Disclaimer: firstly this is super long so if you are interested to hear what I have to say about specific issues there are some subtitles so feel free to skim through those. Secondly I’d like to make it understood that although my life is made more difficult by the expense of fees it is not made impossible so I am not effected to the same degree as some students. Thirdly I acknowledge I am white and therefore privileged and this will limit my understanding of this issues and hence what I have to say and I ask you to please keep this in mind while reading. Fourth – and finally – this is not meant to target any specific individual or group so please DO NOT TAKE THIS PERSONALLY
We Rise : A glimpse of the mass support that arrived at the meeting on Jammie PlazaOoh and all the photos are my own
Hi all,
I know I have been absent over the last couple of weeks but it is not because I have forgotten about the blog but rather that the topic which I wished to write on, South African student movement ‘Fees Must Fall’, was one which I have had a deep desire to write on yet one that I found extremely difficult to verbalise my thoughts on.
When I feel strongly about something I battle to give it justice in my writing. Eventually however I always suck it up and try my best in the end because the need for exposure and to put these ideas out there is greater than that of my creative inadequacies.
Oh Dear Lord: throughout this ordeal religious groups and leaders have shown their commitment and support to this causeI have been reading and rereading and watching and seeing things to do with the past couple of weeks that have invoked a series of conflicting emotions in me. I was horrified, terrified and stressed but also I was amazed, inspired and full of hope. Because of this, I could not sit and say nothing about the past couple of weeks. As someone who takes part in writing on a regular basis I needed to say write something of importance but it was so difficult to find the words to represent how I felt.
The #FEESMUSTFALL movement started at Wits University and slowly moved across the country till it was nationwide. It was originally a response to massive increases imposed on next year’s fees. These increases would make it even more difficult for most students to afford the already high costs of tertiary education especially those coming from underprivileged backgrounds. The expense of university as it stands already creates a separation between those people who can further their education and their futures and those who cannot based on socio-economic status and in a country like ours where race is a notable difference between classes (mostly due to the horrific racial segregation that existed in our past) this limits equality and economic growth of the majority of the country. An idea from the movement was that tertiary education should not be a luxury afforded to the rich but rather a right and an opportunity for all. This was part what pushed the movement to no longer be simply about the increase but rather that the government and the university management should be making plans and pushing to have free education on a university level to allow for the best outcomes for all young people in the country.
The movement bought disruption and inconvenience for some but for others in bought hope and unity. Below I am going to discuss some of the ideas/issues/talking points that have come out this period.
Police Brutality
Amidst the protests, the chaos and everything else that has occurred recently existed an extreme reaction from the police. Now before going into this I acknowledge that information around this issue has been portrayed with bias from all involved including the students, the police and of course the media and I have considered this as best as possible when forming my opinion.
See Me: it reads “Fuck the police”Now in my mind and what I have experience when involved in the protests is that they have been remarkably peaceful and many of those involved have taken a specific stance at maintaining the peace even among their peers (which I definitely respect about my generation). Aside from this there have been individuals, as is expected, who are extremists and those who have taken advantage of the situation and shown violence but for the majority the protests were NON-VIOLENT. Despite this there have been instances where the police have reacted aggressively.
I will focus on what occurred at UCT but it has happened all over the country with many students being attacked with water cannons, rubber bullets and stun grenades far too liberally but I don’t have enough knowledge to discuss these specific instances.
The first bout of violence was when students occupied Bremner/Azania House (managements building) and due to a court order by the university (this has since been lifted and apologised for) disallowing this disruption, the police were called. This was to remove the students from a sort of ‘sit-in’ type meeting both in and out of the building. The police struggled to remove those who were there and so responded with stun grenades. To my knowledge the students were not accommodating to the polices’ requests however they were non-violent and I honestly don’t see how this came about. It was a response which was far too extreme for the situation and lost the police any respect that the youth may have still held.
After this incident one might expect for students to react violently in response yet the peaceful approach was maintained.
It was then that the big event happened. This was the march on Parliament. The aim was for students to disrupt Parliament, where the budget policy was being addressed, to make the government aware of the students’ demands and force them to acknowledge and deal with it. There was a large riot police presence however the students still heavily outnumbering the armored men.
