Today some friends and I left our lodgings early and headed to the Victoria markets to finish shopping for family and friends. We had heard that the markets could be a little dodgy so I was a bit wary, but we were early enough that there were few people there and it was lovely and cheap compared to other places. I had fun picking out a bunch of presents made from the beautiful beadwork and phone wire sculpting that they do in this area.
Then we headed down to the beach for 'Africa Roars'. This was a protest involving hundreds of school children making the shape of a roaring lion on the beach to protest the lack of action on Climate Change. A nice idea. In practice though, I soon had some qualms.
Durban gets hot. Really hot. Those poor kids had to sit on burning sand (it was making me yelp every time I had to walk somewhere) in the sun for something like 3 hours without enough water and apparently many hadn't eaten yet. My friends and I were taking refuge in the shade of what seemed to be an empty tent when suddenly fainting children started flooding in and we realised it was a medical tent. We hastily exited, watching the medic shake his head in frustration.
It made me really angry. These poor kids had to suffer (they kept being begged to be brave, but they are children, they shouldn't have to be brave!) because the stupid adults a few kms away in the big, fancy, airconditioned buildings didn't have the guts to do what needs to be done. I don't know what to feel but disgust.
PS. It does look really cool though doesn't it?
In memory of Steven M. Wise
2 months ago
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