANYONE ... IN REAL LIFE<br />
OR ON SOCIAL MEDIA.<br />
TO NEVER REMAIN SILENT<br />
ABOUT ANY FORM OF VIOLENCE<br />
OR DISCRIMINATION.<br />
Photo | Womanizer-Unsplash<br />
TO STOP AND THINK<br />
BEFORE I DO, SAY OR POST ANYTHING<br />
THAT COULD HURT ANYONE<br />
BECAUSE I KNOW HOW VULNERABLE<br />
WE ALL ARE.<br />
Buy the poster at www.southafricanconversations.co.za/shop
:<br />
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
<strong>sample</strong> content 5<br />
Printing is on the decline<br />
the world over as a direct<br />
result of the accessibility of<br />
information on the Internet.<br />
Those who can afford it and<br />
know how to navigate their<br />
way around the World Wide<br />
Web have unfettered access<br />
to this vast and liberating<br />
storehouse of knowledge<br />
and information – giving<br />
them a distinct advantage<br />
when it comes to exploring<br />
opportunities, developing<br />
their potential and finding<br />
solutions to problems.<br />
But there’s a problem: over<br />
16 million <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong>s<br />
don’t use the internet at all,<br />
and the majority of those<br />
who do only have access at<br />
work, malls and cafés, with<br />
limited access to free sites<br />
and social media platforms<br />
at home.<br />
This discrepancy is primarily<br />
caused by poor or no<br />
reception, intermittent or no<br />
electricity, and the high cost<br />
of data.<br />
Even if we achieved<br />
100% accessible internet<br />
coverage, cultural isolation<br />
and a lack of knowledge<br />
on how to search for<br />
information online would<br />
remain significant barriers<br />
to achieving equal access to<br />
information.<br />
Besides, solutions to<br />
problems experienced by<br />
poor people are fragmented<br />
and not easily accessible –<br />
even online.<br />
Consequently, many<br />
marginalised people are<br />
oblivious to the help,<br />
services, solutions and<br />
options available to them.<br />
As the world’s knowledge<br />
increasingly moves online,<br />
access to information<br />
will become the biggest<br />
obstacle to equality and<br />
development in <strong>South</strong><br />
Africa.<br />
That’s why we print.<br />
Another reason why we<br />
print is that our magazine<br />
is an important source<br />
of income generation for<br />
unemployed people, and<br />
for the NPOs that supply<br />
magazines for them to sell.<br />
If you’d like to know more<br />
about this initiative, watch<br />
this short movie.<br />
But make no mistake: all of<br />
our publications speak to all<br />
<strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong>s: those who<br />
are struggling, as well as<br />
those who aspire to make a<br />
difference, including<br />
businesses and policymakers.<br />
Knowledge has power.<br />
It controls access to opportunity and advancement.<br />
– Peter Drucker<br />
Join us in our mission to<br />
bridge the growing divide<br />
between those who have<br />
access to information and<br />
opportunities, and those<br />
who do not.<br />
We offer many<br />
opportunities for mutuallybeneficial<br />
collaboration.<br />
Theresa Muller<br />
talk.to.us@<br />
southafricanconversations.<br />
co.za or call us on<br />
0860 333 034<br />
why print in the age of the Internet?
6<br />
Our nation<br />
rainbow<br />
None of us are the stereotypes described here, yet most of us will recognise a bit of ourselves somewhere on these pages.<br />
Older generation<br />
returned expatriates<br />
They are mostly Black, Indian and<br />
Coloured: former freedom fighters<br />
and returned political exiles.<br />
They are worldly, experienced and<br />
sophisticated – even if not formally<br />
educated.<br />
They are politicised and angry about<br />
white entitlement, bigotry, racism,<br />
condescension and lack of knowledge<br />
about the rest of society.<br />
They are intimately familiar with the<br />
plight of marginalised people.<br />
The international generation<br />
They are the children of mostly Black<br />
former political exiles or they grew<br />
up, normally, in affluent areas in postapartheid<br />
<strong>South</strong> Africa.<br />
They are sassy, well-educated, well-read<br />
and often well-travelled.<br />
They are at ease engaging outside familiar<br />
racial and cultural boundaries and have<br />
diverse social circles.<br />
Many are leaving <strong>South</strong> Africa because of<br />
frustration with crime and discrimination,<br />
Photo: Henri Meilhac<br />
and in pursuit of better economic<br />
opportunities.<br />
They are annoyed by white condescension<br />
and the automatic assumption that being<br />
Black equates to poverty and lack of<br />
education.<br />
They may not understand the true depth<br />
of the plight of marginalised people in<br />
<strong>South</strong> Africa, because they did not<br />
grow up in it.<br />
They are annoyed by the<br />
automatic assumption that<br />
Black equates poverty and<br />
lack of education.<br />
Those who stayed behind,<br />
but got educated in spite<br />
of apartheid<br />
Black professionals – the lucky few who<br />
made up apartheid’s quota of Black people<br />
who were allowed to get an education.<br />
They are intimately familiar with the plight<br />
of their own people.<br />
Most are supporting extended,<br />
marginalised families.<br />
Many are involved with volunteer work<br />
trying to make a difference through faithbased<br />
or community-based organisations.<br />
They are not necessarily politicised, are<br />
often accepting of the status quo and are<br />
eager to fit in with White people at work or<br />
church – not considering the loss of their<br />
own cultural identity in this process.<br />
Despite their qualifications, there is a self-
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
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7<br />
imposed and historically imposed<br />
‘glass ceiling’ beyond which<br />
many find it difficult to move –<br />
especially in the presence of<br />
White professionals.<br />
the government – because of its<br />
promises – and especially White<br />
people – because of the history<br />
of apartheid and because White<br />
people are perceived as being<br />
rich.<br />
Educated, young people<br />
of colour who were<br />
raised in <strong>South</strong> Africa<br />
They are the new generation of<br />
young people who have had<br />
access to education and other<br />
post-apartheid opportunities.<br />
Many of them rose out of terrible<br />
disadvantage to achieve their<br />
ambitions.<br />
They are intimately familiar with the<br />
plight of their own people and most<br />
are supporting extended families.<br />
They are positive, hopeful and want<br />
to help make a difference.<br />
Even if not completely at ease, they<br />
are eager to engage outside familiar<br />
racial and cultural boundaries –<br />
often at a loss of their own<br />
cultural identity.<br />
They are often not treated as<br />
professional equals by Whites<br />
