It’s getting colder in New York City.

Drama Humano x Drama Alienígena - Sci-Fi de Blomkamp é um dos Acontecimentos Cinematográficos do Ano.

Gênero: Ficção Científica, Suspense, Drama, Ação

Censura: 16 anos

Duração: 112 min

Direção: Neill Blomkamp

Com: Sharlto Copley, Nathalie Boltt, Vanessa Haywood

Local de Filmagem: Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa e Miramar, Wellington, New Zealand

Produção: Peter Jackson e Philippa Boyens

Roteiro: Terri Tatchell e Neill Blomkamp

Fotografia: Trent Opaloch

Distribuidora: Sony Pictures

_

…

QUEM É QUEM

Wikus Van De Merwe é interpretado por Sharlto Copley – não é ator e sim especialista em efeitos especiais da equipe do diretor Neill Blomkamp;

Sarah Livingstone – Sociologista é interpretada por Nathalie Boltt – Doomsday (2008)“The Triangle” (2005) e Route 30 (2008);

Tania Van De Merwe é interpretada por Vanessa Haywood – esse é o primeiro trabalho da atriz.

SINOPSE

Há 20 anos atrás uma raça alienígena aporta na África do Sul, na cidade de Johannesburg,  no entanto ao invés de uma infiltração bélica ou a busca por troca de conhecimentos, os alienígenas só queriam um lugar para viver. Instalados no Distrito 9, as nações não chegaram a uma conclusão do que fazer com os novos inquilinos do planeta Terra e passaram o controle dos refugiados para uma empresa privada chamada Multi-National United – MNU, que por sua vez está mais interessada em roubar os segredos bélicos dos extraterrestres do que na sua própria segurança.

Em meio a toda esta tensão Wikus Van De Merwe, um operativo MNU, acaba acidentalmente exposto a um fluído alienígena que começa a mudar seu DNA, tornando-o possivelmente a chave pelo controle tecnológico alienígena. Wikus passa a ser a pessoa mais procurada do planeta e só há um lugar onde ele pode se esconder – o DISTRITO 9.

CRÍTICA

crítica inspirada no texto de daddy

A ficção-científica “Distrito 9“, elogiada pela crítica e produzida por Peter Jackson – o mesmo produtor do tão esperado The Hobbit (2011) e The Hobbit 2 (2012), do remake King Kong (2005), da trilogia que marcou o mundo, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) e The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), liderou as bilheterias dos Estados Unidos na sua estréia, de acordo com o Box Office Mojo. As estimativas são de que o filme sobre uma raça alienígena refugiada em território da África do Sul tenha arrecadado US$ 37 milhões, automaticamente cobrindo seu curto orçamento de US$ 30 milhões.

Equilíbrio perfeito entre os gêneros sci-fi e drama, “Distrito 9” é uma das melhores ficções já feitas e um dos acontecimentos cinematográficos do ano. A história é perfeita e os efeitos especiais são surpreendentes, a ponto de nos envolvermos emocionalmente com a causa dos alienígenas, além de torcer muito pelos “camarões” – assim chamados pelos humanos, pois os alienígenas são muito parecidos com um camarão – O personagem Christopher Johnson é um alienígena esperto e que está disposto a tudo para voltar para casa com seu filho. O drama desse ser estranho e de aparência horrenda nos envolve profundamente, mesmo sabendo que não passam de efeitos especiais, daí a prova de um roteiro eficiente, além de extremamente bem executado, sob direção impecável e fantástica de Neill Blomkamp.

Os efeitos especiais são impressionantes, na verdade você nem fica reparando na qualidade dos efeitos, já que está mergulhado no drama psico-virtual, humanos de um lado e efeitos especiais do outro e sim os efeitos tem drama de consciência, mas é imperceptível a linha imaginária entre o personagem e a digitalização do mesmo.

O longa metragem marca a transição do “alienígena agressor” ao “alienígena vítima”. Supera-se a fase onde nós, seres humanos somos perseguidos por aliens super monstruosos, horripilantes e sem escrúpulos. Em “Distrito 9” nós somos tão monstros quanto eles, não que eles sejam evoluídos ao ponto de nos sentirmos mal, mas somos tão monstros quantos eles a ponto de nos sentirmos piores do que eles, verdadeiros animais.

Vai se encantar com Wikus, um assistente social ingênuo e ao mesmo tempo egoísta, um tanto generoso e outro tanto maldoso, um personagem cuja essência e valores se misturam entre o bem e o mal. Wikus acaba se expondo a uma substância alienígena, sofrendo mutação e passando a ser perseguido pela própria Multi-National United – MNU e uma gangue de nigerianos que acredita que ao comerem partes do corpo de um alienígena, ganham poderes e força.

O personagem WIKUS é uma verdadeira contradição, em momento algum ele demonstra piedade para com os alienígenas, nem mesmo poupa os ovos que estão em uma espécie de chocadeira. Mas ao perceber que sua vida depende de um alienígena, muda sua postura e descobre que eles são sensíveis e mais espertos do que ele imaginava.

Apesar de ficção e de ótimo entretenimento, D9 é um dos vários filmes que deturpam a imagem dos países de terceiro mundo. D9 pode ter sido uma grande alegoria sobre o Apartheid, mas existem alguns africanos que perderam a floresta para as árvores e agora estão putos com o papel que os nigerianos desempenharam no filme.

“Eu estava tão furiosa”, disse Umeano, uma nigeriana que vive em Atlanta. “Eles estavam mostrando nigerianos como corruptos, que comem alienígenas e que fazem sexo com alienígenas. Eu não podia ver isso”.

