JOURNEYING AMONG A FORGOTTEN PEOPLE - THE RURAL TRANSKEI. Reflections on South Africa - Part III

October 2002’s last week was spent traveling to the Eastern side of South Africa, into the homeland of Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Spiwo Xapile and the homeland of the Xhosa people. Dr. Gene Ott, Chuck MacDonald, and seven members of the House of Hope Church in St. Paul spent the last days of this trip in the most poverty stricken areas of South Africa. It was a sobering journey to a hospital, school, and rural community mostly forgotten by today’s world. The pictures and narrative can only barely touch on this human tragedy.

History tells us that once in time the Xhosa and Zulu people were nomadic. Their lives evolved around their cattle herds. White civilization and the discovery of gold and diamonds changed all that. Driving into the low mountains of the panoramic Transkei, one’s eyes see hundreds of mostly round huts clinging to hillsides and clustered in valleys. Trees are few, mostly chopped up for fuel and cooking. Gone also are the men who were first recruited off this land to work in the mines and were allowed to come back to their homes infrequently. At first they could send money home for food and seed, but as the mines closed employment everywhere became scarce.

Transkei was separated from Cape Province in 1963 to become the first of ten black areas within South Africa that were allegedly internally self-governing. In 1976 Transkei became the first of the homelands to be granted “independence.” The South African government then revoked the citizenship of its residents. Transkei’s assembly controlled many internal matters, but its decisions were subject to the control of the South African government. From 1978 to 1980 territorial disputes prompted Transkei to sever diplomatic relations with South Africa. Like the other homelands, it was not recognized internationally as an independent state. In 1994, after a multiracial election, the establishment of a new South African government, and the end of apartheid Transkei and the other nine homelands were reabsorbed into South Africa.

People in the Transkei area are mostly the elderly, women and children. Many survive by clustering around the one person who may have a government pension, 620 Rand per month or about $62.00. This sometimes attempts to feed up to twelve women and children. Hunger is everywhere and there is little energy or funds to plow or plant so one sees few efforts at farming. Fencing is the major problem. Without fences they cannot protect their gardens so the animals destroy what they attempt to grow and there is little money for fencing. It does not take long to understand that women are in reality the beasts of burden in this part of South Africa. They were left to try to hold the families together and even to insure that their houses did not fall into decay. There are old men or sick men in the villages and when the other men come back to these villages they frequently bring with them the death sentence of HIV.

The first morning in this place the nine of us loaded up into the vans for a long trip to the nearest hospital. The roads are in poor shape and tax both the vehicle and human body shock system. We are a rare site in this part of the country. Tourists don’t come here. They prefer the newer gambling centers and game parks to the north. After a bumpy climb along high mountain ridges we did reach the hospital. This is the only hospital the region has.

We spent the morning with the doctors and touring the facility. The two doctors who work with next to nothing are from Bangladesh and Cuba. The list is too long to describe as to what this hospital does not have. What we saw were rooms full of very sick men and women, thin blankets, and minimal sanitation. There was another building away from the rest that was for patients with TB but half of them were also infected with AIDS. On the far side of one building I stumbled into a group of women and small children who in their boredom with waiting, allowed me to photograph them. They were all lined up(right) to see the doctor with their sick babies, some who may survive not it all.

Of course there are some ‘good news stories’ to be found amidst the bad news. At. Canzibe hospital, we encountered Dr. Kabir, a most remarkable young doctor from Bangladesh. He is the superintendent. His two colleagues are from Cuba. “No South African doctor has been prepared to say here”, he told us. Two trainee doctor graduates from Transkei University, doing their community service, walked out after ten days. The anesthetic unit has not been working since 1998. We visited the pediatrics ward with children suffering from malnutrition - with their mothers sleeping on the floor. “At least it is better here, we have some food,” they told us, feeding their babies rice. A nursing assistant said: “I walk five kilometers everyday back and forth to the clinic. I have been assisting nurses since 1978, but we need help desperately.” “Dr. Kabir, modest and humble man who stayed, is a guardian angel,” the security man at the gate told us. Asked why he came and why he stays, Dr. Kabir said it has to do with ’something within.’ - from a report titled: “Encountering the Rural Transkei - Institute For Justice and Reconciliation

After a sobering ride on impossible roads, we came back to the area we were staying in. Spiwo and Jan duToit, our hosts wanted us to meet with the children and some of the women. We had to first walk through a pasture to the school. This day was not a good day for the children, only two of the four teachers showed up. Shoes in this area are highly valued and worn in the school but carried home. Many of these children were barefoot and the region is cold because of the elevation. On this day Reverend Spiwo was upset. The region needs teachers, it needs someone to help these children. We desperately need someone to help show the teachers how to teach these children. Spiwo says, “Yes these people are desperate, they need food and clothing but they also need knowledge. Their ignorance only makes things worse.”

We had been traveling, in addition to Jan and Spiwo, with a South African economist and author, Margaret Legum. This woman was one of those one-person armies who had been helping Spiwo for several years. There are in this world men and women like Jan and Spiwo and Margaret who spend their time in search of solutions and help for a people that the rest of the world would rather forget.

In Summary Each time we go to South Africa we have made some progress. Each trip brings more Minnesotans who see first hand the effect of this growing pandemic. Each time we meet more of the leaders and others who are attempting to address the mounting needs of the people. Reverend Spiwo Xapile reminds us each time that, yes they are grateful for the money, medical supplies, and clothing we can bring in duffle bags, but more importantly our visits tell the others that they are not being totally forgotten by the world.