in the workplace.<br />
They are often not<br />
treated as professional<br />
equals by whites in the<br />
workplace.<br />
Emerging historically<br />
disadvantaged<br />
<strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong>s<br />
They are mostly Black, skilled bluecollar<br />
workers and artisans, new to<br />
the <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong> workforce.<br />
They often struggle to make ends<br />
meet. A large proportion of their<br />
salaries are for family maintenance<br />
responsibilities. Many are<br />
supporting extended families.<br />
They are very familiar with limited<br />
access to services.<br />
They are frustrated with unfulfilled<br />
promises made by NGOs and<br />
government departments.<br />
They are intimately familiar with the<br />
complex challenges faced by Black<br />
communities.<br />
They are willing to contribute in any<br />
way possible to help make things<br />
better for their people.<br />
On the whole, they have little<br />
decision-making power in the<br />
world of work.<br />
They want to move away from what<br />
has held them back in the past …<br />
desperately trying to hide the other<br />
reality in their lives: the reality not<br />
known or shared by White people.<br />
They often spend disproportionate<br />
amounts of money on clothes,<br />
shoes, handbags, jewellery,<br />
accessories and cars to keep<br />
up appearances.<br />
They sometimes have a sense<br />
of entitlement, a culture of ‘the<br />
world owes me.’ That world is<br />
Marginalised<br />
<strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong>s<br />
The millions of poor <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong>s<br />
who live lives of quiet desperation<br />
– who have given up hope of ever<br />
bridging the widening rift between<br />
rich and poor, educated and<br />
uneducated in <strong>South</strong> Africa.<br />
They are mostly Black and coloured,<br />
though increasing numbers of<br />
White people are becoming<br />
marginalised.<br />
They are people of all ages in<br />
positions of domestic responsibility<br />
– including orphans left to fend for<br />
themselves and their siblings.<br />
They are unemployed or employed<br />
in menial jobs, homeless or living in<br />
poverty in townships, city centres,<br />
abandoned buildings, building sites,<br />
informal settlements and rural<br />
areas.<br />
They are affected by all the social<br />
ills associated with poverty and<br />
marginalisation, such as alcohol<br />
and substance abuse, illiteracy,<br />
malnutrition, prostitution and<br />
neglect.<br />
They have little access to<br />
information and are often unaware<br />
of the extent of social programming<br />
Photo: Jan Truter | flickr
8<br />
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
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Charisse Kenion<br />
initiatives and other support<br />
services available to them.<br />
They are unable to participate in<br />
the formal economy for a variety of<br />
reasons, such as lack of education,<br />
lack of skills, transportation,<br />
money, confidence, know-how<br />
and, simply, lack of precedent.<br />
Ill health, disability and old age<br />
may also prevent them from active<br />
participation.<br />
They are frustrated, sceptical and<br />
wary because of what they perceive<br />
as unfulfilled development promises<br />
made by the government.<br />
They believe that the government<br />
doesn’t care about them.<br />
They are illiterate, semi-literate or<br />
literate, and mostly uneducated.<br />
They have little disposable income<br />
and few prospects.<br />
Many are without hope.<br />
The takers<br />
People who have become wealthy<br />
by questionable means. They are<br />
more concerned with what they<br />
can take from the system than<br />
what they can give to it. There is<br />
little regard for ethics or culture.<br />
They behave ostentatiously and<br />
often spend exorbitant amounts of<br />
money on booze and bling. Making<br />
money seems to be a game of how<br />
best to cheat the system, not of<br />
hard work and integrity.<br />
Old-school historically<br />
advantaged people<br />
Mostly White <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong>s who<br />
believe, deep down, that the ending<br />
of apartheid was a mistake.<br />
They used to blame the victims of<br />
poverty for lack of incentive, lack of<br />
willpower, laziness, stupidity and all<br />
the stereotypes that are attached<br />
to people who are marginalised<br />
– until their own joined the ranks<br />
of the poor. Now they blame the<br />
government.<br />
They see no connection between<br />
crime and the fact that economic<br />
inequality is higher in <strong>South</strong> Africa<br />
than anywhere else in the world.<br />
They believe in their intrinsic<br />
intellectual superiority and they look<br />
down on other races. They believe<br />
that they earned what they have<br />
because of their hard work and<br />
contributions to the world.<br />
They rarely consider the enormous<br />
benefit and advantage bestowed<br />
upon them and their families by<br />
the years of white affirmative action<br />
during apartheid.<br />
They have access to quality<br />
employment, health care, services,<br />
information and opportunities.<br />
Their jobs are protected by a circle<br />
of their own: like-minded family,<br />
friends and colleagues.<br />
They live lives of privilege and<br />
entitlement. They have stereotypical<br />
ideas of what Black people are like<br />
and expect Blacks who want to<br />
associate with them to conform to<br />
their norms of behaviour, dress,<br />
speech and culture.<br />
They would find it inconceivable<br />
to visit a township, let alone an<br />
informal settlement and believe,<br />
on some level, that people who live<br />
in poverty deserve what they get,<br />
because of their inability to rise<br />
above their circumstances.<br />
They see no connection between<br />
the policies of the past and Black<br />
poverty now. They want Black<br />
people to ‘move on’ because<br />
apartheid is over, after all.<br />
They see no connection between<br />
the low and discriminatory wages<br />
they pay the people who support<br />
them in maintaining their lifestyle,<br />
and the difficulties those people<br />
experience in rising above their<br />
circumstances.<br />
They are negatively critical of the<br />
government and regard many of its<br />
policies as unfair, ill-advised assaults<br />
on their way of life.<br />
They and their children are negative<br />
about prospects in <strong>South</strong> Africa and<br />
invariably believe that the situation<br />
is hopeless. Leaving the country is<br />
perpetually an option.<br />
Liberal historically<br />
advantaged people<br />
White <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong>s who believe<br />
that apartheid was an iniquity that<br />
marred our economic development,<br />
scarred a lot of people, divided a<br />
nation, and left us with horrible<br />
problems.