“Por que querem reduzir nigerianos à criminosos, canibais e prostitutas que dormem com animais extra-terrestres”? – Disse Dora Akunyili, ministro da Informação. “Nós tivemos o suficiente com os estereótipos aos quais somos marcados – Nós não vamos ficar sentados e permitir que as pessoas nos estigmatizem dessa forma”. Contudo, sim, os nigerianos foram retratados como extraordinariamente cruéis e sádicos no filme, aliás TODOS OS SERES HUMANOS foram retratados como cruéis e sádicos no filme.

Claro, os nigerianos estavam comendo, transando e traficando os alienígenas, mas a “Coalizão Internacional das Pessoas Brancas” de qualquer grupo de ajuda internacional que seja e como chamada, estavam  literalmente sequestrando alienígenas e os estripando em laboratórios para tentar entender como suas armas funcionam. Eles são colocadas nos campos e rotineiramente são executados se ultrapassarem a linha. E, a propósito, podemos lembrar que estamos falando de selvageria com ALIENS IMAGINÁRIOS aqui? Dito isto, gostaria de SABER que gosto teriam os tais “camarões”!

Peter Jackson, o mesmo de Senhor dos Anéis, gastou apenas 30 milhões e em 2 dias o pagou. Está faturando uma fortuna pelo mundo. É um pseudo documentário, “Distrito 9″ usa câmeras de mão, imagens semelhantes às de câmeras de segurança e simulacros de noticiários, tudo isso misturado com ação sangrenta e muito tiroteio. Arrisque e assista, vale a pena!

bom filme!

roberta vieira

http://www.d-9.com/

http://www.district9movie.com/

ASSISTA AO TRAILER ABAIXO!

“Melhor concebida e executada do que se esperava, essa ficção tão fascinante mantém as impressões digitais repletas de sangue de Jackson, e anuncia Blomkamp como um talento a ser olhado”. (Variety)

“Ficção-científica genuína, te apanha imediatamente e não te solta até o último plano. A direção de Blomkamp é do mais alto nível, inteligente e com descaramento”. (Hollywood Reporter)

Now that I’ve been in Johannesburg for about 5 months I suppose I’ve earned enough cred to be able to advise others on what to do and see when visiting… well that’s what the lovely ladies of travel blog Do It While You’re Young thought anyway!

Read about Destination: Johannesburg here, and be sure to check out the rest of the site, it’s a wealth of information on international travel!

No rhinos in Johannesburg, but they're not far away!

A massive meteor which lit up the night sky above Johannesburg and Pretoria on Saturday 21st November has been captured on CCTV camera and the footage is spectacular. There was an earlier video, but its not nearly as good as this one.

Reminds me of the day i was born. (true story)

The clip was posted on Youtube two days ago and has already racked up 100 000 views.

Its only 13 seconds long so watch it.

Its worth it.

Im surprised it didn’t happen in Cape Town ( just kidding Joburg..you know i love you guys, but lets be honest… if this happened over Table Mountain it woulda been insane hey).

Good times

Das letzte offizielle Meeting heute mit der MDDA (Media Diversity and Development Agency) konnte unsere Erwartungen ein weiteres Mal übertreffen. Nach einem sehr warmherzigen Empfang beim humorvollen Project Director “Harry” starteten wir unsere Präsentation. Harry war sehr aufmerksam und bei der Vorstellung des Hardwarerucksackes begeistert. Am liebsten hätte er das ganze Ding behalten.

Konkret äussert sich seine Freude so, dass er das Projekt unbedingt unterstützen möchte und es an den Ressourcen nicht zu mangeln scheint. Die Unterstützung der MDDA wird wahrscheinlich eine zentrale Rolle spielen. Es zeichnet sich die Tendenz ab, dass wir uns in den Bereichen Monitoring, Coaching und Langzeitbetreuung auf sie stützen können. Finanzielle Unterstützung könnte uns eventuell gewährt werden.

Morgen werden wir am Beispiel von Soweto TV unsere ersten konkreten Erfahrungen mit Community TV machen. Soweto TV ist seit ca. einem Jahr auf Luft (on air). Wir sind gespannt.

Mit herzlichen Grüssen

Wir drei

Reviews from the following places will be added….ah….shortly…..

CAPE TOWN – lotsa seafood, great meals at the vineyarrds, not to mention a trip to the latest place to be seen, JARDINE….

JOHANNESBURG - best prawns I’ve EVERRRRRRR had (at 2 different places), RIDICULOUSLY delicious meals eaten in the company of lions and ellies AND some great burgers too!

HONG KONG - the world famous China Club and the funky rooftop hang, Aqua….

SYDNEY – more phenomenal Thai than you can poke a stick at…

STAY TOOOOONED!

Nachdem wir unser erstes Meeting gestern Abend zu dritt evaluiert hatten, wurden wir heute Vormittag zum nächsten Treffen chauffiert. Unser Ziel im Zentrum von Johannesburg war heute die NGO Organisation NCRF (National Community Radio Forum).

Das NCRF ist der Verbund sämtlicher Community Radio Stationen und wegweisenden, was die Organisation von Community Medien anbelangt. Die Organisation hat grosse Efrahrung, wenn es um Probleme und Bedürfnisse von Community Medien geht. Die Community TV Stationen möchten sich in einer ähnlichen Form organisieren, noch ist es offen, ob sie sich NCRF anschliessen oder ein eigenes Forum schaffen.

Unser Projektvorstellung die auf eine dreiveirtel Stunde geplant war, dauerte schlussendlich weitaus länger. Das Interesse war gross und das mündliche Commitment liess nicht lange auf sich warten.

