Well, another positive day at Mogomotsi High School and working in the Ikhutseng township. By now, though, my standards have changed such that positive means nothing too serious went wrong. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, a place like South Africa requires you to adjust your expectations; otherwise, you truly will go insane. I had to confiscate two hats and two cell phones from learners (they are against school policy), but such negative events were far outweighed by an experience I had after school working with my learners who I am helping to start a newsletter.
After working for about 45 minutes, most of the students mentioned that they needed to leave for the day. In response, the boy who is acting as editor told them, “Well, you can go. I am going to stay and work. I don’t mind working alone. But this stuff needs to get done.” And stay he did, for another 45 minutes or so. In the area where I work, and unfortunately across much of South Africa as well, work ethic, or rather a lack of it, is one of the major hindrances to development. I don’t enjoy pointing out that part of the continuing poverty can be attributed to laziness and bad attitudes, but it is a regrettable reality. For that reason, to see this young boy proudly tell his friends that he was going to stay and work, despite the opposite examples set for him by adults around him (including a majority of the teachers) was music to my ears. It is little moments like these, that keep you going through all the other difficulties you have to put up with, and make you think that maybe, just maybe, you’re making a difference.
Before I go any further, let me just please forewarn the reader that in this post, and many times in my blog in general, I deal with sensitive racial topics, and my, what I consider to be honest, treatment of it is bound to offend someone. Please refer to the note at the bottom of this post for my reasoning and approach to the use of such racial language and what may seem like to many, categorization.
The prevailing work ethic in South Africa ties in with the topic for today’s post, which is the failings of so many basic services, and people’s toleration for such bad performance. The township where I work was without water today, and this has been the case for the past 5 days. That means that there is no water at the school for toilets to be flushed, and water has to be carted in in jugs just so that food can be cooked for the students’ lunches. As I left the school today, the streets were filled with people lugging cartons of water in wheelbarrows from other places in the area because none is to be found in the immediate surroundings. This lack of water is not a new problem as it has occurred I think 10 times since I arrived in September. Upon asking people living in the township, it apparently has actually been a problem for over 15 years. All of this when we are located on the largest tributary of the largest river in South Africa.
The thing that actually amazes me about all this, though, is the quiet acceptance of this state of things. The people I saw with the wheelbarrows and water jugs did not look unhappy or upset that they were having to engage in such an activity. They were not angry at the government who was failing to provide such a basic service as running water. There was not a group of angry citizens at the municipality building demanding to see the municipal manager and mayor. No, there was none of that. Water was not available in the township, and that was simply a fact – no need to get stressed about it.*
*Note: As services have continued to deteriorate, and expectations have begun to rise, even if slowly, citizens throughout South Africa have at times begun voicing their discontent. This unfortunately usually takes the form of violence, destruction of property, the burning of tires, and the blocking of major roadways. Peaceful protests and petitions do not have much of a tradition here, probably because they have not been that effective in the past.
The don’t-worry-be-happy attitude is probably one of Black South Africans’ biggest virtues and largest vices all at the same time. It is also something not unique to South Africa as I have witnessed it in other developing countries I have traveled to. One of the biggest differences between a first-world and non-first-world nation, in my opinion, is the way that people respond to problems. In most industrialized countries, to varying degrees, when there is a problem, people are dissatisfied with the problem and so work to find a solution. Such dissatisfaction and subsequent mental as well as physical effort to resolve the issue necessarily result in an increase of stress levels. In developing countries, on the other hand, when there is a problem, people’s response seems to be to stay relaxed and simply get used to the problem. In America, if there is a pot hole, people complain to the government until it gets fixed. If it still does not get fixed, community residents will probably arrange some concrete and fix it themselves. In South Africa, if there is a pothole, you simply drive your car more slowly so as to avoid the depression. You may not be able to get to your destination as fast because of your reduced speed, but your blood pressure is not going to be raised one iota. It seems that a type of fatalistic hedonism prevails that life is what it is, and all one can do is accept it. For that reason, one might as well eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow, we die.
This is why I say that the laid-back attitude is simultaneously South Africa’s greatest virtue and vice. It may be apocryphal, but I have heard it attributed by people here many times that Black South Africans have a rate of heart attacks many times less than that of White South Africans. The supposed reason is that they simply do not stress about things like their White counterparts. Someone’s late? No problem. What’s the rush? Somebody doesn’t do what they were supposed to do? It can wait until tomorrow.
