Over the past several years, in an effort to better represent the social landscape of modern-day South Africa by moving away from colonial and apartheid-era names, a number of cities and places were renamed. In 2021, Port Elizabeth was renamed Gqeberha, the Xhosa name for Walmer Township, one of the oldest townships in Port Elizabeth. About the renaming, there are ofcourse, differences of opinion.
The Xhosa pronunciations are difficult for non-Xhosa speakers to manage. Xhosa is one of the 11 official languages of South Africa and about one-sixth of the population speaks it. It turns out that for various reasons, difficulty of pronunciation being one of them, lots of people still refer to Gqeberha as Port Elizabeth or P.E. I have to admit that I fall into that category and prefer to call the city Port Elizabeth because I am not confident pronouncing Gqeberha.
We made a booking with a company called Raggy Charters for a half-day boat trip out into Algoa Bay, Port Elizabeth’s coastal waters, to see some whales, penguins and dolphins. Even though it is technically summer in the southern hemisphere, the weather since arriving in the area has been windy and wet. It hasn’t bothered us much since we have been spending lots of time at our Airbnb. The success of a marine adventure is heavily dependent on weather and the boat operator informed us that they would have to wait for the morning of the trip to let us know if the boat would be able to go out. We drove to the dock in Port Elizabeth in the morning and met the operator. They took the boat out when we arrived while we and about 6 others waited at the dock. It didn’t take long for them to figure out that the wind was too strong and the waves too big for a successful trip.
Although we were disappointed and annoyed that we woke up early and drove to the port, we also understood that this is the mark of a responsible operator. They had 12 people, including the six of us, waiting at the dock to board the boat. Instead of taking our money and apologizing for the choppy water or lack of sightings later, they cancelled the trip altogether. It can seem counter-intuitive because now there are 12 unhappy customers who made the trek at 7 am to the dock only to have the trip cancelled. Some of the others rescheduled but for us, rescheduling wasn’t an option because we were set to leave the next morning. Despite our disappointment, we were surprised and pleased that the operator prioritized the safety of the customers and quality of the experience over their bottom line.
Disappointed but understanding, we quickly adjusted our plans for the day. We headed to the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB). SANCCOB is a non-profit conservation organization that helps in the rescue, rehabilitation and release of ill, injured, abandoned and oiled seabirds. Because most of their patients are African penguins, their facilities are designed to specifically accommodate them.
Upon entering the center, we discovered a very cute little mouse hole with little mouse footprints leading out of it. We got on our hands and knees and shined our flashlights into the hole to find a little miniature model of a mouse home complete with a little mouse family getting ready for dinner.
The center has one main room that houses information, pictures, objects and taxidermy related to marine life. The highlight of the center is the outdoor pools where injured penguins stay. The permanent residents live in the enclosure because they are too sick or injured to survive in the wild. The temporary patients are treated and rehabilitated and when ready, released back to the wild. Behind a separate gate is a pool area where the penguins adhere to a swimming schedule. The juveniles are separated from the adults because the adults are more aggressive. When it is their turn, the door to their enclosure opens and each group of penguins can enjoy their time in the water.
Next, we headed to the South End Museum to explore the history of the South End neighborhood and the forced relocation of its residents under the apartheid regime. We were greeted by a massive hanging flag covering the front of the museum. We didn’t recognize the flag immediately. Actually I thought it might be a tribal flag because it shares the same colors as the South African flag. Later, a man from the museum told us that it was the flag of Palestine. The day we visited the South End Museum was exactly a week after the October 7 Hamas attacked Israel and killed over 1400 civilians. To see the Palestinian flag being flown was an unexpected contrast to the views of the American media that has been my main source of news and perspective. The man explained to us that the reason the museum flies the Palestinian flag is because they sympathize with the Palestinians. Just like the former residents of South End, the Palestinians are also a displaced people. This sparked a family conversation about the different viewpoints within the complicated history between Israel and Palestine and also about various biases, national biases and media biases, and the sometimes convoluted motivations behind them.
The South End area used to be a multi-racial residential area where Black, white, Chinese, Jews, Greeks and many other ethnicities lived side-by-side in harmony. They raised their families together, attended church together and shared their lives together. The vibrant South End community was destroyed when the National Party instituted apartheid and its policy of “equal but separate development”. The Group Areas Act required all non-whites to be removed from “white” suburbs, by force if necessary.
Due to its prime location close to the port areas of Port Elizabeth, South End was identified as a “white” area. As a result, residents of South End including men, women, children and families were forcefully relocated to other areas identified for their race. The Indians were relocated to their area while the Chinese were relocated to another area and the Blacks sent to a different area. None of the areas designated for each race were racially homogenous and all of the areas assigned to non-whites were farther from the city center.
The relocations were not always peaceful and there were violent confrontations between the residents and the police. One exhibit that the children couldn’t stop looking at was a blood-stained t-shirt of a boy who was shot in the back and killed by a bullet during an encounter with the apartheid police. The children read the printing on the shirt and it said “Please take care of my bear.” The t-shirt was smaller than DY’s clothes but larger than EY’s clothes so we could estimate that the boy was probably about 6 years old.
The children had a lot of good questions for which there are no good answers. What happened to that boy? Did the police do that? Aren’t the police supposed to help people? Why did they kill him?
After our visit to South End Museum, we had lunch at a restaurant called the Black Impala with views of the working port. The questions that arose from the boy’s bloody shirt had faded into the back of our minds, replaced by the more pressing question of what we were going to eat. We decided on some fried seafood, sticky chicken wings, grilled meats and a side dish called shakalaka, a local bean stew cooked with onions and tomatoes. We enjoyed the view and basked in the afternoon son while we were waiting for our food.
I don’t know when the kids will bring up the boy’s bloody shirt again. This child’s shirt made a strong impression even on DY and EY, who are too young to understand what it represents. But it has become a vivid image stored in their subconscious and when called upon, is but one piece of the puzzle, as they construct their understanding of our complicated world.
The themes of injustice, oppression and cruelty are woven throughout human history and we are sure to encounter many more historical and present-day examples during our travels. My hope is that we and our children learn about the great achievements of mankind along with its dismal failures, not to judge or feel pity, disdain or superiority.
In my view, good and bad is not always obvious. We should closely examine both sides of the equation. From the side of the oppressor, we can aim to understand more about what (historical context, religion, family upbringing, culture, etc.) allows everyday people, who are no better or worse than ourselves, to support unjust ideas and carry out unconscionable acts of cruelty. On the side of the oppressed, we can aim to understand how (inspirations, motivations, strategies) everyday people managed to endure and overcome unimaginable struggles and hardships. There are valuable lessons for all of us in understanding our history.