Diese Arbeit ist für uns eine schöne Herausforderung, da wir die Partner durch eine gute Vorbereitung bisher nur beeindrucken konnten. An dieser Stelle möchten wir auch einen Dank aussprechen, an alle die in den letzten Wochen eine gute Vorabreit gelesitet haben, ohne die wir hier nicht so gut aussehen würden. Ganz speziell an Pete!

Ausserhalb unseres Auftrags erleben wir viele schöne und spannende Begegnungen mit den Menschen dieses Landes. Auch sie haben uns viel mitzuteilen, was unseren Aufwand für diese Arbeit auf eine schöne Art entlöhnt.

Morgen findet unser drittes und letztes offizielles Meeting bei der MDDA (Media Diversity Development Agency) statt. Wir sind sehr gespannt und freuen uns darauf und denken optimistisch: aller guten Dinge sind drei. Es erwartet uns jedoch ein ähnlicher Kandidat wie MAPPP Seta.

Mit lieben Grüssen

Wir drei

There’s a funny little shop in Linden called Yugo Stores, branded with the Coke sign you expect to find in a berg village. Here you can find the smallest possible packets of sugar, puncture repair kits, bulked packed blue and white mugs for funerals and yellow kettles that you can plant bergrosies in.

It is not a beautiful building, and the people that walk in and out do not have sunglasses perched on their heads. Here, you can buy a loose xxx mint or creme soda in a bottle (not the organic kind). They also sell small packets of koeksoda which I still think is the best name for a chemical that eradicates cystitis.

Recently a large red white and blue auction sign was erected over the shop. Oh my god, it’s going to become a franchised restaurant. This is wrong, being opposite the best biltong in town, according to some or other neighbourhood survey. I am surprised Biltong Man has not dropped dead yet he is so biltongly large as he strides behind the counter of cholesterol encrusted salamis and forces handfuls of tastes on anyone gazing up at his signed collection of rugby team photos. He is next to a pawn shop, a hardware shop and a shop that sells large floral dresses. I can imagine him in one.
Anyway, Mr Yugo – I don’t know his name but he has a large hairy mole on the left side of his jaw that wobbles when he speaks – told me a few months ago he was doing blerry everything to keep the business in the family after the Recent Sad Death. Details of which I don’t know. Jasmine always insists I speak Afrikaans to him for some reason while I’m buying her a R20 plastic toy that costs R120 in Cresta.

There is also a block of flats cobbled on to the building. I looked at one once. Vast. Parque floors peeling up like lichen. Why didn’t I take it? Too big I thought at the time.

Well, I’m pleased to say the auction sign is down, and Mr Mole is happily still offering rainbows of lighters as he hopes that he will be there for at least the next 10 years.

I find it so strange that this is such a misunderstood topic. So much of a companies success rests on having motivated staff and in the last few years I have seen how empowerment affects people and their motivation.

Here are the simple truths, that no one can argue with:
The software, hardware and even technology you use can be easily copied by your competitors. I have even seen companies that were not direct competitors copy promotions and even structure. This is the fact of the matter.

Yet what no competitor could ever copy is the vibe, energy and fast pace that motivated, empowered people create. It is this that seperates your business from the rest.

So therein lies the key, empowered, motivated staff. Empowerment makes the difference between a successful promotion and one that was done because it’s a JOB. (If you understand what I mean.). Empowerment is what causes your staff to want to reach further and look to improving simple things like processes.

The Human element of life is what causes the initial problem. Managers just don’t know what empowerment is about. I have heard that empowerment means making our staff a manager – That thinking is plain crap. Hopefully by the end of this section you will understand what this empowerment is about.

Managers have some real fears when it comes to empowering their staff,
   1. Can the staff member handle more responsibility?
   2. What if the staff member excels further than the manager?

Empower starts like anything in life, small – simple things like keeping a neat office, is empowering. Looking at old processes and old promotions and trying to streamline it is empowering. Involvement in the way budget is spent is empowering. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean hand over the finance department to the sales team, that will end in failure – no I am referring to simple matters, like talking about new hardware, software. Deciding on what’s best for the department and then following through on it.

A big part of a managers job is to keep your staff motivated, in many cases this is easier said than done. You can throw money at the problem but in the long run you need a more permanant solution. Money resolves the matter briefly.

As a manager, one of the other tasks that is pretty important is finding ways of improving and developing solutions. Managers aught to lead by way of example and should be able to identify when your staff need to be empowered.

A gribe I have is when your staff have to tell you or remind you to empower them, this shows a lack of interest from you as a manager and is never a nice situation.

Empowering is listening to ideas and taking advice. A manager should by now also know that your well trained, skill staff need little or no supervision.

For empowerment to work, your staff as well as your managers need to be ready for a change of mindset. Only when both parties are ready can you continue.

Every employee wants to be empowered, not every employee is skilled enough or trained enough or ready enough. You has a manager need to judge for yourselves.

Bye

Meeting mit MAPPP Seta

Nach einem angenehmen Flug von Dubai, sind wir gestern Mittag in Südafrika angekommen.

Wir wurden, wenn auch mit einer Stunde Verspätung, von Christinas Partner abgeholt. But this is Africa.

Wir wohnen bei Christina in Johannesburg in einem Quartier namens Kensington. Das liegt im Osten von Johannesburg, ca. 30 Minuten vom Zentrum entfernt.

Christina, Südafrikakorrespondentin vom Schweizer Fernsehen,, die diese Woche in Soweto (South Western Township of Johannesburg) einen Videoworkshop gibt, kam Ende Nachmittag zu Hause an um uns zu empfangen.

