Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
The white (wo)man
Dear all,
You might wonder whether I am still alive...or you might be wondering why I haven´t been writing for more than 8 months (!). I guess I "lost" most of my readers, by now:)
To look for reasons isn´t that easy, the most important will be the fact that the exposure to so many (contradictory) impressions and feelings made me decide to take a writing break.... I was too overwhelmed to be able to analyse very well...
After having read my previous postings I am surprised to read that much of my thinking hasn´t changed yet. I am still struggling with some of the issues I mentioned before. Especially about the role of the expat in Africa...My role...
Having stressed only the more negative aspects of "the white man' s role' in Africa, I want to share the following with you...
It happened two weeks ago, on a Friday evening just before wanting to leave office...The guard knocked on the door: "senhora, I need to talk to you..." He came to complain about the fact he hadn´t been paid his full salary (1300 meticais instead of 1700 meticais) by the woman responsible for the "condominium" (shared costs of the building where the office is located). As 1700 meticais equates plus minus 50 EURO, you can imagine that 400 MZN means a lot of money for any Mozambican (prices in the supermarkt are not very different from the prices in Europe!)...As I recently had paid an advance of 4 months of condominio, I knew that there couldn´t be any legitimate reason for not paying the guard...Struck by this injustice I went directly to Balbina´s appartment, the condominio person. She was like a magician, giving me one after the other excuse to justifify...With my human rights background I had difficulties to listen to her lies and I repeated the fact it was important the guard would receive the other part of his salary, as this meant a fortune for him. Because she was repeating and repeating she couldn´t pay that evening, I paid-in front of her- the guard the remaining 400 MZNs...When she wanted to justify her delay referring to the fact he had been absent during three days...due to his illness (!!!), I lost my "soft" attitude . I replied to her that EVERY person had to right to be absent when he was ill (I had sent the poor guy home, he had high fever and looked very ill- I even had paid his visit to the doctor to be sure he would get a decent treatment) and that I would expect that she would respect basic rights any employee was entitled to. And...that she shouldn´t make abuse of her power position...She promised to pay me back in two days (which she did!)...
After this "intermezzo" in the corridor the guard came to thank "us"...I wasn´t sure I had understood his Portuguese very well, so I repeated "us"? Yes, "it is thank to you white people in the building that we, the guards, are still working in this building, because if we were only dependent of the Mozambican inhabitants (inter alia Balbina), we would leave this place asap...Mozambicans are such a bad people, they don´t respect us, the poor, they look at us like if we were animals. But...senhora Katarina, it is not because I am poor I should be treated like shit, isn´t it?" Needless to say I was very struck (I tried to hide it, by agreeing with what he was saying and only encouraging him to keep in mind he had as many rights as any other person, in caso to receive his full salary in time...) , not only by his very critical stance, but also about the meaning of what he was telling me. If this is true (I had heard stories like this from other expats, of course I had seen it even with my own eyes before, but to hear this confirmed by a Mozambican...!), I mean, no doubt it is true as to our building, but is this true as to all the other buildings in town...? If yes...
Tinha saudades de voces...
Hope you are doing well, wherever you are!
beijo
Katarina.
You might wonder whether I am still alive...or you might be wondering why I haven´t been writing for more than 8 months (!). I guess I "lost" most of my readers, by now:)
To look for reasons isn´t that easy, the most important will be the fact that the exposure to so many (contradictory) impressions and feelings made me decide to take a writing break.... I was too overwhelmed to be able to analyse very well...
After having read my previous postings I am surprised to read that much of my thinking hasn´t changed yet. I am still struggling with some of the issues I mentioned before. Especially about the role of the expat in Africa...My role...
Having stressed only the more negative aspects of "the white man' s role' in Africa, I want to share the following with you...
It happened two weeks ago, on a Friday evening just before wanting to leave office...The guard knocked on the door: "senhora, I need to talk to you..." He came to complain about the fact he hadn´t been paid his full salary (1300 meticais instead of 1700 meticais) by the woman responsible for the "condominium" (shared costs of the building where the office is located). As 1700 meticais equates plus minus 50 EURO, you can imagine that 400 MZN means a lot of money for any Mozambican (prices in the supermarkt are not very different from the prices in Europe!)...As I recently had paid an advance of 4 months of condominio, I knew that there couldn´t be any legitimate reason for not paying the guard...Struck by this injustice I went directly to Balbina´s appartment, the condominio person. She was like a magician, giving me one after the other excuse to justifify...With my human rights background I had difficulties to listen to her lies and I repeated the fact it was important the guard would receive the other part of his salary, as this meant a fortune for him. Because she was repeating and repeating she couldn´t pay that evening, I paid-in front of her- the guard the remaining 400 MZNs...When she wanted to justify her delay referring to the fact he had been absent during three days...due to his illness (!!!), I lost my "soft" attitude . I replied to her that EVERY person had to right to be absent when he was ill (I had sent the poor guy home, he had high fever and looked very ill- I even had paid his visit to the doctor to be sure he would get a decent treatment) and that I would expect that she would respect basic rights any employee was entitled to. And...that she shouldn´t make abuse of her power position...She promised to pay me back in two days (which she did!)...
