Reading
about the history, people and current events of South Africa was quite
interesting and a bit surprising. I did not know much about the history of
South Africa since, in the United States, we are mainly taught about the
history of America and how it was built; the only notion of Africa was the
slaves brought to the U.S. Not to mention, growing up there was a stereotype
that if you are from Africa then you must be black and cannot be white. “So, if
you're from Africa. Why are you white?”-Karen (Sorry for the Mean Girls quote).
Even today that stereotype still holds true in many peoples' mind. It’s interesting to see the parallels of South
Africa and the United States in terms of segregation, slavery, the system of
inferiority/superiority and racism. For instance, the bloody wars between
various tribes, being forced off their land like the Native Americans, and the
power the white community held over the black community by holding certain privileges
like the right to vote.
Moreover, the Apartheid era is comparable
to the United States era of racial segregation and violence against African
Americans, considering the white community felt that they were superior in
regard to the black community.Nonetheless, South Africa had the strength of the community
to end the Apartheid regime and be able to work toward a better future filled
with great leaders and less tension between the white and black community, however, they still face issues of some racism,
poverty, clean water etc., although they can still overcome these challenges
with the help of the community, various resources, country ties and great leadership.
In current
events, the International Relations section was filled with news of South
Africa’s ties with other countries, trades, summits and important topics of their
agenda. The section actually shows the progress South Africa has made in order
to strengthen their country and help their people come out of poverty. To conclude, one of my
questions to ask the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Bureau of African
affairs, Mr.Gilmour, is how he hopes to shape U.S policies in order
to strengthen South Africa’s economy and provide opportunity and development.
I like how you related a quote from a popular American movie to describe the American ignorance. I wish our country could do more to educate its citizens on other cultures, so these stereotypes won't continue.
ReplyDeleteI like how you mentioned the strength of the community in regards to ending apartheid in South Africa. With such extreme control of power by the white supremacists, the African peoples knew that they could not bring about change on their own; it would take the entire community and then some. As a whole, they successfully ended apartheid.
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