And to be honest, this type of approach has something to be said for it. The amount of medication consumed and psychological counseling received by Americans to deal with stress and worry is really quite ridiculous. We really would be better off if we would take a step back and learn not to sweat the small stuff. The problem is that it seems Black South Africans have taken a thousand steps back and don’t sweat anything. Always working without schedules, deadlines, and accountability will admittedly result in lower stress levels. But it also has the concomitant effect that nothing gets done, and when it does, it happens very slowly. That leisurely pace inevitably effects progress, development, and economic growth as a whole. So you might be at ease, but your services such as medical, sanitation, water, electricity, police, transportation, etc. either function badly or are non-existent.
This inevitably leads to some teleological questions as to what the purpose of life really is. Is not the ultimate goal for us to be happy? While material wealth and development do provide increased levels of happiness, it is subject to diminishing returns such that the improvement becomes less and less the wealthier you get. A $100 increase to a subsistence farmer means a lot more than to a billionaire. For many, the happiness actually goes down because of the increased stress and complexity of life. It has been shown that people in many developing countries are actually far happier than their counterparts in developed nations. If that is the case, then is development really a good thing? What good is development if it doesn’t provide happiness? These questions perplex me, considering that one of the reasons we are here is to PROMOTE “development”. Is it not possible that our promotion of development is really a chauvinist statement that our way of life is superior to theirs? Meanwhile, they might actually be happier?
I can’t say that I have all the answers to these questions, but I have arrived at at least a few responses that I think are adequate. One, development leads to better healthcare, which leads to longer life expectancy. I think everyone can agree that they prefer being alive to being dead. Longer life expectancy allows you the opportunity to experience happiness for a longer time, thereby increasing the end total happiness in your life. Secondly, while people in developing areas, such as the ones in the township where I work, may still be happy, they also experience their fair share of intense sorrow and pain as a result of their circumstances. The idealized accounts of poor but happy populations always seem to ignore the emotional trauma caused by having your loved ones die of preventable or treatable medical issues. Neither do they mention the fear that occurs because of beliefs in witchcraft or ancestors that can hurt and kill you. I could go on, but I think the point is made. Finally, I am not so sure that happiness should be pursued at any cost. Developed societies usually have better conceptions of and protections of rights, especially of minorities. Even if the general happiness could be raised by the mistreatment of a minority, I don’t think that means it should happen.
I suppose, in the end, what I am trying to say is that, in development, as in life, we must find a balance. Material wealth is worth little if we have be continually stressed and unhappy to obtain it. Accepting life as it is, though, and remaining in poverty is no cakewalk either. We must work to find a middle road that lets us achieve the scientific and technological progress that makes life easier and longer while not forcing us to abandon the things like community which we know are the most important determinants in a happy life.
[Notice: In this blog, my language and comments regarding race are many times much more casual and politically incorrect than I would use in polite conversation in the States. The reasons being are:
- South Africans mention race much more casually and comfortably than we do in America.
- Because so many of my post topics either directly or indirectly deal with race, always inserting qualifiers so as to avoid offense and the appearance of stereotyping becomes cumbersome such that focus is taken away from the points I am trying to make
- The realities of South Africa are many times harsh and uncomfortable, but the purpose of this blog is to inform readers of the true state of things not some sugar-coated version of what we wish they were. While obviously, positive and negative characteristics are present in all races here, the fact of the matter is that, from my experiences so far, Black South Africans exhibit certain characteristics in far greater percentages than White South Africans and vice versa. Thus, it is never my suggestion that a racial difference is a difference of kind, simply of degree, which is based on my own personal observations.]
South African English Word of the Day
shebeen (also called a tavern) – a place of drinking somewhat similar to a bar, but frequented almost exclusively by Blacks. The original term comes from the apartheid era when severe restrictions were placed on alcohol consumption for Blacks. A shebeen, in those days, was an illegal, underground pub similar to a speakeasy during American prohibition. With the demise of apartheid, the term came to refer to almost any Black drinking establishment.
Origin - late 18th century: from Anglo-Irish síbín, from séibe ‘mugful’