Other than a minority of individuals who were being violent most students remained peaceful. They did break through the gates into the precinct of parliament. Thousands of people moved into the open area enclosed by the gates. This was when they were then hit with masses of stun grenades. With only one small opening, many student were stuck unable to get out fearing for their safety and minor injuries did occur. Some students were also arrested (Side note: it is illogical to charge a small percentage with a ‘crime’ that thousands committed. This does not fulfill the ‘fairness’ of justice). From my point of view, and I was at home recovering from dehydration and glued to the live stream of eNCA, the violence was unnecessary and horrifying to watch. I was appalled, devastated and on the verge of tears as I watched people I know get tossed around like dolls and engulfed in a haze of white and pink smoke.
I can sympathise with the idea that the police were overwhelmed and the anger that the students were feeling could have both intimidating and frightening. At the point where the students became trespassers and broke the gate (and the law) it is possible that force would have been used however at no other time was extreme force of that kind necessary or helpful. The students were desperate but they were being peaceful and the ease at which the stun grenades seemed to be launched was alarming particularly since much of the crowd is shown to be standing still when they were attacked. The students were armed with water bottles, strappy shirts, shorts and sneakers while the police had batons, stun grenades, shields and heavy armor. Not really a fair match.
The use of violence against students mobilising for equal opportunity in education is reminiscent of South Africa’s dark past and definitely not something I thought I would see in my lifetime.
And on that note the lack of care and desire to come out and try and create peace from the president and other leaders situate right inside that building was frankly disgusting. There was no movement from our leadership to come out and protect their children and this is something I will always hold against them. It also gave plenty of opportunity for opposition parties like the EFF and DA to take advantage of the situation which the ANC couldn’t be bothered to even try do.
The white student (note this is where generalising happened – try not to get offended this may not apply to you)
One of the media’s big talking points was the ‘diversity’ in the movement due to the involvement of students of all races/genders/ethnicities/religions etc. This has had mixed responses.
Watching: Anonymous perched on Jameson HallThe first issue was that there were still many wealthy (mostly white) students who hid in their ignorance and did not take part, opposed the movement and didn’t even try understand the issues. There were students fighting as this was their only chance at still being able to afford university next year and alongside them were students who were so comfortable in their wealth that they wasted more money on flying home (or going to the beach in the first days of protests yet complaining about not being able to go to varsity. I see your hypocrisy holiday makers.). This showed a massive divide between socio-economic class and an extreme lack of empathy from wealthy students.
But adults, the media and everybody else were amazed by the uniqueness of our generation and the love and hope that we held and although the idealistic part of me has always believed this I had issues with this.
a – The movement stood for something important and in my opinion should have been appreciated regardless of how many white children got involved. ‘Whiteness’ should not have had to legitimise this cause for the media and for many of those who externally took an interest.
Fuck It: a protester expresses their frustraitionb – When it comes to the youth, white university students have been involved for a while. In the late 80s and early 90s protesting was a regular part of life for many young white people in the country. Students are more open minded, more involved and terrified of FOMO and so they take the opportunity. This is not to discredit the passionate involved white students. Please take part forever it is far more productive than you flying home for the week. Anyway my point is that I don’t think this says anything in particular about our generation. In my opinion it is when we are old and grey then we can see whether we are actually different. Will our dinner parties be diverse? Will we get involved with mining protests or support teaching strikes? Will we empathise with our peers or will we run away to Australia and criticise the government on Facebook? I think at that stage we can determine how different we really are.
c – The pat-on-the-back for getting involved. Ah… now I think its nice that so many people got involved and the strength of unity and mobilization of students was shown but I don’t like the fact that white students that got involved were thanked and commended but for the black kids it was just another day on the block? Thanks for the honour but you can take it back. Sure, welcome to the party kids but if anyone needs honouring it’s the black students for not giving up and persevering for the great length of time it took for us to finally decide to get involved.