Um die kommende Woche zu Planen besorgten wir uns Pizza und konnten bei ihr zu Hause, mit Daniel, beim Schweizer Fernsehen für Schweiz Aktuell verantwortlich, und Martin, einem lokalen Partner (Image Afrika) unsere Pläne besprechen. Unsere erste Projektpräsentation stiess auf Interesse.

Nach einiger Vorbereitung, sowohl inhaltlicher, struktureller wie auch technischer Art gestern Abend, krönten wir den Abend mit Amos (Christinas Partner) und seinen Freunden bei Bier und guter Laune.

Erstes Meeting

Heute Vormittag wurden wir von unserem Fahrer abgeholt, der uns auf direktem Weg zur MAPPP Seta in einem Aussenbezirk von Johannesburg, und somit zu unserem ersten und für uns wichtigsten Partner chauffierte. MAPPP Seta ist eine Staatliche Organisation, die sich um Ausbildungsprogramme im Bereich Medien, Werbung und Kultur engagiert. Sie betreiben Recherche in den genannten Bereichen und stellen Ausbildungsprogramme zusammen, welche zum Ziel haben professionelle Leute auszubilden und zu diplomieren.

Nach einer etwas verwirrenden Ankunft auf diesem Amt, wurden wir, in Begleitung von Martin, vom Chief Opperation Officer und dessen Assistent freundlich empfangen.

Die Präsentation überzeugte unsere Gegenüber mit anhaltender Dauer immer mehr, bis wir schlussendlich zu einer Mündlichen Übereinstimmung kommen konnten, in welcher sie uns ihr Interesse und ihre Überzeugtheit des Projektes ehrlich bekundeten.

Zusammenfassend können wir berichten, dass sich die MAPPP Seta an unserem Projekt beteiligen möchte. Dies in Form von Equipment, wie auch Ausbildungsplätzen. Bei Bedarf möchten sie sich sogar finanziell an Project Community TV beteiligen.

Wir können somit also auf einen ersten erfolgreichen Tag zurückblicken.

Die Heimfahrt durch Johannesburg Down Town war für uns sehr eindrücklich. Wir freuen uns auf die kommenden Tage.

Mit lieben Grüssen vom südlichen Kontinent.

Lea, Gaspard und Elie

10/28/09: Johannesburg, South Africa

Today was our first full day of officially being on our own since we arrived in Africa. We have been so spoiled the last several weeks – someone tells us when to wake up, when to eat breakfast, what we’re doing that day, when to go to the bathroom… Since we didn’t think it was healthy to mope around in our dorm room all day, and partly out of pure habit, we didn’t sleep in but got up bright and early to have breakfast. Miraculously, we found a bakery that had delicious croissants and brownies and other yummy goodies and went there for breakfast. (Without Marietjie telling us where to go!)

Rest assured Mom and Dad - no brownies for breakfast for us

We managed to go to the post office and send a couple of packages of souvenirs home. (All by ourselves! Ok fine, we went with a few other girls from our tour.)

Successfully having sent off our boxes, we take a triumphant photo in front of the post box

We even found a place to eat lunch at the mall by our hostel. (By ourselves!) AND, we went and saw a movie! (By ourselves!) We saw Up, which I had wanted to see before leaving on our trip but just had never gotten around to it. Guess how much it cost to see the movie? 15 rand each. That’s TWO DOLLARS EACH! Granted it didn’t have the armrests that raise up (but a lot of other movie theaters at home don’t either) and it smelled a little bit like smoke (couldn’t figure that one out, we were the only ones in that theater and there were no ashtrays) and there wasn’t any movie trivia at the beginning (luckily I don’t care that much about what movie Jim Carrey first starred in), but it was only TWO DOLLARS! It was wonderful. The movie was pretty good too.

After the movie, we went back to our hostel to relax and immerse ourselves in the bliss that is being all by ourselves (in a dorm room housing 16 other people). Eventually, Carol, Garry and Zoey from our old Zambezi truck arrived, and we showed them around like the seasoned travelers we are.

It’s funny – Kevin and I keep talking about how we’re now really on our own, but ever since we got off Kavango yesterday, we’ve still been surrounded by people we know. Almost every meal we’ve had has been with people from one of our old trucks. Mark and Lindi gave us recommendations for restaurants and things to do. So really, we haven’t been on our own at all.

I guess I’m just a bit nervous about how that’s going to change when we finally really and truly are on our own, but I’m ready too. I mean, with Kevin carrying my bag (and me if needed), how hard could it really be?

_____________________________________________

Puzzles for Postcards

When Tenzig Falls Behind Anagram

Trust Even Moe

_____________________________________________

Pictures of the Day: It’s too late, Kevin. You’re stuck with me.

Last Friday I went to a friend’s birthday party, but this wasn’t just any typical birthday celebration with balloons and face cake. For starters, mystery surrounded the event: the only details we received were where to go and that our “transport” would arrive at 6:30 p.m. No hint as to the activity, no clue as to what attire was expected. I didn’t even know if I should eat beforehand.

Just after 6:30 teams of between 9-10 people were loaded into minibuses. The driver still wouldn’t tell us where we were going and everyone in the bus took bets. Soon we arrived at the Radium Beer Hall, the oldest bar in Johannesburg. After a couple drinks we went to the Troyeville Hotel, famous for its Mozambiquan food and unusual décor (pink flamingos feature heavily). Both of these venues are far removed from the regular scene any of us would normally go—but that was exactly the point. We were being shown areas of Johannesburg where we wouldn’t venture on a typical night out, even though these Johannesburg landmarks have been integral to the city’s history and growth.

