PQP/ID 2050

It is exciting to think that in 7 weeks, I will be in Cape Town. But before that, there will be extensive amount of work preparing for the trip there. I was emailed the projects for this year and all of them are highly interesting. The group has been asked to rate level of interest of each project and state reasons for the top projects that interest you. All of them will be great to work on but a couple them popped out to me initially because I felt like I could make the best contribution and I have the appropriate background tackle really tackle and analyze the project. Tomorrow, I will be finding out who will be in my team and what project the professors I have assigned me to. From there, we will be off running setting the tone for a busy and enriching term researching and writing our IQP proposal.

Things to Do in South Africa

There was a lot interesting things they highlighted in the article. I would have to check this out in more detail and hopefully I will get a chance to see some of these attractions in Cape Town!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g293740-Activities-South_Africa.html

Ignoring Help

It was unbelievable to think that people would not treat themselves if they had AIDS despite the fact that treatment was available, close by. Even scared, I would try and find some way to get to a treatment center because my desire to live would outweigh the fear of a community finding out I am treating myself for AIDS. The groups that come to offer treatment come from far away and are inspired by stories of the need to save AIDS patients. It can be frustrating for the health care workers to see the sick ignoring a life-saving treatment right under their noses. When many of the adults work for nothing or are unemployed such free services to benefit their health is mind-blogging that they would pass over it.

Voting/Healing

The first vote Mandela casted in his life was for himself. It is an achievement that he was able to run as a candidate and had the freedom to cast a vote in his own country after years of rights suppression.

Mandela realized near the end of the book that it was not the only oppressed that needed to heal from the struggles but it was also the oppressor themselves. This type of inspiration came from the fact that he did want to be fighting for black or white people but for the cause of the common man. The oppressed may become freed from unjust rules but the oppressor has released themselves from small-minded thinking that takes time to recover and adjust.

People's Forum

There was another instance Mandela looked to the history of the success of other leaders to shape the way he acted. Mandela’s People’s Forums were inspired by the forums President Bill Clinton used reach out the voters and hear their concerns.  This types of meetings truly represented a democracy of the people.

Mandela & Winnie

Even though it seemed to be a mutual respect to break ties with his wife, Mandela must have been disappointed that he could not live up to the responsibilities of being a husband and father. Winnie was such a strong support for him and understood the situation when he had to leave for long periods of time, hide, or be imprisoned for decades. Winnie was an incredible wife and her loyalty to Mandela was unbelievable. “She married a man who soon left her; that man became a myth; and then that myth returned home and proved to be just a man after all.” (Mandela 600)

World Support

To have a majority of a country supporting your cause is amazing but to have the world’s support is something else. Attending a concert in Wembley in his honor must have been overwhelming for someone who had just been released from prison. Even though he had been prison for so many years his fight for freedom and the end of apartheid and oppression in South Africa had spread throughout the world.

Doing What's Best

I completely supported Mandela’s actions of secretly meeting with the government to discuss a truce and the future of South Africa and its people. People would have perceived his actions as conceding to the enemy but his actions were necessary if any progress was to be made to win rights. It was a big risk on Mandela’s part, but it was worth taking.

Sacrifice of Prison

Being in prison completing changed the dynamic of the movement. Mandela was abruptly moved off the map in terms of the movement. He was still the face of equality and freedom, but he was limited by prison and could only consult from there. Mandela and others were able to create a High Command in prison (which was a major achievement within itself) to help consult current senior ANC officials. It would have been impossible to influence and coordinate movement of the entire ANC organization from within prison so the High Command stuck to consulting the ANC. High Command could only influence problems within Robben Island. The High Command not only was a group of people that consulted and fought for the rights of prisoners, but they also were educators. They were able to teach the young prisoners about the ANC. Mandela and other members of the High Command did not use prison as a time to sulk and regret but made the best of their dire situation to make a change, however long it took.

Despite being subjected to the strict rules of prison, Mandela and others in prison figured out ways to communicate. Communication between groups of people kept everyone up to date of what was going on outside and it formed a kind of bond in prison that they were altogether for this struggle. The chance to help each other out for the cause of freedom outweighed the risk with getting caught communication with men in the other sections of the prison.

Not only did Mandela have to make a sacrifice in prison but also his family. Winnie and Zindzi were often harassed and had to deal with the rude policeman who often questioned them and raided their homes without warning. It must have hurt Mandela in that he did not want his actions to affect people negatively, especially his family. It is a sacrifice fighting for a cause bigger than family and that affected an entire nation.

