Love Itself Has Rest - São Paulo

Photo credit: www.brazilafrica.com

Yesterday, I decided that I had to sign the condolence book for Nelson Mandela. In the middle of a massive heatwave, terrible traffic and a to-do list that spans two pages, I had to go to Avenida Paulista and the South Africa consulate.  

Why is it important to me? Because I have no other way of expressing how important Nelson Mandela's life was to me and how I try to think differently because of who he was. A man who could forgive 27 years of imprisonment in order to avoid a certain civil war. A man who said that revenge would not help the country, and that black and white must work together.  

Personally I think we can all learn lessons from him. Acceptance, forgiveness, color-blindness, hope. Politicians can learn, parents can learn, everyone can learn. Last night I read the children's version of A Long Walk to Freedom to one of my kids, and I realized with happiness that the idea of separation by color was confusing and bizarre to him. As I've said, he's in classes with South Africans every day. He sees color but only as a descriptor, not as a classifier. 

I took the metro from Vila Madalena to Avenida Paulista. I popped up from the underground in front of the MASP art museum and its accompanying hippie jewelry sellers and their accompanying Military Police watchmen. I strolled towards the enormous Christmas decorations where I imagined Santa sweating it out in his big red suit, and into a non-descript office building which houses the South Africa consulate as well as Switzerland's (I know this only because I ran into the consul-general at a party).  

In the lobby, a small sign, candle and photo announce that the condolences book is up on the 12th floor. As I stood there, a group came by and looked at it and exclaimed "wow, the South Africa consulate is here?" No concrete barriers, US style.

A quick security check (NOTHING like the US consulate where I swear they would cavity search if they could, and forget taking your phone in) and the ancient elevator swept me up to the 12th floor.

It was a quiet place. I rang the bell and was let in to the reception area where a young man was inquiring about whether or not he needed a visa to visit South Africa. The receptionist seemed confused about my visit and asked which embassy I represented. And I said "none" and he said "just a minute." I mentioned that a friend of mine had told me about the book, and that this friend happened to be married to one of the South Africa consulate employees. And this employee came to the door, very friendly and asked if I would like to sign the diplomatic book (there is a separate one) and I said no, I would sign the book of the common man.

So I opened the condolences book and I was shocked to see that there was only one letter there. One. Written by a Brazilian on December 6.  Folks, this is Nelson Mandela, quite possibly the most loved politician to ever walk the earth. I was surprised. I had been fearing a line at the signing--one that would delay my return to my to-do list. No worries. I just hope some more people show up.

As I was writing, the consul-general came out to say hello. I admit that I know her, not only because our kids are in the same class, but because I am a regular at South Africa events.  She gave me two kisses and thanked me for coming. We chatted a bit then I got back to my letter as she had to ring to get someone to let her back into the inner offices. Makes me laugh when I think about how the poor consul-general of the US has to live compared to this-- drivers, security guards, planning. 

So I sat and I told Mr. Mandela that I learned more about forgiveness and love from him than any other leader of people. And I told him that it was time to rest, and I admit that I even quoted my favorite Lord Byron poem. Sure hope Lord Byron didn't pillage Africa two hundred years ago or something--forgot to do my research on that.

Then I closed the book and put down my pen. I buzzed myself out of the South Africa consulate, took the elevator down, and walked out into the hot sunshine. 



For the sword outwears its sheath
And the soul wears out the breast
And the heart must pause to breathe
And love itself have rest

Lord Byron

Profoundly good - São Paulo and South Africa

This morning I was going to write about thunderstorms and power outages--last night a minor thunderstorm knocked out power in our whole neighborhood for six hours. But it turns out that during these hours, the death of one of my heroes was announced to the world, and I missed it because we had no technology working. I read it only this morning and am still sitting here thinking about Nelson Mandela. So excuse the detour while Brazil in My Eyes goes to South Africa. Again.