By far the highlight of the evening was the live music. There was a stage setup in the dining room of the Troyeville Hotel—clearly the surprises had not finished. At the end of the meal it was revealed that the act was Jesse Clegg, a well known South African artist, and son of the very famous South African musician Johnny Clegg. I’m a big sucker for live music anyway but this was incredible. He released his debut CD last year and I’d say there’s a fair following here in SA, but his music is so great that it deserves to be broadcast internationally.

Here are some samples of his music from his website—be sure to check out the clips from my favorites: “Girl Lost in the City,” “Heartbreak Street,” (video, above) “All Ends Well,” and “Today.” I bought the CD yesterday, and this Friday he’s shooting the video for “Girl Lost in the City” in a theatre about 5 minutes from my work. They’ve invited fans to be in the crowd for the filming—should I go?

This is the third report for my How Do You Jew? project on Jewish identity.

Rose Suttner Barlow grew up a Jewish girl in Apartheid South Africa, a minority within a minority within a minority. Her minority status as a Jew within the white population in overwhelmingly black Africa was obvious. Her minority status within the Jewish community was a result not of demographics, but of the traditionally limited role of women in Jewish life at that time and place. Years later, as the Apartheid system was dismantled in her homeland, Rose learned of a more diverse, inclusive Judaism and gained equal rights as a Jewish woman thousands of miles away in her adopted country, the United States.

South Africa

Rose’s Jewish journey has been a lifelong one, and it has paralleled her physical travels away from her childhood home in a   tightly knit Jewish neighborhood in Johannesburg to Cape Town,the DeBeers diamond mines, England, Scotland, and finally to Marin County north of San Francisco, where she has settled to raise her family. As Rose increasingly engaged in the wider, non-Jewish world and encountered diversity that was heretofore unknown to her, she shed many of the communal and ritual aspects of Judaism that had never fully or satisfyingly been incorporated into her identity. It was only once she became a mother and came to live in the liberal, diverse and tolerant Bay Area Jewish community that she found that there was a way back into Jewish life that provided her meaning and purpose.

In many ways, Rose has reinvented herself Jewishly, but she believes she had done so on the basis of a strong cultural foundation. “Even though I was alienated from Jewish communal life [for many years], I was never alienated from my Jewish self,” she says. Rose’s parents became baalei teshuvah when she was in her 20’s and her mother became ill with cancer (she died not long afterwards in 1986), but this was many years after Rose’s experiences growing up with parents who were at the time ethnically and culturally Jewish, rather than shul-going shomrei mitzvot.

A South African farthing from 1960, the year Rose was born

Rose was born in Johannesburg in 1960 to a mother whose intellectually inclined family immigrated to South Africa from Lithuania and Russia during WWI, and a father who came from a more business oriented family that had been in the country for three generations. Her father was a member of the first generation in his family to go to college, becoming an electrical engineer and going into the family business manufacturing car radios (founded by his father who had had no higher education). Rose’s mother, whose own mother had been accepted to medical school and father was a lawyer, studied social work.

As a school girl, Rose attended a whites-only public school with a large Jewish student population owing to the fact that the neighborhood was predominantly Jewish. Her parents did not send her to a cheder or afternoon Jewish studies program, leaving her formal Jewish education to the once a week session in which Jewish children were separated from the other students into their own class (for religious instruction) and given workbooks on Jewish topics from which to teach themselves. The Jewish Board of Deputies had worked out this arrangement with the public school authorities, apparently leaving teachers to instruct the children out of the plan.

Although Rose’s father’s parents went to synagogue regularly (a Modern Orthodox one, which was the normative form of Judaism at the time in this particular community), her parents did not. They did not keep kosher or regularly light the Shabbat candles, but Rose and her younger brother were kept home from school on every Jewish holiday and her brother officially marked his becoming bar mitzvah.

She did participate in the Habonim Zionist youth group for a short time, though she did not attend its summer camp. Nonetheless, Rose developed a strong attachment to Israel from her first visit at the age of thirteen and from her knowledge of her mother’s close relationship with a cousin and good friend who lived there. Her self-education on the Holocaust through reading works on the bookshelves at home also helped shape her identity.

Perhaps if President Obama had been leading the seders, Rose's experience would have been more positive. It appears that the President knows how to engage a crowd, even around a seder table.

The message Rose received from her family and her community was that she was expected to succeed in secular life, but that advancement as an adult Jew was not an option. She recalls sitting at the foot of the very long Pesach seder table year after year, unable to hear anything but the mumbling of the older men at the head. The most she could have hoped for would be her eventual move to the middle of the table, to the women’s section, once she was a mother. She characterizes her Jewish upbringing and identity formation as overall positive. “I learned by osmosis by having been placed in my formative years in settings where I was surrounded by Jews.” But she adds, “The gender message remained problematic.”

By the time Rose was in late elementary school and high school, she was aware of the political situation in South Africa and that among those standing up against Apartheid were many Jews, most of whom were very secular and on the extreme left (In fact, a distant cousin on her father’s side was imprisoned on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela). Many of Roses’s teachers were Jewish and exposed their students to the situation more than was done in other schools. Roses’s classes took field trips and was twinned with a school in Soweto. Rose herself, when she was an older high school student and in college, was personally acquainted with fellow young Jews who were members of the National Union of Student Leaders fighting against Apartheid, some of whom were conscientious objectors against the military draft.