The Journey of Trial

Mandela and the other prisoners have to deal with not only the humiliation of prison, but also the poor treatment by prison warders. To urinate on a prisoner today would call for the immediate resignation of that person along with possible criminal charges for mistreatment and negligence. The way Mandela stated the warders’ actions seemed to be that they often did this to prisoners which makes the situation even more disturbing.

It was unbelievable to read that Mandela and the other captives seemed to be having a good time despite going through a capital trial. They laughed, stayed positive and event messed around with the Special Branch officers. I was laughing out loud when I the officer read the note he took from the prisoners and it said “Isn’t Swanepoel a fine-looking chap?” First of all, it was funny but it was even more amusing because I would never expect prisoners being determined if to be sentenced to death are fooling around and are in high spirits.

It would have been very difficult for Judge de Wet to allow a death sentence to occur for Mandela. The worldwide attention that trial had generated created a pressure against death. Representatives from London and the United States were passionate enough to write letters and even march in support of Mandela.

Nobel Peace Prize

I was shocked to hear that Chief Luthuli had won the Nobel Peace Prize. I had assumed that this struggle in South Africa was just an internal conflict oblivious to the West. But such recognition puts the South African struggles on the map. The award represents a type of hope that the efforts of Chief Luthuli will eventually climax to freedom and equal rights for all South Africans. It was ironic that the award was for peace and the ANC had been moving towards a violent approach. I can relate to this to how Barack Obama had recently won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. He had not achieved peace yet in places like the Middle East yet but his efforts to make amends with Muslims around the world and his ability to bring people of various diversities together. Like Chief Luthuli, it was ironic that even though Obama had won the prize, the U.S. was fighting in two wars half way across the globe.

Shift to Sabotage

Mandela was very risky in switching to a position of violence directly after the Treason trial, in which they were working hard to confirm that the ANC was a nonviolent organization. When a person quickly switches a position on an issue, often times the legitimacy and the trust of that person can be lost because it becomes unclear where the person stands on a topic. But going through the struggles of the Treason Trial, Mandela had come to realize that their non-violent has not accomplished or progressed them in their movement to end apartheid. And Africans were dying, often times protesting peacefully. If they were to stick to a non-violent approach, Mandela believed freedom could be achieved, but probably not in his lifetime.

Switching to a violent approach for the ANC officially makes Mandela fighter. It was interesting to see that Mandela did not want to be blindly violent but researched and analyzed guerrilla tactics from leaders like Mao Tse-tung and Fidel Castro. It shows that Mandela wanted to be an effective leader by learning from the trials and errors of other leaders.

Often times when a organization takes a new approach to tackling a problem it is often a trial and error method until they know what is best for them. But for the ANC’s case, they had done enough research to realize that if they were going to go with a violent approach, it would be through sabotage. Sabotage reduces the chance of loss of life and it did not an army of people to accomplish this task. If the ANC went with some type of war to terrorist acts, supporters of the ANC may rescind their backing of an organization that has started to become reckless. An approach of sabotage allowed staunch supports of nonviolence to slowly ease into this approach by convincing that this type of violence causes the least harm to human life but is still highly effective.

Unjust

It is assumed that laws are made in order that crimes are reduced or bad behavior is lessoned but in this case apartheid has allowed African men turn to an occupation of crime. If one looks at the underlying cause of the inspiration to turn to crime, the laws of apartheid create boundaries of unjust and immoral rules that encourage Africans to commit crimes. It is unfair to think to the legal system in which people turn to for protection are hindering men to lead good lives.

It was amusing to read how Milton Mkwayi was threatened to get arrested when he was already arrested and just got separated from the group. And Milton was refused enough times that he technically escaped from the trial for him. It just shows how the policeman were arresting people without proper information/motive. The police were obviously unorganized. If the policeman does not even know who they have under arrest, that fact justifies they are unlawfully arresting South Africans.

It was already difficult enough that they were arrested and had to prepare a trial in a jail. But they also have to deal with all the racially-motivated rules in terms of food and location of sleeping quarters. Mandela and the other prisoners had to deal with an unjust system from many angles.

“Under apartheid, a black man lived a shadowy life between legality and illegality…” (Mandela 267). When the rules of government become unreasonable or unjust for the common citizen, it forces men to resort to breaking the law. Living underground for Mandela sounds like a criminal instead of a civil-rights activist.

Strikes in South Africa

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/08/20108265325707917.html

With over a million workers on strike for wage disputes, hospital patients, especially HIV and AIDS patients, are not receiving consistent treatments. The government needs to get this under control before violence gets out of hand. 