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
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9<br />
They are saddened by the past and<br />
want to see our country change<br />
and heal.<br />
They are mostly educated and<br />
have access to quality employment,<br />
health care, ample services and<br />
information, and participate actively<br />
in the formal economy.<br />
They may be affluent or not, but<br />
they live lives of relative privilege<br />
because they know no other way<br />
of living.<br />
They mix freely with educated<br />
people of colour who fit into their<br />
socio-economic group. Yet, they are<br />
mostly unaware of what life is like<br />
for those who are truly marginalised<br />
as a result of the racial policies of<br />
the past.<br />
They are critical, but positive about<br />
prospects in <strong>South</strong> Africa.<br />
They would like to help make a<br />
difference – but they are unsure<br />
about how to get involved beyond<br />
mixing with people of colour who<br />
fit into their world.<br />
Historically advantaged<br />
blue-collar <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong>s<br />
White blue-collar workers and<br />
artisans who took for granted the<br />
affirmative protections afforded<br />
them by apartheid, who now have<br />
to compete for jobs and services<br />
against people who were previously<br />
excluded from meaningful<br />
participation in the formal economy.<br />
Many struggle to make ends meet.<br />
A large proportion of their salaries<br />
go towards family responsibilities.<br />
Many, but not all, are now<br />
supporting unemployed members<br />
of their family.<br />
Many are resentful of Black people<br />
taking ‘their’ jobs.<br />
They still have a say at their<br />
places of work because of the<br />
ease of interaction in a world still<br />
dominated by unspoken white<br />
rules.<br />
Photo: William Krause<br />
Kind White people who<br />
never questioned the<br />
status quo<br />
White <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong>s who were<br />
born into apartheid but didn’t<br />
necessarily consider themselves<br />
superior – just different. They never<br />
questioned why Black people live in<br />
poverty on one side of town, while<br />
White people lived in decent houses<br />
and sent their children to school on<br />
the other side of town. They never<br />
made the connection between the<br />
policies of apartheid and the way<br />
things were. They have a hard time<br />
redefining themselves and making<br />
sense of the guilt that comes<br />
with awareness of what has really<br />
happened here.<br />
The unclassifiables<br />
A large group of <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong>s<br />
(and foreigners) that transcends<br />
stereotypical categories.<br />
This group is comprised of people<br />
from all economic and racial<br />
backgrounds … ordinary people<br />
who believe that a better world<br />
is possible. Many are involved<br />
in social transformation work<br />
… in government departments,<br />
international and local aid<br />
organisations and charities,<br />
and in community and faithbased<br />
projects.<br />
Also in this group, are many of the<br />
younger generation who have had<br />
the privilege of discovering the<br />
common humanity of people from<br />
all races with whom they went<br />
to school.<br />
They don’t know about the pain and<br />
division caused by apartheid and<br />
they frankly don’t care. They just<br />
want to get on with their lives and<br />
participate in a world that works.<br />
They don’t want to be punished<br />
for the sins of their fathers or be<br />
branded by their labels.<br />
Many have had the privilege of discovering the<br />
common humanity of people from all races.<br />
Photo: Zachary Nelson
10<br />
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
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The plight of our student’s<br />
Growing up we were told<br />
that it’s only lazy people who<br />
become failures in life. Any<br />
form of failure was attributed<br />
to a lack of discipline and<br />
willpower or low intelligence.<br />
But during my time at<br />
university, I saw and<br />
experienced a different reality.<br />
I lived far away and it took<br />
me at least two hours every<br />
morning to get to campus, by<br />
taxi. By the time I arrived, I was<br />
tired and in desperate need of<br />
rest or food or both. I lived so<br />
far from campus because<br />
accommodation close to<br />
campus was very<br />
expensive, and the<br />
available and more<br />
affordable places were<br />
rowdy, overcrowded and<br />
uninhabitable. So, like<br />
many others, I opted to<br />
live with relatives closest<br />
to campus.<br />
Another ramification<br />
of the distance I lived<br />
from campus was that I<br />
invariably had to leave<br />
halfway through the<br />
last lecture of the<br />
day to catch the last<br />
taxi home. Thank<br />
goodness I had a<br />
laptop otherwise I<br />
would have had to<br />
spend lunch breaks<br />
typing my assignments at the<br />
crowded computer labs, and have<br />
to leave home as early as 4 am to<br />
get some Internet usage before<br />
classes started. I know many<br />
students who do exactly that.<br />
Student dropout rates in <strong>South</strong><br />
Africa are alarmingly high:<br />
between 50 to 60% among firstand<br />
second-year students. The<br />
majority of these students cite<br />
financial problems as the reason<br />
for dropping out. But it is not just<br />
money ... Here is the story of a<br />
friend of mine, Pule (not his real<br />
name), that offers a glimpse at<br />
the complex challenges faced by<br />
those who drop out.<br />
Pule came to Johannesburg<br />
from a small town in the Free<br />
State. He never knew his father,<br />
and his mother was a domestic<br />
worker. Even so, Pule’s matric<br />
results qualified him for university<br />
entrance and he managed to<br />
get some financial aid, but not<br />
enough for accommodation on<br />
or off-campus.<br />
He ended up living with one of<br />
his aunts about 35 km away for<br />
the duration of his studies. This<br />
meant that he had to get up at<br />
4 am every morning to iron the<br />
clothes he washed a night or<br />
two before, make breakfast and<br />
sandwiches for lunch, and walk<br />
20 minutes to where he could<br />
catch a taxi. The commute to the<br />
city routinely took as long as two<br />
hours, and sometimes longer if<br />
the taxi waited to fill up before it<br />
would leave. If there were<br />
no delays, Pule would arrive<br />
on campus around 7:30 am —<br />
perpetually exhausted and under<br />
pressure to perform academically,<br />
so that he could hopefully qualify<br />
for a scholarship. Some days,<br />
especially towards the end of the<br />
month, Pule would arrive hungry,<br />
because there was very little to<br />
eat at his aunt’s house.<br />
by Andrew Tlou<br />
Photo | Shunya<br />
Koide | Unsplash
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
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11<br />
On the other side of town, another friend,<br />
Joe (not his real name), would wake up<br />
around 6 am, grab an energy bar and head<br />
to the gym in the comfort of the nippy<br />
little car his parents bought for him when<br />
he matriculated. After gym he would head<br />
home for a tasty and nutritious breakfast,<br />
a shower and something nice to wear from<br />
the neatly ironed brand-name clothes in his<br />
wardrobe. He would leave home around<br />
7.30 am to get to the first class of the day<br />
— on time and with no worries or stress<br />
other than having to navigate the traffic<br />
to campus. On the passenger seat would<br />
be a lunch box filled with delicious brain<br />
food which he often took home, unopened,<br />
because he went out for lunch with his<br />
friends, instead.<br />
Pule often skipped lunch so that he could<br />
use the library and its Internet facility<br />
during the day. Sometimes he had to<br />
choose between the library and a lecture<br />
because there was always the possibility of<br />
missing the last taxi home.<br />
Joe could stay at the library as long as he<br />
wanted … or go home to access the Internet<br />
at home at any hour of the day or night.<br />
He had never experienced real hunger,<br />
because there was always money in his<br />
pocket to buy something, somewhere.<br />