Nelson Mandela revisiting his cell at Robben Island in 1994

“You could not sit on the fence,” Rose says about Apartheid. “Either you were for it or against it.” Against it, Rose chose contribute to the cause through her profession. She studied at the University of Witswatersrand for two years and transferred to the University of Cape Town to finish her Bachelors degree in psychology and industrial sociology. Upon graduation, she went to work in industrial relations in the mining industry for five years in the mid-1980’s. Rose was a member of a team that worked as change agents at De Beers, making significant strides toward eliminating the culture of (white) managerial violence against (black) mine workers through the implementation and enforcement of newly developed policies.

A book of interviews with Jewish South African activists, edited by Rose's brother, Immanuel Suttner,

Proud of the impact she had made, Rose chose to leave South Africa with her fiance (now her husband) so that he could return to his native England to pursue an advanced degree. Although the couple left for personal-educational reasons, it is evident that the question of the quality of their future life in Apartheid South Africa was lurking in the background. Unbeknownst to them, secret talks that would lead to the dismantling of Apartheid were already underway as the two of them were packing up and departing for London.

Rose and her husband, who is not Jewish and has not converted, were married soon after they arrived in England. They remained in the UK for seven years, living in both England and Scotland, where Rose worked in human resources in the oil industry. Rose claims that although she was not associating herself with the Jewish community during those years, she “never lost touch with [her] internal Jewish clock.” When a holiday came around, it was if she had “an atavistic impulse to get off the merry-go-round to contemplate or celebrate.” In 1994, while living in Aberdeen which was devoid of Jews save for Rose, she suddenly had the desire to have a Pesach seder – just for her and her husband. So, she travelled all the way to Glasgow to buy the required pesadik supplies.

In 1996, Rose, her husband and their baby daughter left the UK to start the next chapter in their lives in California. Here, they had a second daughter, and both girls are receiving a solid Jewish education in day schools,synagogue programs, Jewish camps and youth groups. Her older daughter has already become bat mitzvah and her younger one is preparing for hers next year. The Jewish Community Center (JCC) nursery school in their town was the gateway to an active Jewish life involving not only education for the girls, but also plenty of adult Jewish educational programming and a variety of volunteer, philanthropic and lay leadership roles in the Bay Area Jewish community for Rose.

Madame A.F. Aude and her two daughters, 1899, Mary Cassatt

Rose always had the Jewish proclivity for analysis and debate, and she has applied this to her recent study of Jewish texts. She finds that her increased Jewish and Hebrew literacy has allowed her to really grow in her Judaism. Rose describes it as “a virtuous cycle. The increased literacy promotes increased engagement, which in turn leads me to yet more learning.”

Rose is very grateful to now live in a community where Jewish pluralism is celebrated. When she was a girl in South Africa, she had no inkling that the Jewish community could include anyone other than Lithuanian and Polish Jews. Similarly, she had not had the opportunity to establish close connections with people of different ethnic, religious and racial backgrounds until she went out into the challenging world of the mining industry to try to make a difference. It has been through her discovery of the other that she has been able to rediscover and re-imagine her Jewish self.

It is not uncommon for Jewish women of Rose’s generation to reconnect with their Judaism and the Jewish community through their children. It is an especially pointed experience for a woman who felt Jewishly disenfranchised as girl to be able to empower her daughters. Few women, however, have travelled as far as Rose has in order to come home.

© 2009 Renee Ghert-Zand. All rights reserved.

Low-cost airline 1time could soon be flying to Maputo, after receiving air traffic rights to operate a five-times-per-week service from Johannesburg.

According to SA Tourism Update, commercial manager Desmond O Connor said: “We expect our airfares to be considerably lower than those that are currently being charged on the route, and make it far more affordable for people to fly between South Africa and Mozambique, as 1time becomes the first low fare airline to operate this route.”

1tme also recently launched a service to Livingstone, in Zambia, and operates flights to the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar.

Source: iafrica.com (http://travel.iafrica.com/flights/2072140.htm)

Nigerian airline Arik Air has announced 2 new international routes to the UK and USA. Beginning 26 November 2009, the airline will begin non-stop flights from Abuja to London (Heathrow), with services between Lagos and New York commencing from 29 November 2009.

Abuja-London

Arik Air will fly a 2-class Boeing 737-800 aircraft configured with 20 Premier Class and126 Economy Class seats on the route. Flights will operate 5 times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Flight W3 105 departs Abuja at 1030 hrs, arriving into London at 1605 hrs. The return flight, W3 106, takes off from London (Heathrow) Terminal 4 at 2150 hrs, landing back at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at 0520 hrs the next morning.

The flights connect a second Nigerian city to the UK, following the existing Lagos-London flights launched in December 2008. 

Lagos-New York

Arik Air will also launch transatlantic flights from Lagos to New York. The airline is the first Nigerian airline to connect the country with the USA in over a decade.

The airline has scheduled the flights to allow for convenient connections at both ends of the route. Flight W3 107 departs Lagos at 2320 hrs and arrives in New York at 0550 hrs the next morning. The return flight, W3 108, takes off from John F. Kennedy International Airport at 2200 hrs, landing back in Murtala Muhammed International Airport at 1440 hrs.

Arik Air will fly 3 times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays using a 2-class Airbus A340-500 configured with 36 Premier Class seats that convert into full-flat beds and 201 Economy Class seats. Premier Class passengers will also enjoy the use of a private bar and lounge area onboard the aircraft, with all passengers offered personal screens and audio-video on-demand inflight entertainment.

From its hubs at Abuja and Lagos, Arik Air currently flies to 21 airports across Nigeria and internationally to Accra, Banjul, Cotonou, Dakar, Freetown, Johannesburg, Niamey and London with a fleet of 30 aircraft. For more information, visit www.arikair.com.