Also a word on the Facebook education/rant posts on white privilege. Although these posts have been a little aggressive and motivated by generalisations I (personally) definitely see them as necessary. They are targeting those white (or other type) privileged students who do not understand how their role in this movement is limited or stipulated by their privilege as well as the importance of understanding one’s own privilege. Now those who this does not apply to, to the same degree as others, may get offended by this but it is important to not focus on yourself as an individual but the necessity of the overall white student population and realise the degree to which you have to monitor your privilege. Plus Facebook is as good a place as any for students to vent their feelings on the topic and it is important that as a reader one takes it with a pinch of salt. Read it, appreciate it and understand its applicability to you and then move forward as best as possible AND DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY.
Also watch out there will be a post on white privilege coming soon.
Beyond Us: in this shot Cape Town can be seen in the background and it’s hard not to see the power a group of this size can have. Glimpse the People: taken from on the roof of Jameson Hall
Government vs management responsibility
Who needs to be accountable for all this? The violence? The consistent fee increase? The lack of empathy or care for the future of the youth?
We are the People: Look its AllZuriIn my opinion the responsibility falls both on the shoulders of University Management and the government.
Simply put:
University management was not transparent, they did not put in enough effort into implementing solutions to reduce costs (FOR EXAMPLE SUSTAINABILITY/ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION/IS IT REALLY THAT DIFFICULT GUYS???), they did not take sufficient steps to hear out the issues of the student body and shifted the blame to individuals or student groups (as they have been doing the whole year) rather than help improve communication and deal with issues when they occur. It is the role of the Vice Chancellor and management in general to represent the students and their concerns to the government when necessary and it took them far too long to make take up this responsibility.
Balde, You ain’t so sharp: Blade, Minister of Higher Education, was held accountable by studentsAnd IF they did in fact do all of this and we just couldn’t see it then they really battle to understand the meaning of TRANSPARENCY and basically every VC in the country failed dramatically in this area.
And as far as the government. They did not show care for the safety of students, they showed little initiative in finding solutions for these issues and obviously the corruption and greed which exists within the political structures is still not be dealt with effectively. There is little to no role models in leadership which students can look up to and it is disappointing that a government in which most members were denied an equal opportunity to education at all from the previous Apartheid system are inflicting a very similar limitation on their own people.
Why is it that only when students are crying out and marching in the street and when the country is bought to a standstill do any of the ‘powers that be’ start to pay attention?
My role
So what did I do? Who was I in this movement? My friend and fellow blogger Refiloe Mokgele (All Zuri) wrote about the various people that could be found in and around this movement. As I read it I couldn’t help but categorise myself.
I’d say I am, as Fifi puts it, a ‘passive creative’ – “Taking amazing pictures/ writing poems as the masses of protesters pass by. Posting on social media.”
One thing about the movement was that it was insanely photogenic so I can’t even claim good photography skills here. I loved documenting and sharing the movement but I must admit I was one of many and although I am proud of the art that I managed to produce I can’t honestly say it aided the movement in any way.
Faceless: This is my faceless man. He represents the anarchistic, unidentifiable type attitude of the movement much like the mask did in V for Vendetta. She represents the good Samaritans who gave endless aid.Going into this I would have considered myself brave and involved etc. But looking back the truth of the matter is that although I believed in the cause and was passionate I also felt very lost and hid behind this confusion that I felt and spent too much time contemplating life in my room and not being outside taking part. Personally I have learnt a lot for myself and what I should do in the future but as far as this specific movement I guess I disappointed myself by not doing as much as I could have.
However on the days that I did go out (then falling into the category of Newbie) I enjoyed it but was definitely just a foot soldier/part of the crowd and it was weird for me to be surrounded by so many people as dedicated to a cause as I was, if not more dedicated. I was intimidated and in awe by what I saw and it gave me great hope for my generation. It humbled me as I realised that I really am very small and insignificant next to students, not that much older than myself, who lead a revolution. To those students I commend you and I apologise for my lack of participation.
What I did do (a lot of) however was explain very patiently too many of my ignorant white peers why this movement was worth and continuously forced people to consider the movement in what they were doing and made it my mission to be informed so I could inform others. I’ve always been better at words than action and I felt the need to do as much as possible from a vocal perspective (although this does not make up for not taking part).
Bread Break: Taken at Clarinus Village Residence UCT while protests take a moment to breath after walking down main road in 30 degree heat
The power of the youth.
This was probably the most important thing to note and despite its repetitiveness throughout history it is something which we as a country and internationally forgot about up till now.