Joe’s parents were not only able to back him<br />
financially, but they were also emotionally<br />
available to provide support, love and<br />
companionship.<br />
Pule’s aunt, on the other hand, resented<br />
the extra mouth to feed, and continuously<br />
reminded Pule not to think that he’s better<br />
than the rest of the family because he goes<br />
to university.<br />
Pule retreated to the room he shared with<br />
two cousins as soon as he arrived home.<br />
He worked on a corner of his bed until<br />
someone would call him to come and eat.<br />
Or not.<br />
Life<br />
is<br />
a<br />
dream<br />
for<br />
the<br />
wise,<br />
a<br />
game<br />
for<br />
the<br />
fool,<br />
a<br />
comedy<br />
for<br />
the<br />
rich,<br />
a<br />
tragedy<br />
for<br />
the<br />
poor.<br />
– Sholom<br />
Aleichem<br />
There was no Internet and<br />
sometimes, towards the end of<br />
the month, no electricity. There<br />
were other, gnawing stresses, too.<br />
Like his deteriorating eyesight,<br />
his malfunctioning second-hand<br />
laptop ...<br />
Both friends eventually graduated.<br />
It took both one year longer. Pule<br />
because he had to stop at the end<br />
of his second year to earn some<br />
money. Joe, because he changed<br />
his mind about his area of study.<br />
Students from less privileged<br />
backgrounds are often chided for<br />
their “lack of commitment”. Yet<br />
few of those who do the chiding<br />
realise the burdens, stresses and<br />
difficulties that many of these<br />
students carry alone.<br />
Pule’s situation was not as bad<br />
as some of the students I met<br />
who were ‘living’ in libraries or<br />
anywhere they could find shelter<br />
on campus.<br />
I also witnessed some heartbreaking<br />
situations where bright,<br />
capable students were refused<br />
permission to continue unless<br />
outstanding fees were paid.<br />
Poverty has many spill-over<br />
effects. Many students are<br />
excluded from re-enrollment<br />
because of poor academic<br />
performance. Academic exclusion,<br />
in most cases, is final and no<br />
one cares to hear about the<br />
circumstances that lead to such an<br />
unfavourable assessment. n
12<br />
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
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Photo: John Prere<br />
“My father passed away when Thabo was two. I was nine. I didn’t mind that he<br />
died, because we didn’t see him very much. But when I was older I saw that it was<br />
because of him that we always had food and things, which we didn’t have after he<br />
died. I mean, we had food. But not so much meat. My mother planted mealies and<br />
morogo and we had the cow, so we had milk. My mother started working for the<br />
farmer with the big house. She worked in the fields. She would leave when it was<br />
still dark and come home when it was dark. And she became so thin. So thin. And<br />
weak. And then she couldn’t work any more. She got the sickness. So, I left school<br />
to take care of her and Bongani left school to take her place at the farm. Only<br />
Tshepo and Jabu are at school now. I know she is going to die. My mother. I will be<br />
the father then because I am the oldest. I am fourteen years.” – Albert
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
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13<br />
What would I do if I were Albert?<br />
By Moshe Lecheko<br />
If my parents were dying or had<br />
died and I was the oldest of<br />
four siblings, I would have the<br />
responsibility of looking after the<br />
family when my parents are gone.<br />
If it were me, here’s what I’d do:<br />
I would start by talking with the<br />
counsellors in my community.<br />
They will know what resources<br />
are available and will tell me<br />
how to contact these.<br />
I would talk with the people at<br />
the clinic to find out of there<br />
is anything we need to do. For<br />
instance, we may need to get<br />
ourselves tested for HIV.<br />
I would meet with the<br />
headmaster of our school and<br />
tell him what is happening and<br />
ask for his advice.<br />
I would talk with social workers<br />
and join any local support<br />
groups for children of dying<br />
parents.<br />
I would ask my parents about<br />
everything I need to know about.<br />
Like where they keep papers for<br />
the house, our birth certificates,<br />
our school certificates, family<br />
members to contact, and so on.<br />
I would ask for an opportunity<br />
to talk to the elders in my family.<br />
I would prepare my siblings and<br />
myself psychologically.<br />
I would commit myself to doing<br />
everything I can to ensure that<br />
my siblings and I are educated<br />
because it is through education<br />
that we will be able to live a<br />
better and more meaningful life.<br />
I believe that through drawing<br />
collectively on the support<br />
systems and structures that<br />
are already in place, however<br />
informally, I – as a vulnerable<br />
or orphaned child — will still<br />
be able to live a more or less<br />
normal life.<br />
Everything I do must<br />
strengthen and not disrupt what<br />
will be left of my family, for<br />
without the love, support and<br />
shared existence of a family, it<br />
would be difficult to grow up, to<br />
know who we are, to learn the<br />
traditions, morals and values of<br />
our culture and to conform to<br />
the broader society.<br />
It is not the absence of the<br />
resource that is a problem; it is the<br />
ability to find, access and utilise<br />
the available resources that is the<br />
problem. There is a lot of support<br />
for orphans. I believe our people<br />
cannot always utilise the available<br />
resources that are at their<br />
disposal. So, if it were me, I would<br />
ask questions until I understand<br />
what help is available.<br />
Preparing for<br />
your death<br />
It sounds odd but it will be<br />
a gift and a lifeline to your<br />
children. Here’s what you<br />
MUST do to safeguard their<br />
emotional, physical and<br />
financial future.<br />
1. Talk about your illness, about<br />
death, and about what will<br />
happen when you are gone.<br />
2. Make memories together.<br />
Spend time doing things that you<br />
love together.<br />
3. Prepare a will. Verbal<br />
instructions do not hold up<br />
in a court of law. Download a<br />
free template of a will from the<br />
Internet. Or ask a lawyer or other<br />
clever person to help you. Get<br />
witnesses to sign the will, make<br />
copies and get a Commissioner of<br />
oaths to certify that they are true<br />
copies. Give copies to your older<br />
children, close family members,<br />
guardians and community<br />
leaders.<br />
4. Appoint guardians to take care<br />
of your children after your death.<br />
Reach out and involve them in<br />
your family life already.<br />
5. Get your and your children’s<br />
papers in order. Birth certificates,<br />
identity documents, grant<br />
applications, property ownership<br />
rights, access to bank accounts,<br />
etc. Make sure that at least two<br />
trusted adults, as well as your<br />
oldest children, know exactly what<br />
is involved, where the papers are<br />
kept and what the passwords are,<br />
if any. n
14<br />
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
<strong>sample</strong> content<br />
The cultural context of<br />
A friend tells the charming<br />
story of his aged father<br />
arriving in Durban to visit<br />
one of his sons. As they<br />
walk down a busy street,<br />
the old man stops every<br />
few seconds and asks<br />
people how they are. The<br />
son very quickly has to<br />
intervene and educate his<br />
father:<br />
‘This is the city, father. There<br />
are too many people here to<br />
greet. You greet only those<br />
you know, not the ones you<br />
don’t know.’<br />
It was an incomprehensible<br />
rudeness that the old man<br />
just couldn’t get used to.<br />
The same old man sold<br />
his horse to a young man<br />
in their rural community.<br />
After a couple of days the<br />
young man stopped by<br />
to enquire: ‘Why does the<br />
horse come to a standstill<br />
whenever we approach<br />
someone?’<br />
‘To greet and enquire about<br />
the other’s life, of course,’<br />
the old man replied.<br />
The horse had absorbed<br />
the old man’s way of life<br />
and did not even have to<br />
be prompted to stop and<br />
be civil to the people of<br />
that community.
