I've been reading a lot lately, and one of the books I just read is called "Disgrace" by J.M. Coetzee, an academic from South Africa. Coetzee (pronounced Co-ets-ah) is an Afrikaaner South African who, unlike most of his brethren, fought against apartheid when most supported it. As a result of both his anti-apartheid beliefs and his writing, Coetzee has pretty much been exiled from South Africa and while his books have garnered critical acclaim all over the world, he is hated by all in his home country.
I never really had an idea of what South Africa was like when I was a kid. I knew that people from that country in Canada were mostly white and had pretty accents, but nothing else. "Disgrace" gave me a really candid look at a country torn apart by racism and horrible crime, and people who refuse to change. My friend D (we won't name names) has been dating a girl from South Africa quite seriously for the last few years, and last year went to South Africa with her for an extended period of time. The horror stories he returned with haunted me for days, especially the ones about traffic accidents and bodies being removed from the ground in plain sight. I also read a story in grade 9 about a house in South Africa that the owners armed to the teeth with security devices to keep black vagrants from breaking into their home. What they didn't take into account was their curious young son, who tried to climb the cement fence to see what was on the other side and wound up being gored by barbed wire. It was a haunting story, made all the more sad by my new understanding of South Africa.
In a country where the reported rape rate is highest in the world and the government refuses to do anything worthwhile about AIDS, how could you ever progress? How could you ever rise above a short, brutal life?
Thoughtfully yours,
-Laur
I never really had an idea of what South Africa was like when I was a kid. I knew that people from that country in Canada were mostly white and had pretty accents, but nothing else. "Disgrace" gave me a really candid look at a country torn apart by racism and horrible crime, and people who refuse to change. My friend D (we won't name names) has been dating a girl from South Africa quite seriously for the last few years, and last year went to South Africa with her for an extended period of time. The horror stories he returned with haunted me for days, especially the ones about traffic accidents and bodies being removed from the ground in plain sight. I also read a story in grade 9 about a house in South Africa that the owners armed to the teeth with security devices to keep black vagrants from breaking into their home. What they didn't take into account was their curious young son, who tried to climb the cement fence to see what was on the other side and wound up being gored by barbed wire. It was a haunting story, made all the more sad by my new understanding of South Africa.
In a country where the reported rape rate is highest in the world and the government refuses to do anything worthwhile about AIDS, how could you ever progress? How could you ever rise above a short, brutal life?
Thoughtfully yours,
-Laur
1 comment:
WOW that was a quick comment. And cool that we both chose to write about reading on the same night ;)
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