March 6th & 7th: Weekending

We had classes at the house this Thursday, so there was no reason to go to UCT. I believe in the afternoon I got out of the house and went shopping in Claremont, a nearby suburb. I traveled there via train, one of my favorite pastimes, though I realized minibus would have been a lot faster.

March 3rd – 5th: Uyafuna i-Condom?

We were back at the TAC offices this week, which (while lacking any film crews from Vogue), did give us the opportunity to build our relationships with the community workers at TAC and gain insight into the preparation for the coming patent law march. On Monday afternoon, we sat in on a meeting with the Khayelitsha branches where information about the march was disseminated and plans for transport were confirmed. This march, a week from Thursday, was intended to mobilize over 1,500 activists to march on Parliament to call for a change in South Africa’s patent laws and processes.  There was a lot of planning and mobilizing going on.

Feb 28th – March 2nd: Human Rights Weekend

Last weekend, we participated in a human rights training retreat through Africa Unite, and were able to spend the entire weekend working and learning with students from across South Africa and the continent. Far away from the city at a picturesque rural olive farm, we made connections, learned collectively about the principles of human rights, and put ourselves to the test in a variety of challenges and group activities. I had a fantastic time this weekend, and enjoyed making connections and finding commonalities with students that come from very different backgrounds from mine.

Feb 27th: Up Lion’s Head

Feb 27^th

This evening marked my first trip up Lion’s Head. We decided as a group to attempt a sunset hike, and left the house around 6pm and arrived at the trailhead at 6:30pm, not long before sunset. Already the sun was low in the sky, and we still had at least a hour’s hike ahead of us. Our lateness in arriving to the mountain resulted in us experiencing stunning sunset views while hiking up the mountain. The sunset is not visible from Rondebosch due to Table Mountain, so this was one of my first chances to see the sunset from the Atlantic side of the peninsula; I was able to get incredible photos.

Feb 24th – 26th: It Gets Weird

Feb 24^th

The Khayelitsha commission was on recess this week, so we found ourselves at the TAC offices for the first time. This would mark the week that our internship would get a hell of a lot more exciting. On Monday, we were able to join a meeting with Mike and his team of community mobilizers, whom we have since continued to get to know. After assigning ourselves to work with different mobilizers on different projects, Amelia, one of the leaders in the Khayelitsha office, came in and said there was going to be a meeting with some special guests. A few more organizers walked in at this point, so we organized chairs around the conference table and Amelia put out some TAC literature, and Emily, Lauren, Rachel, Sarah Jo, Mike and myself retreated to our chairs by the back wall, to respectfully sit in on the meeting.

Feb 22nd – 24th: Under the Sea and in a Minibus

Feb 22^nd

I was definitely on the mend today. I was too weak to accompany Lauren an Emily into Khayelitsha for a TAC meeting about the upcoming march, and instead stayed in the house for a while to recuperate. I did take up an offer to accompany some people to the V&A Waterfront to go to the aquarium, and felt like that would be a suitably low-key experience to have while still convalescing. I resolved to not move faster than three miles per hour and felt like that rule would keep me from tiring myself out. Oddly, this was my second trip to the waterfront, and both times I had been sick while there (I didn’t try to fall asleep on a toilet or in a McDonalds this time).

Feb 17th – 21st: Why You Don’t Climb Devil’s Peak Alone

Feb 17^th – 19^th

This would prove to be our final week at the Khayelitsha commission, and by this point we were begging for a brief respite. In these past two weeks of the commission, higher level SAPS representatives were testifying, and this week saw the testimony of several SAPS station commanders. As high-level officials within SAPS in Khayelitsha, the questioning was extremely detailed and lengthy, often lasting more than a day for each witness. The exhausting scope of the questioning, along with the often lengthy and rambling responses of the witnesses, led to several painfully long days at the commission, lightened only by a few moments of levity and a handful of important revelations. I have the utmost respect for the commissioners, listening without missing a beat and always ready with a sharp fusillade of questions for the witnesses. We’ll see how things go when the commission reconvenes in a few weeks.