The De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre has featured in some of my previous posts. This is an update to spread the word about it’s name change to The Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre, which has taken place in honour of Ann, who’s dedicated over 40 years of her life to this precious cause, and still works full-time at the centre.

Close to Johannesburg, it’s a stunning venue to visit, for phenomenal tours or a getaway to a fabulous lodge. You can learn an immense amount about a variety of creatures, including endangered cheetah and wild dogs, as well as witness a high-speed cheetah run – not to be missed!

For more information, or to book a tour, visit www.dewildt.co.za.

Here’s a photo that Dave took of a cheetah family at the Masai Mara in Kenya – especially for those who may never have met these amazing cats

CHEETAH FAMILY - Masai Mara, Kenya

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10/27/09: Johannesburg, South Africa

We departed the Acacia truck after our final drive and with one final look over our shoulders (and a tear in each of our eyes) and we said goodbye to our temporary home.

Two minutes later we returned to grab our bags. I hate prolonged goodbyes.

I’ve been looking forward to today for some time now, because as much as I’ve enjoyed our Acacia tour (and I would recommend it to anyone), I’ve been ready to begin traveling on our own. Zhou’s done so much good planning, and I’ve been itching to carry lots of bags in order to get some long overdue exercise.

Before moving onto the next phase of the trip though, this past week I did learn another lesson that I’d like to share with everyone, especially the kids. “If you must judge, be prepared to budge.” (Do you think that one will catch on?)

I really didn’t give our six finishing days on the Kavango truck much of a chance. After all we had come from the mighty Zambezi truck! No one could cook as good as Marietjie, no one could drive as good as Richard, and no people could possibly replace the Zambezi group. Things just weren’t going to be any fun. While I’m not saying that our old truck has been surpassed, we did meet some nice new people, especially our guides, Mark and Lindi. My only two regrets now are that I prejudged that they wouldn’t be as good as our old guides and that we weren’t able to spend longer in their truck.

The Kavango truck, with Mark and Lindi in the front row

…

So on to the individual part of the world trip: 278 days of just me and Zhou! Our first act as our own travelers: checking into a hostel, the Ritz Backpackers of Johannesburg.

We’re staying in an 18 person dorm room (9 bunk beds) for 100 ZAR per person per night (~$13 each, but we had a small discount because of our ISIC card). I won’t lie, we are breaking into hostel life easily, as we know the other 13 people in our room for tonight, but it’s still something new for us. When was the last time you slept in a room with 13 other people?

The Ritz is very nice (although it doesn’t live up to its American counterpart’s name) and it’s actually in a safe part of Johannesburg. Going into today, I was very nervous about Zhou and I alone in this city where all people do is rob and murder each other, but we both feel very safe here. There’s a nice bakery nearby, an upscale mall and several nice restaurants. It actually reminds me a little of home. But don’t worry Mom and Dad, we won’t be settling down here. Two days until Hong Kong!

_____________________________________________

Picture of the Day: As contemporary as South Africa feels, for some reason Vanilla Ice is still the front page picture of the Business Times.

Khulu Radebe is on the Hillside Digital board of trustees and a member of the council of elders in Alexandra Township, Johannesburg. Khulu is a retired MK (ANC military wing) soldier. He was jailed during the Apartheid era on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela.

While in exile during Apartheid, Khulu; a jazz drummer, played in New York and Geneva. He played with some of the best jazz musicians of the day. Here he is explaining the meaning of the word “ubuntu” to founder of Hillside Digital, Danny Lurie.

Thanks to Tess Martin-Fox, in Chicago, for her courage in sharing her journey battling cancer, and for her passion for this project, that like a fire has spread to many folks there. To my dear Rushay, Port Elizabeth, for his “ubuntu” photo, that started all of this, he has become such a wonderful brother to me and to my best friend Angela in Miami, who  helped create this u tube video of the podcast :  she is in hospital today with major surgery and our thoughts are with her.

This interview was created in response to the #tatforanangel project started as a result of community across the world responding to a desire to raise a voice for the people of Alexandra via the work of Hillsidedigital.

This week Danny Lurie and his team will start training of selected individuals in the Alexandra Township. Several individuals will be trained in citizen journalism  film production. Their voices and stories will be shared with their local community groups as well as the international online media. Their needs will hopefully be enabled to access appropriate funds.

This work is overseen by the Council of Elders, for whom Khulu Radebe speaks. For the project to be sustained international & local support for Hillside Digital online Ecommerce platform must begin.

We are all so grateful for the many individuals across nations particularly on twitter and facebook who have already given their support. The Tattoo of  Ubuntu that myself and Tess will get is a creative a solidarity for that. Across the world we see the need for people to grasp that we are “One Humanity” and together we can make a difference to the lives of others less fortunate. That is the spirit of Ubuntu

Ubuntu Is Humanity

Nach einem angenehmen Flug

heben wir gemeinsam einen Krug.

Wir warten hier  ganz heiter -

und bald schon geht es weiter.

Acht Stunden sind nicht viel,

Dann sind wir schon am Ziel.

Aus der Ferne grüssen wir.

Occasionally, being in South Africa feels like a movie.  Or rather like being in a movie, because I am an active participant.  During my few visits to Soweto, I have seen another side of life, and somehow it didn’t seem real.  There is widespread poverty in South Africa’s townships, which were developed to move black people out of the cities during the apartheid.  They have huge populations and are filled with a range of housing, from modest homes to government-subsidized housing to corrugated tin shacks.