Nelson Mandela entered my consciousness as a high school kid. "We are the World" was released--and I must have played that record (yes, vinyl!!) a million billion times. I would wait for the moments when Bono appeared on the MTV video (come on! I was a teenybopper!). Then "Sun City" was released, a video I will never forget, and a song that popped into my head when we drove past Sun City this past October. It isn't as well known as the We are the World song, but the video (directed by Jonathan Demme, by the way) is powerful--though the music repetitious. If you have not seen it, here it is:

When I was in college, I was part of the naive group of kids who blocked the college entrance to ask for divestiture. As all kids this age, my self-righteousness far exceeded my understanding of what it all meant. I just knew that Nelson Mandela had been in prison for almost 20 years at that point, and that the riots were about the scariest thing this Connecticut girl had ever seen. 

As any of my blog followers know, I have more recently gotten to know South Africa personally. At the World Cup, on safari, in Johannesburg and Cape Town. I don't know it well but I love it. And I love the South Africans I know--as I've said, the kids' school is the consulate choice in São Paulo and there are five kids from South Africa in the second grade. Soon to be four, as one's family is being recalled to Pretoria next week. The girl that is leaving has the single-best infectious laugh I have ever heard.

I have read several books about Mandela, including his mind-opening, incredible autobiography called A Long Walk to Freedom. His history, determination, patience and more than anything, capacity for forgiveness should leave all of us in awe. Is there another country leader who was ever as powerful for the good? I can't think of one--certainly not in my home country (okay, not in this generation anyway) and not in my adopted country.

Where does South Africa go from here? I don't believe things will spiral down into revenge now that the master of forgiveness is gone. I hope not. It is hard to believe that something called apartheid ever existed, yet of course it did. When do the scars go away? Will they ever? One of the things that has struck me in every one of my three visits to South Africa is how it is the best-kept secret of tourism. A beautiful, diverse, exciting, wonderful place with something for everyone--garden route, wine region, safari, city...it has everything. Except, now, Nelson Mandela.

As my president said last night, "Today he's gone home, and we've lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this earth." My deepest, heartfelt condolences, South Africa.

You can take the girl out of South Africa - São Paulo

Yes, here I am with South Africa again. I'm at a seminar about business opportunities in South Africa. And eating free cookies.  

I took the metro here. Every time I am on the SP metro I am so impressed. Love it. Going to live near it someday. But that's tomorrow...today is South Africa.

How new is your democracy? - South Africa and Brazil

As promised (or threatened, depending on how you look at it), I am going to spend a few posts talking about Brazil and South Africa. Both are BRICS, both have the largest and richest economies on their continents (let's just call South America a continent--I just know someone is going to argue with me about the Americas, dad), and both have issues of income distribution and corruption. Of course the differences are large: to name just a few, South Africa is the 28th largest economy by GDP, Brazil is sixth  and while South Africa's population is 51 million, Brazil dwarfs it with 199 million.

One of the things that really struck me during my trip to South Africa last week (and the two times before as well) is how new it is. Meaning the current political system is only 20 years old (if you count from Mandela's election in 1994). Apartheid ruled the country from 1948 to 1993. It's incredible to think about: 80% or more of the country disenfranchised for almost 50 years. Assassinations of dissidents, imprisonment of a man for 27 years (among many others), the complete subjugation of people based only on color. And a civil war to right those wrongs.

And then I think about Brazil, which I have gotten to know better in the 8 years I have lived here. Its scars are more apparent to me, and they are somewhat similar to South Africa's. The current political system here is only 25 years old (if you count from Collor's direct election in 1989). The military dictatorship ruled this country from 1964-1985 when the first president was indirectly elected. Assassination of dissidents, imprisonment of many student and university leaders (my in-laws among them), the rule of uncertainty and a shattered economy. The end of the dictatorship was long but relatively peaceful.

US participation creating or supporting apartheid was minimal. On the other hand, the USA largely ignored the situation which is in itself harmful. While urged for economic sanctions since 1962, the US did not implement sanctions until 1986. Which was the year I entered college and protested for it to divest as well.  

There is nothing to be proud about in the USA's actions in Brazil--past and current. The US supported the military dictatorship at first and of course, we are in the middle of a spying scandal here that had Brazil's president canceling a state visit to the US. I'd say more but the NSA is reading this.