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
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15<br />
TRING-TRING-TRING ...<br />
ANSWER: Hello. This is<br />
Deidre.<br />
REPLY: Hello, how are you?<br />
ANSWER: (mildly irritated)<br />
Fine, thank you. Who are<br />
you?<br />
This is a relatively common<br />
exchange between black<br />
and white people in <strong>South</strong><br />
Africa.<br />
For many black people,<br />
the question ‘How are you?<br />
(Kunjani? / O kae?)’ is the<br />
only respectful way to start<br />
a conversation.<br />
This civility is inherent in<br />
most <strong>African</strong> languages<br />
and cultures. To start<br />
with the purpose of your<br />
call would be offensively<br />
impolite. For instance,<br />
one would not dream of<br />
simply saying ‘Dumela’.<br />
The greeting will always be<br />
followed by the question:<br />
‘O phela jwang?’ which<br />
literally means, ‘How is<br />
your life?’ — reminiscent<br />
of an era when people still<br />
had time to engage with<br />
one another.<br />
To the white person, the<br />
question feels like an<br />
intrusion: ‘You don’t know<br />
who I am and you haven’t<br />
even announced yourself,<br />
how can you ask me how<br />
I am?’ She wants to first<br />
know who you are and<br />
what the purpose of your<br />
call is, before engaging in<br />
small talk with you.<br />
When there is<br />
understanding it is<br />
possible to not only<br />
tolerate and accept our<br />
differences, but to respect<br />
the other’s behaviour.
16<br />
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
<strong>sample</strong> content<br />
HOW ABOUT LEARNING MY<br />
Everything can change, but not the<br />
language that we carry inside us,<br />
like a world more exclusive and final<br />
than one’s mother’s womb.<br />
– Italo Calvino. Writer, Essayist, Journalist<br />
Photo: Heidi Sheppard<br />
There are about 6,000 languages spoken in the<br />
world.* Ninety five percent of these languages<br />
are spoken by only four percent of the world’s<br />
population. Across the world an average of two<br />
languages die out each month. That is why,<br />
in 1999, UNESCO proclaimed February 21 as<br />
International Mother Language Day.<br />
Language is the most powerful instrument we<br />
have to preserve our cultural wealth and our<br />
diverse cultural heritage. The day is celebrated<br />
around the world, annually, to promote<br />
dialogue among different cultures and people,<br />
and to foster mutual understanding and<br />
respect for all cultures.<br />
* UNESCO’s ‘Atlas of the World Languages in Danger of Disappearing’.<br />
And did you know that, in spite of major<br />
opposition, Madiba insisted on including<br />
‘Die Stem’ in the National Anthem of the new<br />
<strong>South</strong> Africa, signifying respect for all races and<br />
cultures and the dawning of an all-inclusive<br />
new era for <strong>South</strong> Africa.<br />
Are you one of those people who keep quiet<br />
during the verses of the Anthem that is not in<br />
your mother tongue?<br />
We’d like to challenge you to learn to sing the<br />
National Anthem of <strong>South</strong> Africa and get to<br />
know what the words mean, too.<br />
The lyrics and the translation of each non-<br />
English verse is on the opposite page.<br />
s<br />
s
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
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17<br />
Every month we’ll give you two or more words to learn in all our official languages. Here’s how to<br />
say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Ask a friend or a co-worker to teach you how to pronounce the words.<br />
Try, at least, to master those words that belong to the languages that are spoken where you live.<br />
LANGUAGE PREDOMINANT IN WORDS<br />
English Western Cape Please Thank you<br />
Afrikaans Northern Cape Asseblief Dankie<br />
IsiNdebele<br />
(Ndebele)<br />
Sesotho sa Leboa<br />
(Pedi – or Northern Sotho)<br />
Sesotho<br />
(Sotho – or <strong>South</strong>ern Sotho)<br />
Mpumalanga Ngiyabawa Ngiyathokoza<br />
Limpopo Ka kgopelo Ke a leboga<br />
Free State Ke a kopa Ke a leboha<br />
Setswana North West Province Ke kopa Ke a leboga<br />
Xitsonga Limpopo Ndza kombela Inkomu<br />
Tshivenda Limpopo Nga khumbelo Ndo livhuwa / Ro<br />
IsiXhosa Eastern Cape Nceda Enkosi<br />
IsiZulu KwaZulu-Natal Ngicela Ngiyabonga<br />
SiSwati Mpumalanga Ngiyacela Siyabonga<br />
You can learn to speak all 11 of our official languages, as well as <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong> sign language,<br />
free of charge, online, at https://play.google.com ... Click on Apps, then type the name of the<br />
language you would like to learn into the search bar.<br />
s<br />
s<br />
(Xhosa) Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika<br />
Maluphakanyisw’ uphondo lwayo,<br />
(Zulu) Yizwa imithandazo yethu,<br />
Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo.<br />
(Sotho) Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso,<br />
O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho,<br />
O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso,<br />
Setjhaba sa, <strong>South</strong> Afrika, <strong>South</strong> Afrika.<br />
(Afrikaans) Uit die blou van onse hemel,<br />
Uit die diepte van ons see,<br />
Oor ons ewige gebergtes,<br />
Waar die kranse antwoord gee,<br />
(English) Sounds the call to come together,<br />
And united we shall stand,<br />
Let us live and strive for freedom<br />
In <strong>South</strong> Africa our land.<br />
Translation<br />
God [Lord] bless Africa<br />
Raise high its glory<br />
Hear our prayers<br />
God bless us, her children<br />
God, we ask You to protect our nation<br />
Intervene and end all conflicts<br />
Protect us, protect our nation, our<br />
nation,<br />
<strong>South</strong> Africa - <strong>South</strong> Africa<br />
Out of the blue of our heavens,<br />
Out of the depths of our seas,<br />
Over our everlasting mountains,<br />
Where the echoing crags resound ...
18<br />
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
<strong>sample</strong> content<br />
THE<br />
RUBBISH BIN<br />
SCAVENGERS<br />
One young man’s experience<br />
I am sitting here by the street,<br />
because I have no job. I told<br />
my mother that I will get a job,<br />
but eish, I have been here for<br />
so long and every night I go<br />
back home with no job. I think<br />
people don’t want to use me<br />
because I look too young. The<br />
older men, they get jobs.<br />
Sometimes it rains, sometimes<br />
it is very cold. Sometimes I<br />
get hungry. Then I go and beg<br />
at that robot. But those guys<br />
there, that’s their robot. They<br />
don’t want me to stand there.<br />
On Tuesdays I dig the rubbish<br />
bins. There are many people<br />
doing that. 20 to 30 in each<br />
place. It is difficult to get in.<br />
That old man there, he took me<br />
the first time. So the others,<br />
they accepted me. Sometimes<br />
you get nice things. And<br />
sometimes you get food. Then<br />
we take all the stuff to the<br />
recycle and the others we sell<br />
at home. One day I made R79<br />
from the rubbish at the recycle.<br />
My mother is a domestic. She<br />
can’t pay for me to come here<br />
every day. So I walk here from<br />
Diepsloot every morning. It is<br />
bad. I don’t want to go home,<br />
because everyone is hungry.<br />
I got a piece-job last year.<br />
I worked the garden. But the<br />
people went on holiday in<br />
December and they didn’t tell<br />
me. So, when I got there, I had<br />
wasted the transport and I had<br />
no transport back because they<br />
would pay me that day.