Soweto

I have seen pictures of such areas many times, and in some ways, that is how I pictured Africa before I arrived.  Poverty is endemic.  Movies often depict life in such areas.  Most recently District 9 in South Africa and Slum Dog Millionaire in India have given the world a glimpse of what life is like in these communities.  As I walked down the dirt roads, I thought to myself how familiar it looked.  The tin shacks looked just like in the movies.  The smell and the dust, however, brought the picture to life.  There was no longer the separation that you have in a movie theater, eating popcorn, reclining in padded chairs and anonymously peering in. To see it in person, it’s overwhelming in the sense that there are so many people living in these conditions.  To see poverty on such a scale makes trying to help seem futile.

Missionaries and non-governmental organizations work to reduce poverty and to provide for those in need.  They improve the lives of many people, and I suppose their mantra is one person or one family at a time.  When I walked down the roads of Soweto, however, stepping over rotting garbage and batting away flies, I couldn’t help but think the problem is too big.  Where do you start, and who gets to be first?

One of my first weeks here, I accompanied a reporter to a section of Soweto where people were being evicted from RDP housing.  The Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) was established in 1994 when the African National Congress took over the government after the end of the apartheid. Section 26 of the Constitution, ratified in 1996, states that everyone has the right to have “access to adequate housing.”  The goal is to tear down the squatter camps and provide houses for everyone in the country.  The RDP set out to build 300,000 houses each year and a minimum of one million in five years.  The actual figures are nowhere close.  However, many people have been given homes at the expense of the government and taxpayers since the program began.

I think South Africa’s government is also asking how? and who first?  An application system was developed to create order and to begin to assign completed housing to those in need.  As housing settlements are being built, however, people who do not rightfully belong in those houses move in and become squatters, claiming they have the right (which the Constitution grants them).  You can see the problem…  People are evicted with all their belongings and are left on the dirt roads of the townships so the family who is first on the list can receive its housing.

RDP Houses in South Africa

With the protection of another reporter and a photographer and the power of a television camera, I talked to people being evicted from their homes.  Eager to tell their stories, they welcomed us into their homes.  Walking down the streets as a tourist, however, was very different.  People sneered at me as I walked by, thinking I had come to stare.  I couldn’t bring myself to take pictures of the tin shacks or RDP houses because I felt like the tourist who goes back home to her big, warm house and flaunts a slide show to her friends about her trip to Soweto and talks about how bad it was.

I didn’t know how to react.  I felt sorry for them, and I am ashamed to admit I hopped into the shower as soon as I got home, to wash off the filth and the dust that accumulates while walking through the townships.  Being thankful for a roof over my head and a warm bed now somehow seems trite.  The sight moved me to want to change the reality of these people’s lives but left me dumbfounded about where to start.

Despite widespread corruption, mismanagement of funds and racially-biased politics (even within the building and assignment of RDP housing), I think the government is actually attempting to tackle this mammoth problem.  The people feel a responsibility to provide housing to every South African, and the taxpayers are doing just that, albeit slowly.  Indoor plumbing, proper sanitation and competent construction are not a given in these settlements, but I have to be optimistic about the intent.  They are doing something.

It lends credence to the idea that we should let Africa solve its own problems. Sometimes countries like the United States feel they have an obligation to fix all the world’s problems.  Maybe countries fixing their own problems when possible strengthens those countries two-fold.  Even though the building and assigning of houses in South Africa seems like a disaster at times,  in its attempt, the country is stronger.

Someone asked me, just yesterday, whether or not they should go to Johannesburg and if so for how long. I’m so bad at answering these questions. Not sure why. Here’s my attempt:

I enjoyed my time in Johannesburg. But so much of what I enjoyed was made possible because one of my closest friends, S., lives there. The things that everyone would typically do in Johannesburg turned out to be very mundane. Our first full day in Johannesburg, we went to the Apartheid Museum, where we were first divided arbitrarily into racial groups to enter the museum and given a detailed history of South Africa and apartheid. Normally one who takes their time during museum visits, I seemed to speed through the exhibits compared to my friend, C’s, snail-like pace. We would have probably spent the entire day there, had the lights not gone out, forcing C. to run out of the museum, missing a little more than a quarter of the exhibit.

We also went to Soweto, the most popular township known for its role in the struggle against apartheid. We dined buffet style at Sakhumzi’s while we were serenaded by a girl with a beautiful voice, and joined by a contortionist who had been folding himself into awkward positions on the street with hope to receive tips, earlier. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from him. C., on the other hand, was not as interested. Sakhumzi’s perfect location put us right in between Bishop Desmond Tutu’s house and Nelson Mandela’s house, which is now a museum. So we visited the both, with the latter having more activity around it, particularly people selling things.

Speaking of selling, S. took us to the African Market at Rosebank to search for souvenirs. Let’s pause for a moment right here. NOTA BENE: When I say souvenirs, that is precisely what I mean. Trinkets. Magnets. Mass produced paintings. Etc. Although, I quickly fell in love with this number:

Yes, that is a real zebra hide. Yes, I saw it and was drawn to it, like a moth to a flame. Dear PETA, please don’t hate me. I loved it, up until I found out the price. 8,000 South African Rand. Please do the math on that. Yes, over $1,000. I chuckled and walked away, and it was mistaken for a negotiation tactic.

Salesman: How much do you want to pay? I give you good price.

Me: No no, honestly, I cannot afford it. The fact that you started at 8,000 rand means I shouldn’t even continue to talk to you.

Salesman: Give me 6,000 rand and you can have it.

Me: What about 6 rand?

Salesman: What you said? Six thousand? [Emphasis on thousand]

Me: I need to go find my friend.

The run-of-the-mill Johannesburg activities were fun, yes, but like most other tourist activities you may want to run quickly through them so that you can get to the real fun…

xo

J. Justine