Engineering Without Borders

Went to an EWB meeting for the first time earlier this evening. I was recommended by friends to come to the meeting. I had always had a thought of getting involved in this club but I never got a chance to. The club had a presentation about their summer trip to Guatemala. They did a water assessment in a village in that country. It is a interesting club that can a fulfilling experience to take part in.

Reflections on Purchasing Tickets

Purchasing tickets was a strenuous process. I learned a lot of things I will remember to use when I travel abroad in the future. Here are some things I learned:

• The direct website can have just as good flights, if not cheaper flights, as airline saver websites such as Expedia, Orbitz, etc.
• Buy your tickets as early as possible. I had thought that the price for tickets would go down once the World Cup in South Africa was over but it just continued on a steady increase since June. I was looking a round-trip prices of around $1200 and I should have realized that is a great price to travel internationally.
• If you have any questions, just call the airline/website directly. It’s better to hear/clarify certain questions you have than look on the website and create you r own interpretation of a rule.
• Expect the flight prices to change ALL THE TIME. It really is disheartening to see flight prices fluctuate across the board.
• Research the range price to travel to your destination. You can realize how low can a round-trip price and recognize when a flight is way to high.
• Be aware of time zone changes when flying internationally. Make sure that you are arriving on the day you want. You may not realize it but you could arrive one day later or earlier than expected. I was lucky enough to book tickets in which I will arrive and leave Cape Town on the exact days listed.
• Yapta.com; I thought this website had the most straightforward and cleanest interface in searching for flights. But in the end going direct to the airline is the best way to go.
• Don’t book flights on the phone. The prices online are cheaper than what the customer service representative is looking at on the airline system.
• Be aware of baggage fees. In this time where airlines are starting to introduce fees for services that previously were free could expense you a big bill. This could be a major factor in picking your flight.
• You can pick your seats on a flight once you book the flight. I was a little confused in booking the flight because I thought they would prompt me before I purchased a ticket to pick my seat.
• If ambitious, try and fly as group. Groups fly for less. 

Finally purchased tickets!

Prison

"A nation should not be judged by how it treat its highest citizens, but its lowest ones - and South Africa treated its imprisoned African citizens like animals" (Mandela 201). Not only does the arrested have to deal with the pain of prison and the legal process but the unsanitary conditions at the prison could make a person go insane.

A Changed Man

When the chiefs in the Transkei reprimanded him for talking back to the police, he realized that he was a much different man from long ago. If he had stuck to the status quo and stayed with the Transkei he would never had the confidence to bravely challenge the injustices around him. Mandela changed from a man who was passive and did everything was told to a stubborn political firebrand who refused to abide by rules and order that were unjustified and unmoral.

A Democratic Future

The charter written up reminded me of the Declaration of Independence. It laid an outline for a democratic South Africa. With statements such as the people governing and equal rights for everyone, it was obvious that the charter was well-thought and was a clear identity of the ANC.

Justification for Violence?

Mandela is troubled by the lack of progress of the ANC's efforts and questions if the organization should shift to a violent approach if and only if they are met with violence. If the police are attacking members when they are nonviolently protesting their method of resistance is completely ineffective. Mandela should be able to fight back if violence is released upon him.

Unprofessional Judgement

Reading that the magistrate made his decision if Mandela's client was coloured or not by the slope of his shoulders is mind-blogging. To be straight-forward, how stupid can he be to make a decision based on the judge's instinct? A case is made based on the evidence and testimony provided during the trial. And because of the judge's blind decision-making Mandela's client's life is changed forever.

Great Plan

It was amazing to see the ANC offer political lectures to its members under the plan M-Plan. That really proves to me that the ANC is a legitimate group. Its purpose is not only to bring people together just to have a large group of supporters but for these group of people to be educated in the organization's purpose and what role they place in the situation surrounding each one of them. Often supporters join a group because everyone else is and it is just the main leaders who have the goals and visions of the group. If political lectures like these are people are more understanding of the cause and realize why such concepts as nonviolence are the best options.

Cheap Travel Expense

http://www.meritline.com/showproduct.aspx?ProductID=27250&SEName=happy-outdoor-travelling-air-pillow&source=dealnews

The items are just 99 cents and would be real useful when traveling to Cape Town.

Prison for Life?!