The youth have innocence and they have passion and they have hope and obviously they have numbers. The youth has always had the ability to see things for what they really are and step away from the corrupted world that surrounds them.
“Youth is the trustee of prosperity” Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)
Amandla: There are no leaders, only strong voices to encourage us forward. Taken in Clarinus Village Residence UCT dining hall.
The future is the destiny of the youth and it up to us to control that destiny. We also have the energy and inspiration that our parents once had an already used up. South Africa is tried of fighting but we have never fought and we are ready to fight. We are called born frees and yet the environment we have lived in is not free from racial or sexual injustice. It is not free from corruption and poverty. I am still impowered because of my race and I still live in fear because of my gender.
We are the kids and we are here to change this and to strive for the freedom that is owed to us.
…
A word on Twitter.
I was honoured and inspired by the beauty of what my peers managed to write about the past weeks’ events and I believe that the power of social media was definitely taken advantage of to mobilise my generation. Maybe the fact that we are so glued to our screens is not such a bad thing after all.
Lost Words: The power of words has been shown in many posters held by students in this fightI am absolutely appalling on Twitter so I really am inspired by those of you who use it so incredible well. It is a beautiful medium that I am now inspired to use.
The skill of the youth at representing such complexity so eloquently is remarkable and commendable.
And lastly a quote from Desmond Tutu
“Give young people a greater voice. They are the future and they are much wiser than we give them credit for.”
Apologise for the long post and watch out for more posts on other important issues like outsourcing, the role of women and how to exist in a national shutdown.
x J
Fear the Educated Youth: For they understand their power
Hello all! Are you all enjoying the feeling of relief and excitement (false or realistic) that Friday brings? (note this is assuming I manage to get this blog out today). Personally it’s been a long week so I am very happy the weekend has arrived.
I experienced quite a lot during the first couple of weeks of Cape Town which I neglected to blog about so today I am going to tell you about one of the places that I have spent some quality time – the beach. It is to be expected that I would enter the sandy/windy world of beach land considering I am living in a coastal city now and there is a beautiful stretch of coast around Muizenberg where the water is a few mild degrees warmer than the arctic temperatures that make up the majority of Cape Town water which I have landed up at a few times.
Now let me get something straight: I am not a beach person. Cape Town beaches are better than any others because they are cold and windy so people don’t judge you for you negative beach attitude. The thing is though, the Muizenberg beach is beautiful: pretty pale sand, an amazing mountain, blue sea with crashing waves and of course an adorable row of colourful houses which kind of make the beach slightly unreal. This would not be that bad. I think that, even in my ‘beach hater’ existence, I might be able to enjoy these beaches…
But I need to reflect on the situations which I was thrown on these beaches. Firstly it was a UCT orientation event where hundreds of over-excited / hungover students crowded the beach and for about 600 students they supplied 10 umbrellas, maybe 11. I am very pale which means the sun and I are not good friends and this particular day was a very hot day and so in a desperate bid to not end up red for my first week of university I spent the day in the only shady place available… Under the coloured houses (I know I think this may even be the appropriate time to use the word ‘ratchet’ here). Then while my friends were running around doing the physical activities they had available I sat lying under a house looking and feeling like the beach bags that I had been instructed to watch. The view was still beautiful but I cant say I enjoyed it profusely because I felt like an abandoned towel to be honest.
The next time I stumbled onto that beach was for our bonding experience with the Civil Engineering department. We took the train which made me feel like a proper hipster and it also felt less typical tourist like most of the other things I’ve done here. The beach day was completely different. We were put into groups and forced to partake in the physical activities they had planned… How did I feel about this? Well I didn’t enjoy it. I liked meeting the people in my department but I also felt humiliated as I was expected to play numerous ball sports. In a predominantly male course (and it seems that even nerdy boys can catch a ball) sport cannot be played in the noncompetitive, and rather useless manner that the bookworm of a girl I am plays it. I do not understand why whenever bonding is involved the tasks are always physical activities. This is insanely biased and it annoys me because it means that throughout high school and now university I am always disadvantaged when portraying myself to new people. Surely it would be more logical to make us bond over an intellectual activity rather than a physical one after all we all had to be academic to a degree to get into engineering. But NO I played rugby, volleyball, soccer, tug of war and dodge ball (I think I had bruises on my legs for a week after one of my class mates chose me as his victim) and I burnt my nose in the sun! Then I missed a university event that I had been excited to go to so I was not happy.
