beckygoesafrica
beckygoesafrica
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Something a bit more serious...

Pubblicato: 26.08.2018

Here in our chic dormitory, in the chic suburb on the chic beach promenade of Summerstrand, it is easy to forget which country you are in. It is partly very European here, the only thing that is different are the high fences and walls, the barbed wire, the secured entrance gates. In this environment, you could quickly forget your own caution if almost everyone you speak to doesn't advise you to be cautious. 'Be careful around here. It's not safe', is something that you feel like you hear from every second local. Whether it's a fellow student, an Uber driver, or a café waitress. We should avoid Central PE as much as possible, and only leave the protective walls when the Uber stops at our dormitory. Walk home alone from the university? Definitely not! That may seem exaggerated, because in the seven weeks that we have been here, nothing very bad has happened to anyone. Getting your phone stolen in front of a club - that has happened before. But no one has been robbed or injured. However, one should not completely rely on the deceptive sense of security. Because things happen. A few weeks ago, we suddenly learned about an incident, a girl was allegedly raped in her dormitory on campus. Then on Monday came the news, all classes are canceled for the day, there are protests on campus. Against gender-related violence. Against violence against women. Because it's not really something drastic here for the locals. A rape is not much more than a brief footnote in the newspaper, almost normal. During the protests, we as international students were repeatedly told to stay at home, not to get involved, it's too dangerous. Car tires were set on fire, students were arrested. Then the news came: the girl withdrew her complaint, the alleged rapist was her boyfriend. Rape in a relationship - of course possible. But no one can say what really happened anymore.



But the incident is a reason for unrest that continues on campus in the days and weeks that follow. On the way to one of my lecture halls, I discovered this:


At first, I was very unsure about what to think of it. In Germany, this would be considered satire. But is it here? I have sadly come to the conclusion that it is probably meant seriously. The awareness is just different here. The education is different. The upbringing of girls and boys is different. Of course, this cannot be applied to the whole country and all the people here, but often it is like this. I have also experienced this a little bit here. Just yesterday, two other German girls and I had a picnic in St. Georges Park. Generally, the park was very empty, except for several wedding parties who were there for photos. Three times, men approached us, two small groups of young men and an older man who was alone. They all started talking to us, wanted to sit with us, wanted to take photos of us. It simply feels uncomfortable when you are looked at like that by these men. The man who was alone suddenly sat very close to me, too close for comfort. And you are often stared at from head to toe for a long time, in a very strange way here. And it's not even necessarily because of the color of the skin. No, I think it's really just because of gender.
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