Feb 24th
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.
At that moment a film crew and a half dozen journalists poured into the tiny conference room, cameras rolling, boom mike hanging above out heads, a whole production team walked in and came directly to our side of the room. The on-camera personality, a Westchester County looking gentleman with great hair and a stylish “field reporter” looking outfit came over to us and introduced himself, even told me that he was from Connecticut, and before I knew it he was interviewing the female interns, with the cameras rolling. He told us that the international fashion industry had dedicated itself to eradicating the scourge of mother to child transmission of HIV, and that a team from Vogue was in Cape Town with Victoria Beckham to bring the issue to light. He began interviewing Emily and Rachel, asking them about their roles at TAC, what brought them to South Africa, what TAC does. As soon as I realized what was going on, I decided to get the hell out of there, and snuck out of frame and to the back of the room. The entire experience was like a surreal manifestation of what I was so desperate to not enact while in South Africa, I just sat back in the room in strange disbelief. I don’t think I can articulate it in text, but only through facial expressions and exasperated sounds.
Lauren also got the f*ck outta there as soon as she realized what was up, but Emily was trapped right in the center of things. In retrospect, I give her a lot of credit for making the best of a very uncomfortable situation that no one would have wanted to be in. She kept putting the focus back on TAC and not herself, despite the interviewers questions, and was very polite, which I might not have been if I had the chance to articulate my feelings to the press (and that would have been terrible). They later interviewed Amelia at length, which certainly made us feel a bit better, but it was Amelia herself who put it best- TAC does not get to chose what press coverage they get. Every little bit helps the mission of their organization, and in most cases, they’re in no position to turn down positive coverage and publicity. The whole time, I kept wanting to say “Talk to the actual TAC activists! The ones who live here! The ones who ACTUALLY DO THE WORK AND LIVE IN THESE COMMUNITIES!” I also mouthed to Emily multiple times “YOU CAN SAY NO! YOU CAN SAY NO!” when they asked to get additional footage of her outside.
Ultimately, I’m glad I kept my mouth shut, smiled, and let it all work itself out. At the very least, I have a ridiculous story to tell in the future, of that time when my perceptions about everything that’s wrong with the west and its orientation towards “good work” in Africa was acted out in front of me like a bizarre circus act. There’s so much more to tell. I can’t even.
Feb 25th and 26th
Today we met TAC downtown at the gates of Parliament, where we were participating in a rally on the topic of the upcoming budget announcement. After scrappily managing a morning commute into the city, I (kinda) located Parliament using my pristine navigational skills. As you may or may not know, lovely reader, the South African Parliament sits in Cape Town. Fun fact for you right there. Anyway, TAC was one of the groups involved with drafting a People’s Budget plan, which was to be read and handed to the budget minister before the major budget announcement the following day. We all got t-shirts and made signs and organized a pretty large demonstration right in front of Parliament, and then a series of activists and leaders read off parts of the people’s budget proposal. It was a great event, and we got done around 12:30pm and were free to spend the rest of the afternoon on our own time. We got a killer delicious lunch nearby and ate it in the Company Gardens. I didn’t even realize it but this was my first great “treat yo self” moment since I nearly melted into human goo while on Devil’s Peak. If I had been thinking, I feel like I would have splurged on a smoothie, because damn, they looked good.
We were at TAC again on Wednesday, but there was unfortunately nothing too exciting going on, and I feel like I spent much of the day reading. There would be excitement again the following week.
What David Does 