After this "intermezzo" in the corridor the guard came to thank "us"...I wasn´t sure I had understood his Portuguese very well, so I repeated "us"? Yes, "it is thank to you white people in the building that we, the guards, are still working in this building, because if we were only dependent of the Mozambican inhabitants (inter alia Balbina), we would leave this place asap...Mozambicans are such a bad people, they don´t respect us, the poor, they look at us like if we were animals. But...senhora Katarina, it is not because I am poor I should be treated like shit, isn´t it?" Needless to say I was very struck (I tried to hide it, by agreeing with what he was saying and only encouraging him to keep in mind he had as many rights as any other person, in caso to receive his full salary in time...) , not only by his very critical stance, but also about the meaning of what he was telling me. If this is true (I had heard stories like this from other expats, of course I had seen it even with my own eyes before, but to hear this confirmed by a Mozambican...!), I mean, no doubt it is true as to our building, but is this true as to all the other buildings in town...? If yes...
Tinha saudades de voces...
Hope you are doing well, wherever you are!
beijo
Katarina.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
...Prospero Ano Novo-Happy New Year-Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!
Olá everyone,
No tropical New Year greetings this time...Instead some "freezing ones" from cold cold Belgium! "Bonne année!" "Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!"
New Year I spent in... multicultural Brussels at a real balkan gypsy concert and party in "Les Halles de Schaerbeek" (the venue alone is worthy the visit)...A night of crazy dancing, with my Slavic roots I felt completely at home...It was also a night of killing "saudades" in company of one of my best friends...And no need to say that it felt again very surrealistic, this time however to be back in "my" Brussels...(I guess surrealism is one of those very typical characteristics of "being Belgian")
I have to admit, the reverse culture shock-to my own surprise- hasn't been so big...but still, the occasions I have been feeling like coming from Mars are numerous, the shock to see the abundance in the supermarkets and shops remained, the banality of many people's complaints and worries difficult to deal with,...
Another shock, from a totally different kind, I felt was when a Brussels shopkeeper, after I had asked him at two occasions to serve me with some Turkish feta cheese and with some raisin, replied to me in a rather severe and annoyed way as follows: "Madame, vous pouvez vous servir vous-même!"("Miss, you can serve yourself!"). Perhaps his unfriendly tone was partially due to the fact it was the first of January (maybe he was suffering from some head ache:)), but basically it reflected more his incomprehensiveness toward my "inactive " attitude in the shop, my natural expectation to be served,...Suddenly I realized I had become used to the Mozambican WHITE and/OR RICH lifestyle of being served. I remember my first impressions upon arrival in Maputo, how "disgusting" I found it to see how whites (and rich Mozambicans) were being served upon their request (or even before...). I remember how shocking I found it to see how people had black "empregadas" ("domestica" in Brazil, housekeeping staff)working totally in function of them and black "guards" who were not only guards but also boys opening the gates, washing the cars, carrying your shopping, throwing away your rubbish, etc. And of course this pattern of "submission" or extreme servility was duplicated in commercial and administrative settings as well...People from anglo-saxon countries might protest against my too radical stance here, pinpointing to the excellent client service in their respective countries (where being served forms simply part of the service you deserve as a client), but to me it remains difficult to make abstraction of the colonial not so far away history,during which the minority of the whites (now: minority of rich) were served by the majority of black (now: majority of poor). To observe the way Moz society is structured seems-I can't help it- o so neo-colonialistic...But...I also know, that employing a guard, employing an empregada we, the whites and rich ones (and yes, you read it well, me too, I 'stepped' into the system) we create employment, we give people a very needed living...The latter is the very recurrent excuse you hear to legitimize the hiring of local staff, i.e. a means to help people survive, study, etc. But the other side of the coin, the fact you can "hire" somebody for plus/minus 25 Euros/month (=minimum wage), you earning western wages (and often even much higher salaries than if doing the same job at home)isn't being highlighted that often...nor the fact that it enables us, the whites, to have a very comfortable life...And I agree, paying local people according to our western standards would mean a 'distortion' of the local economy BUT HEY, are OUR salaries no distortion of their economy (cf. post-conflict countries with high UN and international NGO presence)??? Who is mainly frequenting restaurans like Mundo's, who is paying 1500 USD for a three bedroom appartment in Maputo, who is shopping in Polana Shopping Centre, who is swimming in the swimming pool of Club Naval (2.5 USD for one swimming), who is paying almost 2 Euros for a liter of fruit juice (Christmas prices!)???
