Homophobia given borders.

Two students who came out to show their support

 

by: Angus Botha

 

“You fall victim to hate crimes because you choose to love differently.” This is what Mary Hames, Director of the Gender Equity Unit said during an intense discussion around homophobia. Loud Enuf, one of the societies that form part of the Unit played host to an Anti-Homoprejudice week. The event spanned over a week (11-15 May 2009) in various venues around campus. This week-long event was planned as a build up to the International day against Homophobia (17 May annually). 2003 saw the introduction of this international event and the theme this year was: “Homosexuality knows no borders”.
(Visit www.homophobiaday.org for more information)

Now you may ask yourself why the event celebrated at UWC was called ‘Anti-Homoprejudice week’? Mary Hames, Director of the Gender Equity Unit explains: “A phobia is an irrational fear of something. A prejudice is a hatred of something, in this case homosexual people.”

Over the course of the week, different aspects of Homosexuality were explored. During the launch on (Monday 11 May 2009) Marlow Valentine of the Triangle Project facilitated a discussion around the struggle for equal treatment of homosexual people. This set the tone for the week, highlighting the challenges faced by gay people every day. Wednesday (13 May 2009) drew the attention of those in attendance to the issue of violence against women. This was done by means of a silent protest. During the event a poem was read which was followed by a moment of silence for those women who have fallen victim to corrective rape- The phenomenon which has led to lesbian women in townships living in fear of their lives.
(Follow this link for details about the story:

http://www.women24.com/Women24/LoveSex/Gay/Article/0,,1-3-110_19752,00.html).

The week was rounded off with a discussion focused on: ‘Defining homoprejudice and combating an irrational fear’. Amongst the featured guests were Mary Hames, Marlow Valentine (Outreach Coordinator, Triangle Project) and Reverend Pressley Sutherland (Goodhope MCC).

The anti-homoprejudice week highlighted how far the struggle against oppression has come and how much still needs to be done.
“Why do people feel they have a right not to be offended?” This is a comment in response to an article on news24 (http://www.news24.com/News24/Entertainment/Local/0,,2-1225-1242_2309278,00.html). Initiatives like the anti-homoprejudice week play an important role in challenging and changing mindsets such as these. Rights are not enough and until society realizes this anti-homoprejudice focus weeks are necessary.

Do good – with the click of a button

by Karen Jeynes

Do you find yourself wasting time online? Got ten minutes to spare in the lab before your next lecture? There are so many ways that you can use the internet to help others. And none of them cost a cent!

For example you can enhance your vocabulary and feed the hungry on  Free Rice , where every time you get a word right, food is donated to feeding schemes. And if you think your vocabulary is good, you can compete with friends to see who gets to the highest level.

If you’re tied to Facebook and don’t want to leave it for a second, you can save the world’s rainforests on Facebook’s Lil Green Patch. Send plants to your friends, arrange your patch, and don’t miss out on any notifications or chats.

If your internet connection is sitting idle, perhaps while you put the finishing touches on an essay, put your computer to work for SETI searching the skies for extra terrestrial activity, or Rosetta who are on a quest for a cancer cure, or many more. These programmes only use your computer when you aren’t using it, and only with your full permission. A full list of similar sites can be found on the Distributed Computing website.

If you have time and energy and a little brainpower and want to commit more than just your bandwidth to a good cause, why not proofread some pages on PGDP and help convert books in the public domain into ebooks? Or you could hop over to Wikipedia and contribute to the world’s body of knowledge.

Always wanted to be an activist but didn’t know how? Sign up with Avaaz who are at the forefront of petitioning world leaders on issues of international importance and make sure you’re the first to know, or join past Nobel Prize winners in The Community.

And does all this online do-good behaviour actually work? WWF certainly think so.

We are all just people

by Karen Jeynes
It’s nearly a year since South Africans watched in horror as refugees were attacked and killed. Nearly a year since people poured donations into refugee camps. Nearly a year since the crisis began.

“What most people don’t understand – or maybe they don’t even think about it – is that there are still refugees in the Blue Waters camp,” says activist Cathy*. “It’s not fashionable anymore, so we forget about them.”

And it’s not the only one – in Pretoria another refugee camp is also in existence. In fact refugee issues continue to make news headlines, with tensions flaring up in Johannesburg, Durban, and of course Cape Town. And there is no clear solution ahead. “The government handled this situation badly, the UN handled it worse,” says Cathy.

Kashif* is living at Blue Waters while he finishes his studies at UWC. “Some days it gets bad in the camp, then I can’t come through,” he says quietly. He has twice been beaten up by others in the camp for attending university. “It took so long to get my study visa, I queued for days. The people there, they are rude to me.” Kashif is from the DRC, and he hopes to return there one day. “If I can get my education then I can help my country when I return.”

With Africa Day just around the corner and a new government just sworn in, perhaps its time we took the situation seriously, and began to look for solutions.

At the time of the last elections, Stats SA stated that 13 million people were not eligible to vote as they were foreign nationals. “An estimated 100 000 people come to South Africa every week,” says Cathy, “and with the border to Zimbabwe now open, the numbers are only likely to increase.

Steve T is studying at UCT this year, completing his Honours degree. Steve is from Zimbabwe, and has a lot to say about South Africans and their relationships to other Africans. “It continues to shock me how deeply some South Africans hate us. Every day, supposedly educated people call me names and threaten to hurt me if I don’t go home.” Steve acknowledges of course that the majority of South Africans don’t feel this way, “but it’s the negative experiences that stick with you.”

If the majority of South Africans don’t feel this way, then why do we condone this behaviour? “South Africans are some of the most apathetic people,” sighs Cathy, “if you’re not shoving an issue in their faces every moment of the day they forget about it.”

Kashif is worried about the future. “How do we show students here at UWC that we are all just people, all just the same?” He is also worried about his studies. “I can’t work at the camp, no electricity or space for me. Because I miss so many days queuing and when I am afraid to leave the camp, I don’t know if I’ll pass. And then my visa won’t get renewed.”

What can South Africans do? “Just look at people as people,” begs Kashif. “Don’t judge me by my accent, or the colour of my skin.” Steve agrees, but takes it further. “I think South Africans need to be more aware of what is happening in Africa generally. They don’t always know where countries are, not to mention what is happening in them.”

Cathy agrees, and calls on South Africans to be more proactive. “If you aren’t happy about something, say so. Write to the papers, write to your local politicians. Blog about it.”

If you’d like to learn a little more about Africa, check out All Africa, Africa Daily, or Africa Action.