Mandela has technically been in a prison his entire life. With whites trying to define his potential and control his life, Mandela is fighting to be free to do what he wants and to be treated equally. It is heartbreaking to see how the government would bend the rules in anyway in order to maintain control. It makes it difficult for the ANC to cause changes when the government is arresting leaders on bogus charges which takes months to years to clear up with lenghty trials. "Banning not only confines one physically, it imprison's one's sprit" (Mandela 144).

Indemnity

This word was mentioned in the Autobiography of Nelson Mandela several times so I thought I should point out the definition of the word.

Indemnity: Protection against future loss

Apartheid

I now understand why it is recommended there is separation of church and state within government. Malan’s implementation of apartheid was based on “religious underpinnings by suggesting that Afrikaners were God’s chosen people and that blacks were a subservient species”. It is an outrageous belief and it seems like such a vision was created in order to religiously justify apartheid. 

Interesting

I was surprised to find that there was a high enough population of Indian people in South Africa that they formed their own youth congress to challenge the discrimination they faced. I had assumed that the struggles of Gandhi in India and Mandela in South Africa were separate fights in which either were not aware or had deaf ears to the oppression in other continents. But both leaders were aware of their struggles and looked to each other, Indians and South Africans, to work together to fight injustice. 

Interesting Article from CNN World Recently Published...

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/08/02/independence.africa.colonialism/index.html?hpt=C2

Great Quote

“Many people will appear to befriend you when you are wealthy, but precious few will do the same when you are poor.” I really like this quote because this can be a really good indicator of a friend’s character. When someone is wealthy, often the person is not looked at as a human being but a materialistic object to be used for one’s own pleasure. 

A Growing Anger

Living with Jongintaba, Mandela’s knowledge and experience widened. He was immensely exposed to Western culture, religion, schooling, and leadership from meetings of the regent and his court. It was in these meetings where Mandela witnessed various speaking styles and the regent’s emotionless response to many charges that were made against him. From such meetings was Mandela able to develop a growing flame of anger against Westerners attentively listening to the stories of Chief Joyi. Opportunities like this were rarely bestowed upon a kid who formerly lived in Qunu. His time with Jongintaba was a period of countless learning and observations.

Witnessing Reverend Mokitomi stand up to Dr. Wellington and not be punished for his courage showed Nelson that it was possible to stand up to the white man. Such incidents like this would get Mandela more comfortable for standing up to the white man or authority in general and changing his transformation from a passive person who obeyed everything authority instructed him to do to an active resister of injustices within society. In a culture where a black man refusing to obey a white man is rare and “illegal”, Mokitomi’s actions may have looked incredible to Mandela.  It illustrated a lesson that authority will yield if one stays firm on the ground. Believing this principle made Mandela sacrifice certain paths in order to uphold a “moral principle” (Mandela 52).

Mandela worked so hard to have a successful academic career. He had opportunities to study from prestigious schools. Mandela was brought up by a mentality that receiving a B.A. was the only way to get respect and guarantee leadership skills. But as he was at Fort Hare, he realized that there was more to academics in being a leader on the fact that “Walter Sisulu had never gone past Standard VI” (Mandela 69). Mandela soon realized it would take more than education to stand up and receive respect of the white man. “ “Education is all well and good,” Gaur said, “but if we are to depend on education, we will wait a thousand years for our freedom.” ” People like Gaur helped mold Mandela’s revolutionary ambitions, bringing him into the political arena. An education did not teach how to handle racial oppression, something Mandela dealt with everyday.

Mandela's Unique Childhood

Mandela was destined to disrupt the norm as his birth name stood for troublemaker.  This term would later characterize his stubbornness and willingness to stand for what is right.

It is often said that a person’s actions reflect experiences in one’s childhood. In Mandela’s case his father was a leadership inspiration, even compelling Mandela to “rub ash…into my hair in imitation of him” (Mandela 5). Mandela’s father’s death opened the door for Mandela to become a son of Jongintaba, a result of the chief returning a favor for getting him in such a high position.  

As a child, Mandela also obtained a strong sense of community and bonding with fellow African people. Considering aunts as mothers and cousins as siblings allowed Mandela to care about others strongly; a person that would be able to unite a group of people or yet, a country.

Throughout Mandela’s youth and early years as a man, he often regarded the “white man not as an oppressor but as a benefactor”. Mandela did not have much interaction with white people as a child; well, he did not have a negative experience with white people. I would feel readers would expect such a experience to have happened to him which would carry on to his rebellious ways when he is older.

Mandela did not have a typical childhood in which most of his peers ended up uneducated. He was lucky enough to be chosen to go a British school. He was able to combine his strong sense of African culture and philosophies and culture of the British.