Looking back on this post I do realise this has been a bit of a rant which was not my initial intention but I do want to give an honest reflection of my view of places. I did think the beach was beautiful and it is one of the nicest beaches I’ve been to in Cape Town and there are a few nice shops to go explore (not as many as Kalk Bay though which will have to be a future blog post in itself) but I didn’t have the best experience there so I am biased slightly against it but if you are in Cape Town and want to relax at the beach and have a nice view that should definitely be on your list of places to go… Just make sure it doesn’t coincide with a UCT event.
On Monday it was my 18th birthday (finally) and surprisingly I do feel quite grown up. I feel terrified about the future but also huge excitement because now everything is truly at my finger tips.
I guess the big question is… what did I do to celebrate?
I didn’t go out and get drunk but rather on Saturday I had a lunch with all my girl friends (I go to an all girls school so I have more girl friends than guy friends). I personally feel that a lunch is far more intimate and celebratory than watching 100 of your closest fake friends get drunk and vomit on your carpet. I don’t see how a) this is fun, b) this celebrates the host’s birthday or c) is any different from a regular house party. Plus I think that neither my parents nor my house would have survived a hectic party anyway.
I was born in winter but I always wanted to be a spring baby, there always seemed to be something elitist about the title, and so the theme for my lunch was spring. Luckily the cold days stayed away on Saturday and although it wasn’t as warm as spring the sun was shining and we could wear bright floral patterned dresses.
As soon as people found out about my theme they wanted to help which I was really grateful for. We borrowed chairs and tables from my neighbours and my family and a woman who had done a similar theme for her daughter’s birthday gave us table cloths and rows and rows of buntings which we hung around our house and completely transformed the place. I have found a new love for buntings. I’m not sure why I think rows of triangle shaped pieces of fabric are so beautiful but I do.
For other decorations my sister and I collected jars (mostly coffee and mayonnaise jars – don’t worry we don’t eat these two things together but w do go through a lot of both) out our glass recycling bin and my mother filled them with beautiful flowers while others were filled with colourful sweets.
For food we decided on bread and coronation chicken as well as lots of different types of salads and quiches (thanks mommy for all your hard work making these). I found a great (and easy) Martha Stewart recipe for pink lemonade which I made and surprisingly it tasted pretty good – I say surprising not because I have little faith in Ms Stewart but rather in myself. We also made fruit infused water which just tasted like lemon and mint in the end but was still good.
I was also spoilt rotten by a dear friend of mine who made me a cake but I didn’t know what it looked like till she arrived at my doorstep with an incredible two tiered cake covered in meringue icing (yes this exists and you have to taste it) and homemade macaroons which tasted amazing.
The beauty of the theme, the colours and the flowers started the day off with an amazing positive atmosphere and all my friends were happy which made the day even more pleasant for me. I had an incredible day and I would lik to thank everyone who was involved.
We had a day of sunshine yesterday. These days are rare at the moment however they are getting more common as we get closer to spring. I decided to wear one of my favourite shirts. I love it because I think the pattern is beautiful and I am a sucker for button up shirts. The skirt I must admit is my sisters but I do lend her clothes so we have a mutual agreement going on. My shoes are filthy dirty as I took them to dusty maths camp and haven’t had a moment to clean them but if you get away with dirty shoes it has to be sneakers so I figure I was okay. Then the accessories: I go through stages of caring about accessories but at the moment I am in love with rings. I have on in this outfit: 2 fingertip rings and 2 other rings. It took me a while to get used to fingertip rings but I now like the extra layer they give to your look. The other accessory to note are the sunglasses. I love sunglasses and I have more pairs than I need and this is my favourite pair right now. As I love bargains and am quite a cheap skate I managed to get these on sale for only R50 from Cotton On. Yes I did fall for the round-glasses trend but I am not sorry as I love them too much. I am lucky that I have the face for the glasses.
Anyway I enjoyed the sunshine yesterday and this is what I wore to enjoy it
Plain Old Glasses 