Clearly I am touching only a tiny bit of the complexities that formed each of these countries--the main point is how new they are. How incredible their histories. And that says nothing of the complexities they each face now--South Africa's lion of forgiveness, unity and probably the one that saved a country from falling into recriminations and revenge is nearing the end of his life. The country has had a succession of not-great presidents since Mandela. The ANC has become invincible, and therefore a danger--all governments need great opposition.

Brazil too has had fits and starts. Collor was impeached for wrong-doings, yet returns as a senator years later (I will talk about corruption in another blog). The justice system is unworkable. I personally think Brazil has had an excellent president in the middle--Fernando Henrique Cardoso--but the latest ones seem a bit like the cronies of Mandela. Not great, but heroes of their generation.

Both countries have elections next year. Barring any great surprise, I would say that the ANC will win in South Africa (parliamentary elections) and the PT will win in Brazil. I'm not too far out of a limb with those predictions.

Much left to think about. South Africa kept its races apart. Brazil is famed for miscegenation. South Africa has 11 official languages. Brazil has one (though I would argue that Ceará is creating its own ;)).  Brazil is rich in agriculture, South Africa in minerals. What about education, health care, a chance to get ahead? Do any of these comparisons make sense given their much-different histories? I don't know but would appreciate your feedback.

Brazil and South Africa in My Eyes.

So, I was wrong - South Africa and São Paulo

Madikwe Game Reserve, 3 1/2 hours from Johannesburg

Many of my friends who read this blog know that I was in South Africa for the last 10 days. It is my fourth visit there in four years; this time I brought my twin boys, age 6. The flight is around 8 hours going east, and 10 and a half going west (those are some killer head winds!). We spent three days in Johannesburg and six days on safari, and one travel day.

On night one, a wonderful meal with wine (the latter not for the young sons) came to the equivalent of US$70.  Yes, it was in a weird casino restaurant with a view of a replica statue of David. Yes, we got the butt view. Yes, my kids took at least fifty photos of it.

The price tag and excellent service (and the two glasses of wine) prompted the Brazilian husband to exclaim "this is the Brazil of 10 years ago--cheap, great, and friendly." I somewhat agree with this. We had decided to go to South Africa after being quoted US$10,000 to visit the Pantanal in Brazil for 5 days. We paid only slightly more for 10 days in South Africa (3 flights on miles, 1 paid), including 6 days of safari.

I won't bore you with my vacation stories (though I will highly recommend Madikwe, particularly Impodimo Lodge,  if you like things like cheetahs, lions, leopards, elephants, excellent food, great service, beautiful days, etc etc) but I will probably harp on this trip for a few days (travel from Brazil in my eyes will be the subheading). I have to because not only did I learn that elephant poop is light brown and white rhino poop is dark brown, and that elephants are not endangered in South Africa but rhinos are in big trouble, but I reviewed a most valuable lesson.  

What is that lesson? You don't know a country or its people, not one little bit, until you visit (and of course you can only truly know it by living there). We should all be prevented from making statements about countries we don't know personally. This means Tunisia, all of the Middle East, and all of Asia (among many others) are out of my league now. Russia, you are safe from me, even though my college degree is in Soviet Economics, I never visited.

Many years ago, I knew a South African who I didn't like. For many reasons, most of them having to do with her treatment of a mutual friend.  And I met her brother and I didn't like him either. So, with my sample size of two, I wrote off South Africans and South Africa. Yes, I was a teenager at the time and one tends to see things more in black and white then. That expression is deliberate: those were the times of apartheid, and I thought I knew everything about right and wrong. At college the next year at a liberal East Coast school, I idealistically and naively joined the protests blockading the school to encourage the administration to divest from South Africa. 

What did I know then about South Africa? Very little. I still know very little, but much more since reading Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom, several other books about the country and visiting several times. You cannot know even the least about apartheid until you have visited Johannesburg's Apartheid Museum. And cried. And wondered at the man who is Nelson Mandela. 

I count it my great good fortune that I got to go to the World Cup (a coworker of my husband had to back out due to pregnancy), because I would never have gone to the country and never would have known how wrong and biased I was. Judging a country on one person, and without knowing her well enough to know what she was escaping or how her life had been in South Africa during a civil war, is something I hope I will not do again. I shall make my peace with her someday. In the mean time, I shall become the biggest South Africa tourism advocate I can.

