We went on a bit of a field trip today. Grant took us to a "Granny's" home on the farm. We had to walk to the farm which wasn't as far as I thought it was going to be. You can't see her house from the school, but you can see the farmer's house. Actually the farmer's mansion is a more appropriate word. This house is SO MASSIVE! Side note: it was super hot today. I believe one of my classmates told me it was supposed to get up to 82 degrees. I got to see where Luciano (one of the kids in my class) lives which was pretty cool. The houses on the farm are different than I thought they were going to be. They look just like big rectangular blocks with windows and a door.
We sat outside under the tree as the Granny talked to us. She actually raised the farmers children which is pretty interesting. She said that she was somewhat of a favorite of the farmer's family. I asked her what her responsibilities on the farm was. She said that one of her responsibilities was picking tobacco. The workers would work from 5am until 5pm. She said that her job with the tobacco wasn't done until she had something close to 250 boxes full of tobacco leaves. She also worked some more in the gardens on the farm, cleaned the house, ironed the kids clothes, and as I mentioned before raised the kids. One of the students asked her whats had changed since Apartheid for the farm workers. Her answer was, "Nothing, never." I was a little surprised by this because in my brain the farmers would be the ones being watched for fair treatment, but I guess since farms are so big and so spread out it's difficult. She told us that in order to leave the farm or have anyone visit she has to go to the farmer and ask for written permission. Grant was even surprised about that and he has visited her many times. The farmers move the workers every 20 years or so because if a worker lives in a house for at least 30 years, they then own the house and don't have to pay anymore rent.
I am being terrible, the woman's name is Cathleen. She was pulled out of school when she was 12 and worked on the farm until sometime in her fifties. The only reason she stopped earlier than 60 is because she is a bit crippled (she can walk, just not well or easily) due to one of two things. She told everyone that she was "bumped by a car" but the farmer who she raised suspects that her abusive husband did something to her. The farmer she raised is actually a gay man which isn't common for farmers here. She made a joke that his father had affairs with some of the women workers, but that it was not an issue with his son because he is not interested in women. She said there was a lot of affairs with many women and those women would get special Christmas presents and stuff. I know my thoughts are a little unorganized, but I am trying to remember everything.
When the father farmer died the son (who Cathleen raised) wanted the workers to be at his funeral because he was a kind farmer. Cathleen said he was far kinder than the other farmers and his wife even gave her money for her children's schooling. The funeral at the Dutch Reform Church, but had to be moved because they wouldn't allow the colored workers to go in for the funeral.
Cathleen has a grandson that Grant has moved in with him because there are no longer any men in her household and she was worried that he wouldn't have a positive male role model. Grant pays for her grandson's college and sends her granddaughter to a nice private school. He really is an awesome guy. I can't remember much else she said right at this very moment, but when I do I will add on.
We went into her home after she finished talking. It was about 15 ft by 40 ft all together. The house was divided into three rooms. A kitchen, a living room, and a bedroom. At one point there were 9 people living in the house. There is no shower and the bathrooms are outhouses that three or four houses share. The size isn't what shocked me, but the smell. You can tell when you walked into the house that she kept the house as clean as humanly possible. She says that one of the things she likes to do is clean the house, but the house is so old that she can only do so much. The conditions are pretty rough and the fact that they used to be worse is something that is difficult to wrap my head around.
Grant told us a story about a young boy who was so depressed about his life that at 19 he hung himself in the bathroom right outside the house. This happened last year. One of the girls asked Cathleen how she feels about the progress South Africa has made (or lack there of) and she said something to the extent of, "South Africa has good laws, but they aren't always enforced." As depressing as this part was I didn't feel super sad when I left because she is such a fun woman. She told us about her husband and how she met him and she was smiling and giggling throughout the whole thing. She has been through so much, yet she is so happy still. She was even flirting with one of our classmates, Chris. She said, "You will have to come back and visit me." She is a really wonderful woman and I hope to see her again.
When we got home we took a long nap because we were so tired. We are now up just waiting for the Carolina game. We think we have mold in our bathroom, which would explain why we have been getting sick so often, so we are going to talk to the owners about it tomorrow. Other than that we are doin just fine. Also, tomorrow we are going to the Cape Town Carnival. Yay! We are also going sand surfing on Tuesday. Hamba Kakuhle.
No comments:
Post a Comment