14
UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 5 MAY 2019
INTERNATIONALISATION
The study tour was a life-changing experience
that
is etched inmy mind and vivid in every photograph
or video from the tour.
After a 14-hour flight we arrived at the Oliver
Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on
December 27, 2018. We hit the ground with no
time to rest. Our first tour was to the Walter Sisulu
Botanical Gardens, where we were greeted by South
African writer and activist, Elinor Sisulu, daughter-
in-law of prominent anti-apartheid activists,
Walter and Albertina Sisulu. The Gardens is a lush
park with undulating grounds that rose gently to
an escarpment from which cascaded a river and
beautiful waterfall. I noted the multicultural mix of
visitors Gardens, indeed to South Africa.
One of the highlights of the trip was the Soweto
Township tour. We drove through Johannesburg,
to the city with a skyline of skyscrapers, luxurious
homes, and tree-lined boulevards, juxtaposed with
weathered government housing and hovels with
galvanised roofs.
The tour was led by Soweto-born, professional
storyteller Bongani Godide. Bongani took us on the
same route that the oppressed black students took
in protest of the Bantu Education Act during the
Soweto uprising on June 16, 1967.
The protests spread all over South Africa
because of brutal gun attacks on unarmed students
by the white police. We visited the Hector Pieterson
Museum which recounts the tragedy and death of
its namesake, a 13-year-old boy who was shot and
killed during the uprising.
Our visits to the Hector Pieterson Museum,
the Apartheid Museum and the Old Fort Prison on
Constitutional Hill, linked the past to the present,
giving a vision of hope for the future. However, the
scars remain, making the society’s efforts to move
on difficult.
Afterwards we made our way to a game park
and lodge situated in the transition zone of the
Kalahari and the Lowveld in Pilanesberg. This area
is home to the “Big Five” – the African elephant,
black rhinoceros, Cape buffalo, African lion and
African leopard. Our guides assured us that we
would see all five as well as other animals at the
reserve.
In the game park, animals co-exist and are
allowed free movement: from the hardy oryx to the
shaggy-coatedwaterbuck; the sable antelope and the
kudu with its spiral-shaped horns; and springbok,
impala and wildebeest, important prey species.
Ringing in the New Year surrounded by nature
and enjoying a sumptuous meal (which included
springbok in wine) was truly memorable.
Our historical, anthropological and cultural
perspectives on South Africa expanded during
discussions and reading materials provided to us
before our departure. These prepared the group for
seven days through Cape Town.
Magic and Memory in
SOUTH AFRICA
B Y C A R O L - A N N E A G A R D
Providing
“immersion in the culture, history, politics, architecture and people”
– that is how the
International Office
describes its
UWI Discover Series
. Started in 2012, the series has carried students and staff to countries such as Brazil, China, Cuba and India.
At the end of 2018 a group embarked on the
UWI Discovers Study Tour
to South Africa.
Ms Carol-Anne Agard
was one of them.
CAPE TOWN
Several of Cape Town’s prominent members of the
Anti-ApartheidMovement hosted us during our time in the
city, the oldest in South Africa. Human rights activist and
former Member of Parliament, Professor Gertrude Fester
took us on a township tour of Bonteheuwel. We were hosted
by the BonteheuwelWalking Ladies, a 100-member women’s
empowerment group. The group told stories of being
forcefully removed from their homes during Apartheid,
giving us a further understanding of the suffering of South
Africans. The group shared a traditional Cape Malay meal
with us and chatted about their plans for the future before
presenting us with certificates of recognition and insisting
we take a group photo for their community newspaper.
The visit to Robben Island, a ferry ride away from the
Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, was profound. Nelson
Mandela was held in Robben Island from 1967 to 1990.
Today the prison is a museum. In Cape Town we also took
the cable car (an engineering feat) to Table Mountain and
across to Stellenbosch Winelands.
Our trip ended with us flying to one of South Africa’s
neighbours, Zimbabwe, and making our way across to
Botswana to visit the Chobe Game Reserve. Apart from
the beautiful Victoria Falls, what was fascinating was how
freely elephants, warthogs and baboons roamed the streets
of Zimbabwe and Botswana. While in Botswana, we spent
our time on a river cruise and land safari. The most notable
meal in Zimbabwe was the sumptuous barbeque and show
atThe Boma –Dinner andDrumShow. Antelope, crocodile,
buffalo and impala were grilled to perfection and served as
part of traditional Zimbabwean dishes.
These are my reflections of UWI Discovers South
Africa. It was a life-changing experience. I would like
to thank the International Office and their Study Tour
Coordinator Ms Afiya Francis, who planned the trip,
listened to our needs and concerns, and provided a time
management policy that worked.
Keiba Mottley on a helicopter ride over Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
The group met with Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner Roger Gopaul (centre) at the High Commission in Pretoria.
The protests spread all over South
Africa because of brutal gun attacks on
unarmed students by the white police.
We visited the Hector Pieterson Museum
which recounts the tragedy and death
of its namesake, a 13-year-old boy who
was shot and killed during the uprising.