I have to add, very rapidly, that my analysis might be incorrect, as I am very new to the country and I haven't really "scientifically studied" the society. And, as already referred to above, this phenomenon, I am afraid is not unique to Mozambique...And, more importantly, it is always easy to "denounce" a situation (like I am doing here), but I have to admit that looking for solutions for a more just division of assets and goods would be probably more preferrable...
In any case, I am very keen to read reactions to this blog...
No tropical New Year greetings this time...Instead some "freezing ones" from cold cold Belgium! "Bonne année!" "Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!"
New Year I spent in... multicultural Brussels at a real balkan gypsy concert and party in "Les Halles de Schaerbeek" (the venue alone is worthy the visit)...A night of crazy dancing, with my Slavic roots I felt completely at home...It was also a night of killing "saudades" in company of one of my best friends...And no need to say that it felt again very surrealistic, this time however to be back in "my" Brussels...(I guess surrealism is one of those very typical characteristics of "being Belgian")
I have to admit, the reverse culture shock-to my own surprise- hasn't been so big...but still, the occasions I have been feeling like coming from Mars are numerous, the shock to see the abundance in the supermarkets and shops remained, the banality of many people's complaints and worries difficult to deal with,...
Another shock, from a totally different kind, I felt was when a Brussels shopkeeper, after I had asked him at two occasions to serve me with some Turkish feta cheese and with some raisin, replied to me in a rather severe and annoyed way as follows: "Madame, vous pouvez vous servir vous-même!"("Miss, you can serve yourself!"). Perhaps his unfriendly tone was partially due to the fact it was the first of January (maybe he was suffering from some head ache:)), but basically it reflected more his incomprehensiveness toward my "inactive " attitude in the shop, my natural expectation to be served,...Suddenly I realized I had become used to the Mozambican WHITE and/OR RICH lifestyle of being served. I remember my first impressions upon arrival in Maputo, how "disgusting" I found it to see how whites (and rich Mozambicans) were being served upon their request (or even before...). I remember how shocking I found it to see how people had black "empregadas" ("domestica" in Brazil, housekeeping staff)working totally in function of them and black "guards" who were not only guards but also boys opening the gates, washing the cars, carrying your shopping, throwing away your rubbish, etc. And of course this pattern of "submission" or extreme servility was duplicated in commercial and administrative settings as well...People from anglo-saxon countries might protest against my too radical stance here, pinpointing to the excellent client service in their respective countries (where being served forms simply part of the service you deserve as a client), but to me it remains difficult to make abstraction of the colonial not so far away history,during which the minority of the whites (now: minority of rich) were served by the majority of black (now: majority of poor). To observe the way Moz society is structured seems-I can't help it- o so neo-colonialistic...But...I also know, that employing a guard, employing an empregada we, the whites and rich ones (and yes, you read it well, me too, I 'stepped' into the system) we create employment, we give people a very needed living...The latter is the very recurrent excuse you hear to legitimize the hiring of local staff, i.e. a means to help people survive, study, etc. But the other side of the coin, the fact you can "hire" somebody for plus/minus 25 Euros/month (=minimum wage), you earning western wages (and often even much higher salaries than if doing the same job at home)isn't being highlighted that often...nor the fact that it enables us, the whites, to have a very comfortable life...And I agree, paying local people according to our western standards would mean a 'distortion' of the local economy BUT HEY, are OUR salaries no distortion of their economy (cf. post-conflict countries with high UN and international NGO presence)??? Who is mainly frequenting restaurans like Mundo's, who is paying 1500 USD for a three bedroom appartment in Maputo, who is shopping in Polana Shopping Centre, who is swimming in the swimming pool of Club Naval (2.5 USD for one swimming), who is paying almost 2 Euros for a liter of fruit juice (Christmas prices!)???
I have to add, very rapidly, that my analysis might be incorrect, as I am very new to the country and I haven't really "scientifically studied" the society. And, as already referred to above, this phenomenon, I am afraid is not unique to Mozambique...And, more importantly, it is always easy to "denounce" a situation (like I am doing here), but I have to admit that looking for solutions for a more just division of assets and goods would be probably more preferrable...
In any case, I am very keen to read reactions to this blog...
Feliz Natal! Merry Christmas and...
Christmas 2007 in Maputo, a surrealistic happening...it was a multicultural and very tropical feast, with some home made"vodka" from Galicia (Spain) (aiaiaiai!) , some Spanish "turrón" and a mixture of different nationalities...
The pics speak for themselves...
Thanks to Sandra for the beautiful collage!!!
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