What's in a name? Identity issues in South Africa. Expensive waste, heritage restored and respected or something else all together?

Three months ago I flew in to Johannesburg International Airport and when I leave next year I will be flying out of O.R. Tambo International Airport. Yes, I will be flying out of the same airport but the South African government has elected to change the name even though when it changed the name from Jans Smuts International Airport to Johannesburg International Airport in 1994 a law was passed that airports could not be named after politicians. Jans Smuts was a politician so the rule made sense after taking his name away from the airport but in naming it after Oliver Reginald Tambo a celebrated figure in the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa who was ironically enough a politician it seems that there is a contradiction or bending of the rules in naming the airport after him.

Another part of the controversy/debate here is over the expensive cost of changing the names of airports, schools, towns/cities, provinces, streets and more. It seems that South Africa’s name changing renaissance is continuing and many feel that it is costing too much money but others think it is fair to honor former and present South African heroes and to give credit to the ruling party or majority of South Africans. O.R. Tambo Int. Airport is only the latest in this debate and not on the same scale as the name change of South Africa’s capitol from Pretoria to Tshwane.

Back in 2003 news24.com a South African news website reported that the name change had been put on hold but then in March of 2005 Pretoria’s City Council voted to change the name to Tshwane if the central government approved it. Then on May 27^th 2005 BBC reported that the Geographic Names Council had given its approval to the name change. While some signs in and going to Tshwane say Tshwane others say Pretoria and there doesn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason to it. Most people I have spoken to still report to SA’s capitol as Pretoria.

I watched a program on TV a few weeks ago about the province of KwaZulu Natal (or KZN), which for about 150 years prior to 1994 was known as Natal, a name that the British gave to it in the 1840’s. Prior to that it was known as Zululand (KwaZulu in Zulu) and thus when the ANC came in to power in 1994 it was given a new name KwaZulu Natal. This new name was a compromise that combined the two names most historically associated with the area and seemed to be a good solution. Yet, the name change didn’t end the talk about the appropriateness of KwaZulu Natal and this discussion continues today.

So the debate continues and who is to say which side (there are many) is right on this one. All I know is that lots of time, energy and money is being spent on this which could be spent on other “more” important things such as housing, poverty reduction, etc. On the other hand if a name change is what people really need to feel that their heritage is being respected, motivate them and remove some of the pain of the past then maybe these name changes are a good thing. Just like the controversial 2010 World Cup that will be coming here this issue will be discussed and debated for many years to come. As an outsider this is just one of the interesting issues that I am getting to see and hear about from many sides while here in South Africa.

Additional reading:

Here is an online discussion from Commentary.co.za on the airport issue.

Here is an article from Wikipedia on the airport name change with some interesting history on this airport before, during and after apartheid.

Here is an article on street names being changed from Jobrug.org.za called “The word on the street is change”

If you want to find out more just pick your search words carefully and go to Google or another search engine, as there is plenty out there as these name changing issues continue to be argued and debated.

Johannesburg or bust.

Hello dear readers,
I created this blog over a month ago after coming up with what I thought was a creative name but never really felt prepared to start it until arriving in Sandringham, South Africa. My arrival was scheduled for 12 noon on Thursday the 13 but when we arrived in Dakar, Senegal (flying from Washington, Dulles) we were informed that due to a fuel shortage we had to go to Ilha do Sal in Cabo Verde (backtracking an hour or so) to get fuel to continue our journey. This meant that I arrived in the Johannesburg International Airport after 2:30 PM and spent 45 minutes going through immigration, collecting my bags and clearing customs. I was met at the airport by Jared Smith, the son of Linzi the women I am working for here, and he drove me the 20 or so minutes to their house. I met Christina, the Smith’s domestic servant and her son Thomas and then headed to the office to get moved in. My bed is in the loft in the office overlooking three desks below.

The rest of the afternoon was spent unpacking my stuff, setting up my “room” and getting settled in. Linzi was out working and came back around 5:30 when it was starting to get dark. What a contrast arriving in 60 degree weather in the middle of South Africa’s winter where it starts getting dark around 5 PM having come from the middle of the summer in Portland where it was in the 70s, 80s and 90s and staying light until 9 PM. I made my own dinner as the Smith’s dinner was prepared with meat and me being a vegetarian I am a bit of an oddity here in South Africa. I will be doing primarily all of my cooking on my own. I was tired around 9 and slept in the next morning.

Friday through Sunday I took time to get to know the family meeting Douglas, the father, Roxy, the Smith’s daughter, Stewart another one of their sons and Christina’s other son John. I also went to the grocery store (two to be exact) with Linzi, set up “my” kitchen in the office, watched rugby with Doug and Stewart, watched TV with the Smiths, went for a walk around the neighborhood, played Scrabble with Linzi, Doug and Stewart and got comfy in my new digs. I did a bit of work too reading a 47 page document from Linzi that gave me an overall orientation of ETC's purpose, process and practice.

All in all it was nice to have a few days to settle in, get an overview of the surroundings, practicum (internship) and people I will be living and working with. Tomorrow I start my first full week of my practicum and I will undoubtedly have more stories to tell.