Impressions

Thu, 26 Jul 07 09:57:10 +0200

A South African joke during the years of apartheid: God called St. Peter to wtiness his finest creation. "Mountains that pierce the sky, great forests that shelter all manner of wondrous creatures, endless plains, deserts and grasslands...All these things shall this land have...And beneath the mountains and views a treasure trove of gold and diamonds, platinum and uranium." Peter said this was wonderful but wouldn't South Africans be the envy of every other nation on earth?" No they won't" God said. "Wait till you see the government I"m going to give them."
"Until 1994, welfare was restricted to white people only."
"It is predicted that wtihin a few years AIDS will reduce the average life expectancy of black people in South Africa from 60 years to 40 years. The country faces the prospect of having one million AIDS orphans." (UN-AIDS)
"The mother of these 1 year old twins is very sick. You know what this means...."
"Umama wami! Umama wami! Umama wami....?"
"You volunteers live in a safe, called white neighbourhood"-"How far is agape?And the township?"-"'Bout a 10 minutes drive."
"The Durban Beach Festival joins a spectacular world-class events line up for the city in 2007, reinforcing its rputation for being Africa's sporting and events capital."
"There were shootings in Durban last night. 3 people were killed."
"South Africa is an emminently suitable destination if you"re travelling with children. With its abundance of national parks, beaches and amusement parks it offers plenty to do for travellers at all ages in a generally hazard free setting"
"In Souht Africa, a child gets raped every three and a half minutes. Every three and a half minutes. Mostly by a person the child loves. MAny of which are HIV positive. What does this do to a child?"
"While there is no cure for HIV, new combination drug therapies have been found effective in delaying the outbreak of AIDS. They can help to prevent and treat many infections."
"Drugs that combat AIDS are too expensive to give out to the more than 4 million South Africans who are HIV-positive. Only about 10,000 of them can afford to buy these drugs."
"Whats the matter?"--"My belly hurts!"-"Where"s your bed?"-"I sleep in the kitchen."
"Thina simunye. sihlangene. We are together."
"These children hardly possess anything but are so much richer than any other children. They laugh, they sing, they dance, they love the small things in life. They ARE alive."
"Did I come here with too many expectations?"-"We're doing voluntary work. It is Be-more that does developmental work."-"So then, can I still be more?"

Christine Singer

Impressions