So what is this to do with Brazil? I am going to talk about that more tomorrow. Two countries that had radical changes in their histories in the late 1980s/early 1990s. One painful and bloody. One painful with hidden wounds. Two countries that deserve a second look. Two BRICS. The only two I know (one only as a tourist).

And my other point: think about your own biases about Brazil, if you have never lived or visited. Hopefully, I have not caused too many of them. It is a complex place with a tangled history. It is wonderful, sad, joyful and scary. Like any country. 

Onwards.

South African National Heritage Day - São Paulo

One of the biggest joys of living in São Paulo is the international friendships I have made over the years. The downside of this is that many of these friendships are with expatriates or consular employees who are off to the next place after a couple of years. I have good friends now in Brussels, Beijing, Rome and Pretoria, but very little chance of seeing them any time soon.

One of the more recent friends I have made is from South Africa. A country that I had never had in my top 10 list of places to go until fortune dropped it in my lap in 2010. One of my husband's co-workers could not go to the World Cup at the invitation of a service provider, and we were invited in their place. 

Folks, I fell in love. Beautiful country, wonderful people, extraordinary history. Since that first trip, we have returned twice, and will be heading back with my sons soon for their first safari. My kids tell me (and anyone else who asks) every day how excited they are to go to Africa.

Tuesday was South Africa's National Heritage Day. I was invited to a celebration of the holiday by a friend connected to the consulate. Not knowing anything about the holiday, I spent a bit of time looking it up. Though there seems to be a long and short version of how it developed, it is a holiday that originated with a Zulu king and today celebrates South Africa's multicultural heritage. And barbecue. In a Heritage Day speech, Nelson Mandela said: "When our first democratically-elected government decided to make Heritage Day one of our national days, we did so because we knew that our rich and varied cultural heritage has a profound power to help build our new nation”.

On arrival at the party place (a beautiful building in Pinheiros), I was greeted by women in traditional dress and had three dots of white "paint" applied under my eye.  I was warmly greeted by my friend and by the consul-general, who is a woman (when I told my six-year old son this later that night, he said "reallly??? Girls are taking over everything!" He meant it in a good way...)

I also met the recently arrived consular officer of Switzerland and we commiserated about how long it takes to get stuff out of customs. I chatted with a few other people until, after a short introduction, a group called Afro II came in. Loudly. Pounding drums and feathered headdresses, painted faces and chests. And extremely athletic!! I am not actually sure if the dance was traditional for South Africa but it was fun and energetic--the group was filled with enthusiasm and theatrics. 

 

My photos of the event are not good--I had only my phone with me and it could not handle the lighting. While I was looking for photos on the web of the Afro II group, I found out some other information about them but I would like to know more. All I can find is that they are based in a neighborhood of São Paulo called Itaquera, in one of the public housing projects. One of their videos on youtube mentions that they are a socio-cultural organization. 

After the show, the consul general spoke about the holiday and South Africa, and then told us about the traditional South African foods about to be served. I so wish I could remember the names of these dishes, but in the end it doesn't matter--they were all delicious.  My friend told me that several of the spouses of consular officials had made the food (joking that she had just stirred the pot) so I guess having this stuff catered for my birthday is out of the question. Unfortunately, because I had to pick up my kids later at school, I did not have any of the South Africa wines or the Amarula that were offered--it was hard to hold firm when the Pinotage made the rounds. Then a delicious dessert ("melktart"? sorry, I am really not good with names) and rooibos tea to finish up.

As I walked to my car, I thought about Heritage Day. And I thought about my five years living here in São Paulo and how this city is filled with its own multicultural experiences. This is the idea of Brazil in My Eyes and how open I hope to be to learning new expressions, customs and meeting new and different people here. And not just Brazilians. I am lucky to call Scots, Australians, Germans, French, and Americans friends here. We are multicultural. Try that in Connecticut (oh dear, now I will get hate mail from all five people who live in that state, yes, yes, I was one)...

Thank you, South Africa!