Durban when I wasn't playing chess

When it was announced that the tournament was to be held in South Africa there was a lot of fear about the safety of going into that country. There were participants and families of participants that were very worried, about the Ebola outbreak and about crime. In fact many people have been canceling flights to everywhere in Africa because of the Ebola outbreak. However, if you look into it, it all seems ridiculous. First off, as of November 3, 2014, there are only three countries in the whole vast wide range of South Africa, North Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, and East Africa that are known to have a problem with Ebola -- Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, three of the 16(!) countries in the region of West Africa. Every other country in the whole of Africa is, as of now, basically Ebola free. Now look at Durban, South Africa. 10,484 km away from the Ebola outbreak. It is about as far from West Africa as London. It also has had less cases of Ebola than Dallas,Texas. So Ebola wasn’t that big of a problem really.

(Why the Ebola outbreak is so feared even by people who are not touched by it is something to ponder. My mother -- who is more versed in politics and social justice issues than I -- seems to think that much of this is rooted in racism, fear of Africa and the people we've oppressed, general selfishness, and a medical and pharmaceutical business that is more concerned with profits than in curing people. Whatever is going on I do agree with her that we should be less concerned with it spreading to us and more concerned about helping those who are dying in West Africa. It's obvious that this is the solution and that just sectioning off West Africa and letting the disease run rampant will only make the risks for all of us greater and also is heartless. My mother says it reminds her of what we used to do with lepers and also that many AIDS activists are likening the world's reaction to Ebola with our early reaction to AIDS. Speaking of which I learned from listening to some local musicians that AIDS is still a big problem in South Africa and one that needs attention)

The second  issue the chess participants had was with the reported crime. Nobody wanted to walk anywhere because they were afraid of being mugged. Even though the chess tournament venue was only a short 10 minute walk away, and the weather was warm and clear most of the time, the majority of people took the chartered bus. It's true that some people did get mugged or robbed. A whole team of parents and kids went two blocks behind the hotel and got mugged...twice! And, as one person found out, it is a mistake to go out with a fancy camera at night. He was robbed of everything he had! Luckily no one was hurt though.

My mom with friends she made who were visiting from Limpopo. These women spoke four languages: Venda, Sepedi, Zulu and English. Interestingly most people in South Africa speak at least two or three languages fluently.

Me in front of ANC headquarters

But we did not want to be confined to our hotel or the short beach strip in front, the restaurants in the hotel or the tourist atmosphere of our surroundings. We wanted to experience the city of Durban, to see how people lived, to visit the museums and parks, and to explore its history and culture. And of course my mom felt that much of this fear was caused by racism and that people were perhaps even being mugged because of their attitudes of fear and unfriendliness. As there was no stopping her, we put whatever fears and prejudices we had aside and we walked, not only to the venue but all about the city. And it so happened that everywhere we went we met friendly, helpful people and we never felt in danger or threatened. Sure there are people in need and homeless people who asked us for help but it did not seem much different than Philadelphia really. Here's a slice of what we experienced:

Visited the Apartheid museum called the KwaMuhle Museum

Not sure, but maybe this was one of the beaches we were on. Today everyone can swim and walk along the beach, thankfully

Nelson Mandela burning a pass book

South African women took leading roles in protesting pass laws

The building this museum is in was once the headquarters of the infamous Native Administration Department and the center of Durban’s harsh system of labor control. In other words it was once a Pass office. Pass laws held the country's apartheid system in place, until popular protests ended their use in 1986. Black people had to carry pass books with them when they went outside their homes. Failure to produce a pass often resulted in the person being arrested. Any white person could ask a black to produce his (or her) pass. The museum used life sized models and historical photos to tell about how people lived in Durban during this time and how they worked together to end this form of racial control and segregation. It really made you realize how hard it was for black people to do the simplest things like work or shop or use a public bathroom, or eat at a restaurant or get an education. The whole country was segregated and blacks were not allowed on the beaches or in the game reserves we visited. I guess it was a little like to what my great great grandparents suffered in Belarus before they came to the United States in 1910. My family, because they were Jewish, were not allowed to travel without a pass. They only reason they were able to escape and come to the US is because my great great grandfather was friendly with the mayor (because he sold him bootlegged liquor) and the mayor gave him a pass to travel and he was able to sneak out of the country and also to help others in my family to get out also. Many people did not escape and died including many of my relatives. Similarly under apartheid many people died cruelly without access to hospitals or in poverty or because of violence against them by the government and random people who held power over them.

Mohatma Ghandi came to Durban in 1903 and seeing the oppression of indentured laborers from India  he began to forge his philosophy of passive resistance. This is a bust to his memory that stands in a building in the center of town.

Visited the art museum in city hall where they had an exhibit on Xenophobia in South Africa
Here many local artists spoke through their art about how racism still exists in post apartheid South Africa not only between whites and blacks but also toward immigrants from other countries.


Played chess in the parks

While we were in Durban we noticed that the city still seemed largely segregated and that especially white people were fearful to go into predominately black parts of the city. When I played chess in the park against black students from the university an older white man told us that he wished "there were still penalties," against blacks. We met other mostly white men who had the same feelings. On the other hand most of the black people we met were extremely hopeful, despite the problems and continued racism. One man we met told us how grateful he was that he was finally treated like a "human being," but this made us feel the weight and sadness of the racism in our world and history because why should anyone not be treated like a human being ever? Today in South Africa there still seems to be much segregation and poverty and I guess it will take time and effort and more changes for people to live equally.

Went to a local bookstore and bought some pens and a cool little notebook I kept my journal in
Again we were walking on streets we were told that we should not walk on, but when we saw the small bookstore that reminded us of the bookstores in Mexico that largely sell school supplies we could not help going in.  There we met the friendliest guy. He was about 20 years old or so, probably a student, and he was so excited to meet us and wanted to go with us to Drakensberg but he could not take the time off or we would have taken him along.


Walked through lots of markets

Women vendors

Durban city market

Shopping district in Durban

We also found a large Indian Spice market that had barrels of spices and teas and we ate some good vegetarian curry there. Durban, by the way, is known for curries. One street food I enjoyed was something called the Bunny Chow. A Bunny Chow is a round piece of bread that is hollowed out and  filled with curry. It was named after a man named Bunny (really!) and was originally food cab drivers ate while working but now they are eaten by everyone in Durban who likes curry (or should be as the two Bunny Chows I had were delicious).

We also bought these sweet little apples and pears from a man who liked us so much he threw in several for free. Guess how much they cost? Five for five rand which is equivalent of 50 US cents. That's right and he gave us two more. While walking the streets and going to the markets we also bought little pineapples, papaya that they called pawpaw, and spicy Doritos that reminded me of the Doritos I used to eat in Mexico. The South Africans seem to have a similar taste for spicy food and salsa.  I'll tell you more about some spicy fish we ate when I tell you about our visit to Sodwana Bay.

Malibongwe Shangase in his studio at Victoria Market

Something else interesting we saw were the barbershop stands that lined the streets, just little lean-tos where people got their hair cut, braided, or their dreadlocks tended to. These were especially busy on Sundays and several of the stylists tried to entice my mom to get her hair done. My mom wanted to but unfortunately(or fortunately as I did not advise her to get dreadlocks!) we never had the time to stop. There was too much to see!