Today was one of the best days of my service. Peace Corps came to my school and sat down with my principal and my host country counterpart and talked about the issues I have been having (mainly corporal punishment and lack of support for orphans) at this school. It was great having my school meet my boss. He is basotho just like them and grew up near my counterpart. Even though I have repeatedly told my school that peace corps lesotho is run by americans and basotho I dont think they believed me. there are many obstacles one has to overcome in peace corps.
the biggest one for me is the "race issue" as I call it. as some of you might know, the history of africa is riddled with racism. i live in a country that was attacked by Boers during the Boer War. I also live in a country that is surrounded by South Africa. And the history of SOuth Africa is something everyone should know about. Nelson Mandela and the apartheid. the history of Uganda, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique and every country in Africa contains the horrors of what the white man did to Africa. read about it. I dont have time to go into it right now but it might give you a tiny window into what it is like to be white in Africa.
the word for white person in sesotho is Lekhooa(pronounced Li-hu-a) and I have heard this word every single day of my life in this country. people shout it at you everywhere you go. Its more like this "BUHBYE! LEKHOOA BUHBYE LEHOOA! KE KOPA CHELETE KE KOPA LIPOMPOM!". Which translates into "Hello whitey hello white person give me money give me candy!" and even though im not africanz and ive never been africanz, almost all basotho think that because i am white i must be africanz and they continue to speak to me in the little africanz they know even though i tell
them in perfect sesotho that i am not africanz i am american and sometimes i even add "i love obama!" they still think i am africanz. and ive been called a boer numerous times. and people have spit at me. people have yelled
nasty things to me. everyday i get on a taxi i am cheated out of money. everyone thinks you have so much money that they can just steal money from you and you wont notice or care. and its horrible because as a peace corps volunteer i make less than even the basotho volunteers make. i make so little. for example a teacher with my experience and degree makes about 8000R a month whereas I make only 1,500R a month. i make peanuts. and i spend my money on keyhole gardens and orphans not just myself. and its really hard.
but at the end of the day i can only blame my country and myself. you see lesotho receives over half the income of the entire country from America's PEPFAR Grant. it also receives support from Britian and South Africa. Every Basotho since birth has seen lekhooa pour into their country. theyve seen them with their expensive clothing and expensive cars. they are the doctors at their hospitals and the business men who pay their salaries. even though my country means well and so does the other countries that are trying to help lesotho out and help find a cure for HIV, the message that these weathly white people are unconsciously sending is extremely hurtful to this country. basotho can only sit back and watch as white people buy up all the expensive homes and hire basotho as their maids. they sit and watch as crazy drunk lekhooa party at their 3 nightclubs in this country wearing their expensive
clothes and then the basotho see them get in their private vehicles and drive away. ive seen white people talk down to basotho like they were stupid. ive heard the things my own expatriate friends say some very racist comments about basotho. and on top of that they are subjected to western music and television. so if a mosotho is lucky enough to watch television or listen to the radio all they hear and see is "look at me im white and i have so much money!". can you imagine a child who has never had shoes and eats corn meal for every meal, who has never had electricity or running water watching "super sweet 16" on MTV? or this child watching a music video by any hiphop or rap star whose lyrics are basically "look at my money look at my money, i have so much money, just look at my money". so its totally the lekhooa's fault that lesotho is like this right now. and i know why basotho hate white people and why they dont want their help. part of me wants to leave just because i feel offensive just being here! i know! haha.
that is why peace corps is such a good organization. i takes americans and makes them live like the majority of basotho. i dont have a mansion. i have a one room traditional basotho house. i dont have an expensive car, i take public like everyone else. i dont have electricity. i dont have running water. i use a latrine. i teach my students and i live like my students. and thats why i love peace corps. it is the best decision i ever made in my life.
so sorry i havent responded to emails or written on this blog. right after i wrote that last blog on how awesome my internet was, it crashed and i found out that 100R only buys you about 10 minutes of internet. so its a little too expensive for me to use.