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
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19<br />
That was the first time I sit here<br />
by the side of the road. At the<br />
end of the day I walked all the<br />
way to Diepsloot.<br />
I was hungry and it rained hard.<br />
When I got home my mother<br />
cried. Even though the money<br />
was small, at least I was getting<br />
food while I was working there.<br />
I walked there one day to see<br />
if they were back, but there was<br />
nobody there.<br />
Photo: Mélina Huet. Assistant: Nkosazana Teyise
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south<br />
african<br />
CONVER<br />
SATiONS<br />
Challenging<br />
the divide
22<br />
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
<strong>sample</strong> content<br />
Photo: iStock<br />
Because my mouth<br />
Is wide with laughter<br />
And my throat<br />
Is deep with song,<br />
You do not think<br />
I suffer after<br />
I have held my pain<br />
So long?<br />
Because my mouth<br />
Is wide with laughter,<br />
You do not hear<br />
My inner cry?<br />
Because my feet<br />
Are gay with dancing,<br />
You do not know<br />
I die?<br />
– Minstrel Man by Langston Hughes, Black American poet
Maids & madams<br />
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
<strong>sample</strong> content<br />
Know your rights!<br />
An employee who is registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), would be able<br />
to claim the following benefits should they lose their job: • Financial support equivalent<br />
to 15 days’ worth of pay • Registration as a work-seeker with the Department of Labour •<br />
Free training and counselling • Benefits for their children. • And more.<br />
So, please do the necessary to protect the people who work for you. You can do it all over the phone<br />
or online. Call 012 337 1680 between 8 am to 6.30 pm on weekdays, and between 8 am to 12 noon<br />
on Saturdays. Or write to domestics@uif.gov.za or go to http://www.labour.gov.za and search for<br />
‘unemployment-insurance-fund-uif/ document’. Or contact the Department of Labour or a Labour Centre<br />
near you. Failure to register a domestic worker for UIF – even if she works for only 24 hours a month<br />
– could land you a hefty fine and even jail time.<br />
... and do the right thing.<br />
23<br />
If you are a ‘madam’<br />
First of all, recognise that you are a<br />
just a human being – just like your<br />
‘maid’. Be kind. Be fair.<br />
Go to www.labour.gov.za and search<br />
for ‘domestic workers’. You’ll find the<br />
basic laws that govern employment,<br />
plus a whole lot of very useful<br />
information specific to domestic<br />
workers.<br />
You may not know, for instance, that<br />
if you expect your domestic worker to<br />
work outside her normal, contracted<br />
hours, you must pay her 1.5 times the<br />
normal rate on Saturdays, and double<br />
the normal rate on Sundays.<br />
If her work-day falls on a public<br />
holiday, you must pay her for the day,<br />
but she is not required to work that<br />
day. If she does, you must pay her for<br />
the holiday and for working. And don’t<br />
grunt at this. What would YOU do if<br />
your boss refuses to pay you for the<br />
public holidays in a month?<br />
And you cannot not pay your<br />
domestic worker because YOU<br />
went away on the day that she was<br />
supposed to work.<br />
You also cannot fire her without giving<br />
her at least three written warnings<br />
and discussing what behaviour you<br />
want her to change. Even then, you<br />
have to give her four weeks’ written<br />
notice, or one week’s written notice<br />
if she has worked for you for less<br />
than six months. You must then pay<br />
severance pay equivalent to one<br />
week’s salary for each year that she<br />
has worked for you.<br />
If you are a ‘maid’<br />
First of all, recognise that you are a<br />
human being – just like your ‘madam’.<br />
Be kind. Be fair. And insist on your<br />
rights.<br />
1. It is within your rights to ask<br />
your employer for a contract of<br />
employment and for proof of<br />
registration with the Unemployment<br />
Insurance Fund (UIF). This is your<br />
protection in case you become<br />
unemployed.<br />
2. Learn about your rights and<br />
obligations at www.sadsawu.com – It<br />
is the <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong> Domestic Service<br />
and Allied Workers’ Union. You can<br />
contact SADSAWU in Johannesburg:<br />
011 331 1001 and in Cape Town: 021<br />
448 0045.<br />
3. If you have a dispute with your<br />
employer and need advice, contact<br />
the Department of Labour in Pretoria<br />
on 012 309 4000 for information<br />
about a Labour office near you. Or<br />
find relevant contact information at<br />
www.labour.gov.za/DOL/contacts<br />
4. If you have been unfairly<br />
dismissed, contact the Commission<br />
for Conciliation, Mediation &<br />
Arbitration (CCMA) on their toll-free<br />
number: 0861 16 16 16 or write to:<br />
complaints@ccma.org.za There is a<br />
lot of useful information on their site:<br />
www.ccma.org.za The Commission<br />
listens to both parties in a dispute<br />
and helps them reach an amicable<br />
and fair solution in accordance with<br />
the law.<br />
5. If you have been unfairly treated<br />
and you can’t get help anywhere,<br />
contact the Black Sash for free<br />
paralegal support and advice on their<br />
free helpline: 072 66 33 739 or write<br />
to them at help@blacksash.org.za<br />
Black Sash works to empower<br />
marginalised people to speak for<br />
themselves.<br />
www.blacksash.org.za
24<br />
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
<strong>sample</strong> content<br />
Respect<br />
for life<br />
starts<br />
with respect<br />
for all<br />
living things<br />
What it took to become<br />
a Nazi SS Officer<br />
It is alleged that at the beginning<br />
of their training each SS officer in<br />
Nazi Germany received a dog – the<br />
only living thing they were allowed<br />
to be close and affectionate with.<br />
Unbeknownst to these young<br />
officers, their training would be<br />
concluded only once they had<br />
murdered this close friend – coldbloodedly<br />
and in obedience to<br />
an unexpected request from the<br />
training officer. Unable to kill the<br />
dog, the trainee was not allowed to<br />
graduate to the status of SS officer.<br />
This fanatical exercise seems to<br />
have been designed to empty the<br />
individual of all tender concern for<br />
life. Able to kill his closest friend<br />
of many months, the officer was<br />
assumed able to kill any living<br />
creature without remorse.<br />
It is conventional wisdom that animal abuse<br />
precedes human violence. In reality, the two are<br />
