Misunderstanding
I think I finally have a firm grasp on a lot of the reason why city people versus village people don’t have more to do with each other, and thus, why there is such a vague commitment from the more urban areas towards any improvement in the rural ones. It seems, more than anything else, that people really just don’t “get” each other, and really have made no real effort to try to discover exactly what it is that makes the one group progress so much fyrther forward than the other. For anything to change it seems like we need an exchange case of “The Country Mouse and The City Mouse.” More clearly, a swap of placement in order for each sector to obtain a better understanding of the other, and thus be able to work towards improvement once there is real comprehension taking place. Perhaps the reason why so much development seems to fail in the villages is because no one has sat down and figured this out.
I was having a conversation with a woman from Tzaneen about the state of the villages and one of the things she said that struck me as so telling of the amount of misunderstanding was: “They don’t think ahead. Nothing grows out in the village. There is no commitment to the future.” I think her point was that she felt that villagers weren’t appreciating their land, and were instead destroying the one thing they had to their advantage.
Yet, when she made this statement I think she forgot what exactly the villagers have to work with. She complained that there were no tall trees. This doesn’t take into account the fact that many people in the rural areas still cook their food over open fire and thus need wood. Does having tall trees really seem important to someone when feeding their family is the prime concern? In addition, she questioned the trash lying around in piles. Then again, it’s easy to criticize the appearance of trash when you have a garbage collection system. With any of this, aesthetics are seemingly the last of concerns when mere survival is the main aim of many people living in rural areas. I can guarantee that many of the poorer people don’t give a damn that the taxi they are taking is broken and spewing pollution into the atmosphere when they have to get work. In fact, I doubt there would be little concern over the state of the ozone layer at all when just trying to survive through this week is the focus.
On the other hand, people in the village think people in the cities waste at alarming rates: throwing out extra food or milk because it smells a little sour. In turn, we all have our ideas about what is waste and that what everyone else is doing that’s wrong.
I think so much of the tension in this country so often stems from mere misunderstanding. People aren’t willing to criticize their own lives and like to place the blame far away in order to increase their own comfort. Yes, things need to change in the village to ensure sustainability of both development, and a world in the future, but so too do things need to change in the cities. It’s a Catch-22, everyone, everywhere is doing something wrong and until we all accept this, and work from it in the confines of what is realistic, then nothing has the ability to improve.
I was having a conversation with a woman from Tzaneen about the state of the villages and one of the things she said that struck me as so telling of the amount of misunderstanding was: “They don’t think ahead. Nothing grows out in the village. There is no commitment to the future.” I think her point was that she felt that villagers weren’t appreciating their land, and were instead destroying the one thing they had to their advantage.
Yet, when she made this statement I think she forgot what exactly the villagers have to work with. She complained that there were no tall trees. This doesn’t take into account the fact that many people in the rural areas still cook their food over open fire and thus need wood. Does having tall trees really seem important to someone when feeding their family is the prime concern? In addition, she questioned the trash lying around in piles. Then again, it’s easy to criticize the appearance of trash when you have a garbage collection system. With any of this, aesthetics are seemingly the last of concerns when mere survival is the main aim of many people living in rural areas. I can guarantee that many of the poorer people don’t give a damn that the taxi they are taking is broken and spewing pollution into the atmosphere when they have to get work. In fact, I doubt there would be little concern over the state of the ozone layer at all when just trying to survive through this week is the focus.
On the other hand, people in the village think people in the cities waste at alarming rates: throwing out extra food or milk because it smells a little sour. In turn, we all have our ideas about what is waste and that what everyone else is doing that’s wrong.
I think so much of the tension in this country so often stems from mere misunderstanding. People aren’t willing to criticize their own lives and like to place the blame far away in order to increase their own comfort. Yes, things need to change in the village to ensure sustainability of both development, and a world in the future, but so too do things need to change in the cities. It’s a Catch-22, everyone, everywhere is doing something wrong and until we all accept this, and work from it in the confines of what is realistic, then nothing has the ability to improve.
posted by Cait at 9:32 AM
1 Comments:
Oh! I'm LOVING reading your kinder (than my)take on S African divides! I've heard things like "They have such fertile land but they never plant enough!" "They never plant a flower!" "They leave plastic bags all over the place", "they never plan ahead!" and "they don't use fertilizer so no wonder their crops are weak"
Fertilizer costs more than the profit margin will cover. Why? Because these village farmers don't have economies of scale, but mostly their costs of getting goods to market are extortionate compared to bigger (white) farmers. They don't have trucks, facility w bargaining and getting a good price. I have literally cried when I have seen a woman sell her basket for so little because SHE NEEDED THE CASH TODAY! You could say she doesn't 'plan ahead' but when is planning ahead workable when you are dealing with a marginal life every day? You can't stop the problems, you just have to manage them and the less you have, the more time, energy and flex it takes. If you ever have been without money you know that managing a lack of money takes infinately MORE time than managing lots of money.
My take on those comments is if you plant extra in the village it gets taken from you! If you come up with a great ideaa "townie" (white, black, Indian whatever)will use it better than you and NOT share. If you stand out are a "tall poppy" often ppl from your own village will make sure you don't get "uppity" If you don't share you get punished, up to and including being killed! So the lesson is why bother...Everyone moves together or nobody does. Student Teachers in the Western Cape went on strike, their demand "Everyone passes or NOBODY passes!"
It's a perspective thing. The tribe over the individual or the individual leaves the tribe behind. When you have little you learn that support base is EVERYTHING and it is a visceral response to be primarily concerned about the group rather than one's own ambition.
The losses and trade offs are not made from ignorance, personally I find it excruciating witnessing the struggles and choices people make in the "New South Africa." Living under the heel of Apartheid was brutally simple, the new generation has to figure out complexities of how to keep the best of their traditions and community, yet still progress. Easier said than done.
My 2c
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