Here is an unfinished list of African novels that i am hoping each of you will buy one and send to my school
The Silver Sword - Ian Sherrailler
To Sir With Love
The Concubine - Elechi Amadi
Death is a Woman
The Narrow Path - Francis Seromermey
Love on the Rocks - Andrew Sesinyi
Rassie - Andrew Sesinyi
Sunset in Biafra - Elechi Amadi
The Great Ponds - Elechi Amadi
The Red Pony - John Steinbeck
The Pearl - John Steinbeck
Have Mercy-
Thorns of Life - David Mall
Beyond the Horizon
A Grain of Wheat - Ngugi wa Thiongo
The River Between - Ngugi wa Thiongo
Anthills of the Savanna- Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
Without a Silver Spoon
Oliver Twist
Rebel
Shaka
Cry the Beloved Country
There are no book stores in lesotho. basotho rarely read. however every test my students take, including the JC and COSC which come from Cambridge University in England, are in English. if my students read books in English they will learn how this language works and they will improve significantly. if they can read english, then they can pass the exams, pass high school, go to the National Lesotho University, and make a life for themselves. by sending a book to my school you will be saving countless lives for generations to come. and im keeping it mostly african books because these kids should be proud of their country and their continent. so please send a book. it cant cost you more than $40. dont you think a african child's life is worth it?
Natalie Nichols/PCV
Mahloenyeng High School
P.O. Box 32 Matsieng 192
Lesotho
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Why did you use Peace Corps instead of the local authorities?
ReplyDeleteIt's so interesting to see the racial situation in South Africa. That's just so eye-opening. You're doing such a good thing, for America and (much more importantly) for Lesotho. Thank God they pay you guys local wages -- as rough as I know it must be for you. But if it weren't for that, your mission would be so much harder. But you know that already. Anyway – keep it up, and keep your eye on the mailbox.
ReplyDeleteJordan i miss you so much:(
ReplyDeletelk there are no local authorities. this is africa.
I miss you too :( PS, this might be a strange question, how do people interact with one another there in terms of volume? As in, does it seem like people yell at each other a lot, or whisper more? Do people gesture with their hands a lot? Just curious, I don't really know much about the Basotho (other than what you tell me).
ReplyDeleteYour post contains a lot of misinformation, but I suppose it is to be expected from someone who cannot even spell properly.
ReplyDeleteYou could start by learning how to write refer to Boers as 'Afrikaans' people, as opposed to 'africanz'.
Maybe that, along with proper punctuation, will go a long way in saving you and the stereotypes you so freely perpetuate.
And when you get this, remember: generalisation is the mother of all fuck-ups (unless the people one is generalising about happen to be American, in which the generalisation is justified!)
And R100 buys you ten minutes of Internet? Really, where? Do yourself a favour and stop perpetuating that below-average, below socially-acceptable bullshit mentality of yours.
No bookstores? Really? Are you fucking kidding me?!
This is my life you are slamming right now. i dont write blogs for complete strangers to tear apart. this is a blog for family and friends to read and comment about.
ReplyDeletei understand if the culture and history of your people makes you defensive about the life stories on my blog.
however this isnt a blog that is meant to start tense "race" discussions between strangers or try to passive aggressively release pent up anger over being a misundstood Boer.
Listen I have plenty of boer friends. but this blog isnt about "who is more racist" or "which 'race' is better" this is my peace corps blog. every post on here is 100% true. this is my life. its not a blog where you can just come on here and tell me that my life is offensive to you.
Now I dont know anything about you. Because you are a complete stranger who seems to have taken it upon him/herself to tell me how inaccurate my life is. However, I hope you can find in your heart to leave my blog alone and go take your Boer anger somewhere else. This is blog is the only way I connect with my grandparents and my family friends.
This is my life we are talking about. I lived here for almost 7 months. I think I know my life a little better than you do. Do you even live in Lesotho? If so than it must not be where I live because yes there are no bookstores in my village. there are no bookstores in any villages. if you know a good bookstore in lesotho, it must be underground somewhere and completely hidden from the public.
And yes 100R only bought me about 10 minutes of airtime. I did learn how to turn off pictures and special tricks that might make it last 15 minutes.
And by the way it's spelled "generalization".
Please don't comment on my blog again. I have no idea who you are. And you are just further propagating the negative generalizations that people do have about Boers by commenting on my blog.
I cant believe i just wasted the 3 out of my 12 minutes of airtime to write back to you.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletechill banana peel, geez! If you do not like something, delete it.
ReplyDelete==And by the way it's spelled "generalization"==
No, that's how it's spelt in American English
;-)