often co-occurring and interwoven. Domestic<br />
abusers may harm or threaten animals to exert<br />
power over their human victims, to show what<br />
might happen to them, and to prevent victims from<br />
leaving or speaking about their abuse.<br />
When understood as part of a dynamic of violence, animal abuse<br />
cases present an opportunity to intervene and break the cycle.<br />
Domestic violence victims are generally reluctant to speak to<br />
outsiders about their abuse, but may more easily talk about what<br />
has happened to their pets. Likewise, outsiders will more readily<br />
report animal cruelty than suspicions of domestic violence. Since<br />
animal abuse is often the ‘tip of the iceberg’ for family violence,<br />
criminal behaviour and substance abuse, animal agencies have the<br />
opportunity to serve as first responders for families in crisis.<br />
‘It is evident that if a man practices a pitiful affection<br />
for animals, he is all the more disposed<br />
to take pity on his fellow-men.’<br />
– St Thomas Aquinas<br />
The frightening link<br />
between animal abuse<br />
and human violence<br />
Respect for life – respect for all<br />
living creatures – has long been the<br />
supreme principle of civilisation.<br />
‘If you have men who will<br />
exclude any of God’s creatures from<br />
the shelter of compassion and pity,<br />
you will have men who<br />
will deal likewise with their fellow<br />
men.’ – St. Francis of Assisi<br />
Photo: iStock
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
25<br />
<strong>sample</strong> content<br />
When people are violent and cruel<br />
towards animals, everyone is at risk.<br />
In recognition of the link between cruelty to animals<br />
and the abuse of women, children and the elderly,<br />
the US FBI has been tracking cases of animal abuse<br />
independently since 2016.<br />
[Source: www.thelinknm.com ]<br />
Here’s what the research shows:<br />
v 70% of animal abusers have criminal records.<br />
v 50% of schoolyard shooters have histories of<br />
animal cruelty.<br />
v 82% of offenders arrested for animal abuse had<br />
prior arrests for battery or drug charges.<br />
v 70% of people charged with cruelty to animals<br />
were known by police for other violent acts.<br />
v Animal abuse is a better predictor of sexual<br />
assault than convictions for homicide, arson, or<br />
firearms. Animal cruelty offenders committed<br />
an average of four different types of criminal<br />
offences, with sexual assault, domestic violence<br />
and firearms offences figuring prominently in<br />
their criminal histories.<br />
v 76% of animal abusers also abuse a family<br />
member according to the Association of<br />
Prosecuting Attorneys.<br />
v In a 2001 study by the US Humane Society, twothirds<br />
of animal abuse cases also involved abuse<br />
of a child.<br />
v Children exposed to domestic violence were<br />
three times more likely to be cruel to animals.<br />
v One-third of battered women reported that their<br />
children had hurt or killed animals.<br />
v In one-third of families investigated for child<br />
abuse, the children had also abused animals.<br />
v Children who were sexually abused were five<br />
times more likely to abuse animals.<br />
v Up to three-quarters of animal cruelty happens<br />
in the home occurs in front of children.<br />
Witnessing animal cruelty as a child was found to<br />
be the single biggest predictor of future violence,<br />
making children 8 times more likely to be violent.<br />
v A study of battered women found that nearly<br />
three-quarters reported that their abuser had<br />
hurt or threatened to hurt a pet; more than half<br />
said he had actually done it.<br />
v An assessment used by US law enforcement<br />
lists the top three indicators that a woman is in<br />
danger of being killed by her abuser as:<br />
1. Gestures/threats of homicide/suicide.<br />
2. Access to weapons.<br />
3. Threats to hurt or kill pets.<br />
What can be done?<br />
v<br />
v<br />
v<br />
Recognise that animals feel fear, pain, hunger,<br />
thirst, cold, loneliness … like all sentient beings.<br />
Teach this to children. Teach them to be kind to<br />
animals, to care for and respect them.<br />
If you’re a professional dealing with domestic<br />
violence victims, do ask about the companion<br />
animals to gauge the level of threat.<br />
v<br />
v<br />
v<br />
Insist on the enforcement of laws that protect<br />
animals. Be willing to get involved in the legal<br />
proceedings.<br />
Get affected family members AND THEIR PETS out<br />
of harm’s way.<br />
Domestic violence shelters must help with<br />
housing or finding shelter for pets.<br />
v<br />
Children tend to speak easily about their pets,<br />
which provides an opportunity for intervention.<br />
v<br />
Include companion animals in protection/<br />
restraining orders.<br />
v<br />
v<br />
Veterinarians must report suspected cases of<br />
animal abuse to the relevant authorities.<br />
Report ALL forms of violence and abuse before<br />
they escalate.<br />
v<br />
Report cruelty, abuse and neglect of animals to<br />
an SPCA near you. And call the police. If possible,<br />
take photographs/videos as evidence. n
26<br />
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
<strong>sample</strong> content<br />
grandmothers<br />
holding families together all over <strong>South</strong> Africa<br />
Grandmothers in historically<br />
disadvantaged <strong>South</strong> Africa have<br />
always played a big role in the<br />
upbringing of their grandchildren.<br />
This tradition is not a cultural<br />
one, but one fashioned by the<br />
demands of apartheid. Black<br />
people were not allowed to be<br />
in ‘white’ areas unless they had<br />
a work permit to be there. They<br />
were certainly not allowed to<br />
bring their families with them.<br />
Husbands and wives worked far<br />
apart from each other and from<br />
their rural homes where they<br />
were forced to leave their children<br />
in the care of a grandmother<br />
or auntie. The trend continues,<br />
because the majority of black<br />
mothers simply don’t earn<br />
enough to bring their families<br />
with them to the towns and the<br />
cities where the jobs are. Besides,<br />
the places which they can afford<br />
as accommodation are often<br />
unsafe, or simply don’t have<br />
enough space to accommodate<br />
a family – like the ‘maid’s rooms’<br />
in previously white back yards<br />
everywhere in our country. So, the<br />
children are still left with gogo.<br />
There is another reason,<br />
nowadays, why millions of<br />
grandmothers are bringing up<br />
their grandchildren: they are<br />
either nursing their own children<br />
who are dying of AIDS or they<br />
have buried them.
