The Plague of Inequality

South Africa, when one thinks of South Africa it is easy to forget that this country is really a part of Africa. With its fairly large white population, and wealth (compared to other African nations), it's easy to see why some may mentally seperate the country from the continent. It was thought that after the fall of apartheid, and with the election of Nelson Mandela, and the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC), that the hardships of South Africans would be mended. However, over two decades after the fact, this is simply not the case.


According to a recent Guardian article, South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world. The high rate of violence is then being attributed to the massive divide in equality. In South Africa there is those in extreme poverty (the majority), and those that are well off. The middle-class in South Africa is almost non-existent, and for this reason the article argues is the catalyst for the unusually high rate of violence. Poverty has lead the country to be divided again, not this time by race, but rather economic barriers. With poverty, has come resentment towards those who are wealthy, hatred for those who have versus those who have not, and self-hatred for being in the situation that those living in poverty are in.

Apparently the government is so "behind" that the more well off citizens have hired private security firms to act as their police in their area of living as opposed to the real police. Poverty has to be solved in South Africa, and not just there but in the rest of the country. Poverty is the root of all evils and allows extremist views to become reality as they seem like the only escape out of the vicious cycle.

Source(s):
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/01/south-africa-violent-crime-murders-increase-inequality

War Against Poachers

The Rhino Horn trade is a lucrative trade, and the horns are valued heavily in parts of Asia such as China, and Vietnam. Unfortuantely, a high demand for rhino horns, and the large population of rhinos in South Africa are dwindling from poachers. Normally the preserves in which rhinos live on were protected by the equivalent in the U.S. as a park ranger. Times have changed however, and now these protectors of the rhino are having to undergo paramilitary training, and learn how to hunt the hunters. They are fighting fire with fire because the problem has become so widespread across South Africa.



2014 saw approximately 1200 rhino poaching's, and those are just the ones that we know about. The rhino population in South Africa is approximately 20,400 and a rhino horn can fetch between $1100-$5500.

Various tactics have been employed in an effort to dissuade the poachers. Rhino horns have been died, poisoned, and in some cases surgically removed (for their own protection), all to no avail. The only way now that seems viable is to find and arrest the poachers before they get to the rhinos.

These rangers used to train and learn about conservation and tourism. Now they find themselves learning how to track hunters, how to fire semi-automatic rifles, and intelligence gathering. It's really sad and pathetic the way these poachers are murdering South Africa of an iconic animal.

Source(s):
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/22/africa/south-africa-rhino-poaching/

Fighting Malaria

As we learned in the early chapters of our textbook, disease is one of the primary issues that has plagued Africa not just in the past, but in recent times as well. One of the diseases which has caused problems in the modern world has been that of Malaria. Luckily though, according to a BBC Health article, nearly 700 million cases of Malaria have been prevented in Africa. According to the article, the "overall number of infections fell by 50% across the continent."

Despite their best efforts, Africa apparently still houses 80% of the cases, and 78% of the deaths from Malaria. The continent still has quite a way to go before Malaria is fully eradicated, but a 50% drop in cases is significant progress nonetheless. Part of what has inhibited Africa's growth as a continent has been disease, and fighting Malaria and other fatal diseases is a step in the right direction to bring prosperity to that region of the world.

The article goes on to state that several countries are looking to have the disease completely gone by 2020. One major hurdle for fighting the disease, and other diseases however is funding. It will be up to governments and other private funders such as the Bill Gates Foundation to continue the fight against disease in Africa.

Source(s): http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34260339

New Human Species!

Today on September 10th, 2015 in South Africa, an international team of scientists convened to announce a new human species which was discovered in a South African cave. The species has been named, "H. Naledi" which is in reference to the cave in which the bones were found. Apparently the cave housed a "chamber" and the bones were a burial site for this species of human. The scientists have not yet been able to determine in which time period this species lived. A BBC article on the same subject goes on to describe how humans had many different species, one of which would eventually become the modern day human.

This finding is significant for two reasons. One being, this is a new species of human which in itself is a major discovery. The second is that the these humans buried the remains of their peers in a hidden tucked away area, "a behavior previously considered limited to modern humans."

The article is quite relevant to the beginning of our African Studies course, the origin of humans.

Source(s):
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34192447
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/11/science/south-africa-fossils-new-species-human-ancestor-homo-naledi.html