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
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27<br />
Photo | Tshikululu Social Investments | www.tshikululu.org.za | Courtesy of the First Rand Foundation<br />
All over <strong>South</strong> Africa, these<br />
grandmothers are holding families<br />
together despite their grief –<br />
often taking care of as many as<br />
ten children on a meagre state<br />
pension and, if she’s lucky, some<br />
piece jobs.<br />
At a time when she really should<br />
be able to rest, her life is filled<br />
with toil and suffering ... and<br />
desperate poverty that she knows<br />
will have dire consequences for<br />
her grandchildren.<br />
Here's what YOU can do to make a difference<br />
• Stop justifying paying the minimum<br />
wage to the women who clean<br />
your house and support your life.<br />
They are someone’s mother, auntie,<br />
grandmother ... and the quality of their<br />
lives is at your mercy.<br />
• Start a support group at your church,<br />
school or community center for the<br />
women who take care of children in<br />
their communities. Find out what they<br />
need and start helping them practically<br />
and materially.<br />
• Give them access to information.<br />
Make sure they know how to apply for<br />
available social grants ... How to protect<br />
themselves from getting HIV infected<br />
when caring for an AIDS patient ... How<br />
to grow vegetables to feed their family<br />
... How to draw up a will to make sure<br />
that their grandchildren will inherit<br />
what is rightfully theirs ... How to<br />
protect their human rights and what to<br />
do if they are being abused ... How to<br />
cope with the changing needs of their<br />
growing grandchildren – including the<br />
need for sex-education ... How to cope<br />
with pain and loss ... And any other<br />
subjects they want to know about. n
28<br />
28<br />
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
<strong>sample</strong> content<br />
These are words used in this issue of the magazine.<br />
If you look up the meaning of every word you don’t<br />
know, you’ll soon have an incredible vocabulary.<br />
Dictionary<br />
Accessible: the quality of being able to be reached or<br />
entered<br />
Accordance: in a manner conforming with<br />
Accuracy: the quality or state of being correct or precise<br />
Activist: a person who campaigns for change<br />
Adequate: satisfactory or acceptable in quality or<br />
quantity<br />
Adverse: preventing success or development; harmful<br />
Affluent: having a great deal of money; wealthy<br />
Agenda: a list of items to be discussed<br />
Alter: change in character or composition<br />
Amicable: characterized by friendliness<br />
Appropriately: in a manner that is proper in the<br />
circumstances<br />
Arbitrate: reach an authoritative settlement<br />
Augment: make (something) greater by adding to it<br />
Avoidance: keeping away from or not doing something<br />
Bureaucracy: excessively complicated administrative<br />
procedure<br />
Capability: the power or ability to do something<br />
Capacity: the maximum amount that something can<br />
contain<br />
Civility: formal politeness and courtesy in behaviour or<br />
speech<br />
Cohesion: the action or fact of forming a united whole<br />
Collaborate: work jointly on an activity or project<br />
Collectively: as a group; as a whole<br />
Comprise: consist of; be made up of<br />
Condescension: an attitude of patronizing superiority;<br />
Conviviality: the quality of being friendly and lively<br />
Cosmopolitan: including people from many different<br />
countries<br />
Deficiency: a lack or shortage<br />
Demystify: make something easier to understand<br />
Discord: disagreement between people; lack of harmony<br />
Disseminate: spread (especially information) widely<br />
Dissident: a person who opposes official policy<br />
Enshrine: preserve (a right, tradition, or idea) in a form<br />
that ensures it will be protected and respected<br />
Entrench: establish (an attitude, habit, or belief) so firmly<br />
that change is very difficult or unlikely<br />
Equate: consider (one thing) to be the same as or<br />
equivalent to another<br />
Eradicate: destroy completely; put an end to<br />
Erode: gradually destroy or be gradually destroyed<br />
Exacerbate: make (a problem or bad situation) worse<br />
Expatriate: a person who lives outside their native country<br />
Fragment: a small part separated from something<br />
Hamper: hinder or impede the movement or progress of<br />
Impair: weaken or damage<br />
Incalculable: too great to be calculated or estimated<br />
Incomprehensible: not able to be understood<br />
Infrastructure: the physical structures and facilities (e.g.<br />
buildings, roads, power supplies) of a society or enterprise<br />
Inherent: existing in something as a characteristic attribute<br />
Integrate: combine (one thing) with another to form a whole<br />
Intermittently: at irregular intervals<br />
Intervene: take part so as to prevent or alter a result<br />
Intrinsic: belonging naturally; essential<br />
Intrude: put oneself deliberately into a situation where one is<br />
uninvited<br />
Languish: lose or lack vitality; grow weak<br />
Liability: the state of being legally responsible for something<br />
Malnutrition: lack of proper nutrition caused by not having<br />
enough to eat, not eating enough of the right things to eat<br />
Marginalise: treatment of a person, group or concept as<br />
insignificant<br />
Millennium: a period of a thousand years<br />
Mobilise: prepare and organize<br />
Moderate: average in amount, intensity, quality, or degree; not<br />
radical Mortality: the state of being subject to death<br />
Myopic: short-sighted; lacking foresight or intellectual insight<br />
Obligation: a duty or commitment<br />
Optimal: best or most favourable<br />
Origin: the point or place where something begins<br />
Oust: drive out or expel (someone) from a position or place<br />
Perpetuate: make (something) continue indefinitely<br />
Persecution: hostility and ill-treatment; oppression<br />
Plight: a dangerous, difficult or unfortunate situation<br />
Precedent: an earlier event or action regarded as an example<br />
to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances<br />
Premise: an assertion that forms the basis for something<br />
Preserve: maintain (something) in its original or existing state<br />
Prior: existing or coming before in time, order, or importance<br />
Proclaim: announce officially or publicly<br />
Profound: (of a state, quality, or emotion) very great or intense<br />
Prospect: the possibility of some future event occurring<br />
Reminiscent: tending to remind one of something<br />
Reprisal: an act of retaliation<br />
Resolution: a firm decision to do or not to do something<br />
Robust: strong and healthy; vigorous<br />
Sensationalist: a person who presents stories in a way that<br />
is intended to provoke public interest or excitement at the<br />
expense of accuracy<br />
Signify: be an indication of<br />
Subversion: undermining the power and authority of a system<br />
Succulent: having thick fleshy leaves or stems adapted to<br />
storing water<br />
Surplus: something left over after requirements are met<br />
Synonymous: having the same meaning as another word<br />
Unacknowledged: not accepted, recognized, or admitted to<br />
Unfettered: not confined or restricted<br />
Wastrel: a wasteful or good-for-nothing person
50 Shades<br />
of Love<br />
southafrican CONVERSATiONS<br />
<strong>sample</strong> content<br />
29<br />
1. Passion 2. Joy 3. Intimacy 4. Respect 5. Friendship 6. Sacrifice 7. Compassion<br />
8. Freedom 9. Inside Jokes 10. Safety 11. Laughter 12. Generosity<br />
13. Consideration 14. Adventure 15. Excitement 16. Loyalty 17. Trust<br />
18. Butterflies 19. Hope 20. Quality Time 21. Service 22. Empathy 23. Connection<br />
24. Admiration 25. Patience 26. Appreciation 27. Commitment 28. Communication<br />
29. Growth 30. Imperfection 31. Affection 32. Tenderness 33. Affirmation<br />
34. Teamwork 35. Kindness 36. Equality 37. Pleasure 38. Compromise<br />
39. Partnership 40. Independence 41. Happiness 42. Honesty 43. Devotion<br />
44. Faithfulness 45. Fulfilment 46. Romance 47. Support<br />
48. Family 49. Togetherness 50. Understanding<br />
Photo: Jessica Felicio<br />
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<strong>Conversations</strong><br />
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Sellers earn 50% of the cover price.<br />
Participating NPOs earn 20%.<br />
Just imagine how many lives could change<br />
with affluent <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong>s’ small change.<br />
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