Who Needs Geography?!

A lot of you are probably busy studying for their midterms right now (or some lucky people might have already finished them). Either way, I think it is time for a more humorous post :) On Friday, we had an English exam for which we also had to study the names and locations of the 50 American states. Last week I came across a survey in which Americans were asked to fill in countries’ names on a blank European political map.  Since I (like most Austrians) had to start memorizing these countries in primary school, I found some of the responses hilarious:

"affordable vacation"

Austria is as big as Germany!! Nice try...

However, to be fair, I have to show the other side of the coin as well… because let’s face it – how many Europeans would succeed in correctly locating all the American states? If I had not had to study them for our recent exam, I would not have been able to do so. So let’s take a look at a survey that tested the Brits' knowledge of US geography:

I hope all of you had a good laugh at one or the other picture. However, I would like to finish this post by thinking about what the gaps in the survey-takers’ knowledge actually tell us. They mirror part of our economical and political reality. While most people, for example, were able to identify powerful and geographically large countries like Germany or France, only few could tell apart the former Soviet satellite states. On the other hand, many British people could locate California or Florida correctly (states that gained a lot of fame through movies) while the Midwest, or “flyover country“ as it is called, remained a complete mystery to them. However, I do not think the smaller countries are any less important.

Come to think of it, I bet neither a lot of Europeans, nor Americans would succeed in identifying African states. Doesn’t it strike you as odd that most high school graduates know the Pythagoras’ theorem by heart but don’t know a lot about the location of countries on other continents? I mean, those who have to deal with countries on other continents because of their jobs or for personal reasons, will have to extend their geographical knowledge sooner or later anyway. Still, I think it would not hurt to be a little more attentive to what the world actually looks like ;)

In Memoriam - Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela. I am sure all of you have heard this name a few times this week. When I heard of his death on December 5^th, I was thinking “I know this name, I know this man had something to do with South Africa and the Apartheid” but to be honest, I did not really know what he was famous for, or why he was referred to as a great man. For this reason, I would like to briefly summarize his life and efforts:

Nelson Mandela is known for having made a “free South Africa” possible. But free from what?

I would like to start with the political situation of South Africa in the first half of the 20^th century, which was marked by racial segregation. Racial segregation in South Africa began in colonial times under Dutch rule. In 1948 Apartheid was introduced as an official policy. It was a system of racial segregation enforced by the National Party (NP) governments.  Whites, who were a minority in South Africa were privileged, while the rights of the majority black inhabitants were reduced. Residential areas were segregated, sometimes by forced removals. The government segregated education, medical care, beaches, and other public services, and provided black people with services inferior to those of white people.

(There is definitely a parallel to the Jim Crow Laws which were enforced in Southern states of the US between 1876 and 1965).

Nelson Mandela was born in 1918. As young man he became involved in anti-apartheid politics and joined the ANC (African National Congress). His central goal was a South Africa led by South Africans. As a result, he was passionately involved in politics and, for instance, led a sabotage campaign against the apartheid government.

In 1962 he was arrested, convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the state, and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Trial. This is an impressive quote from his court room speech:

 “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

Mandela became the personification of opposition to South Africa’s apartheid regime. People demanded his release, but only after serving 28 years in prison, this finally happened. He was released in 1990 and faced a social mess: People protested, violence was common and the established order crumbled, but nobody really knew what the future would bring.

During his final years in prison, Mandela had secretly negotiated with the white government. The white leaders knew that they would not be able to keep up their power, so they tried to find a way to legalize opposition parties and democratize South Africa, but at the same time be able to retreat in an orderly way.

Mandela’s negotiations with President F.W. de Klerk to abolish apartheid were successful. Finally, in 1994 the first multiracial elections were established, in which Mandela led the ANC to victory and became South Africa's first black president. However, in order to govern the country he also had to win over a significant percentage of white people. He had to reassure them that there was a place for them and that it was their government too.

And even though he had been imprisoned by whites for almost 30 years, he managed to rule without bitterness or hate towards them. On the contrary, his dream was a democratic, non-racial, non-sexist South Africa and he did not intend to fight racism with racism.

He won many white people over by appearing at the Rugby World Cup, which was hosted by South Africa in 1995. Until then, rugby was seen as “all-white sport” and therefore had become symbol of the oppressor’s culture. Even so, Mandela presented the trophy to the South African rugby team, wearing a rugby shirt. Mandela won the hearts of millions of white rugby fans and their chanting his name, on the other hand, sent a message to the black people – a message of goodwill and desire for reconciliation.

During his presidency, Mandela worked on renewing the young, free country. True to his promise, he stepped down from presidency in 1999 and in doing so he set another example for his view of democracy. In the subsequent years, he continued to work with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, focused on charity work and fought poverty.

In my opinion, what is so fascinating about this man is his humility and his sense of what is right. As Obama put it in his speech at Nelson Mandela’s funeral, he was a “profoundly good” person. He went to prison because of having fought for the freedom of others, had an unbending will and always stood up for his beliefs. He had an amazing sense of justice, which helped him to negotiate with the “enemy” instead of fighting him. He set an inspiring example of how patience, a strong will, courage, dignity, persistence, discipline and compromise can bring about change in a peaceful way.

The whole world responded to the news of Nelson Mandela’s death and I think a reason for this is, that he embodies all the values we are looking for in a “good person”. He is a role model to many and definitely is an example of how much difference a single person can make.

All in all, I think his words represent his ideas the best, and therefore I would just like you to look at some of his most inspiring quotes and maybe let them influence your own attitude. 

- Because we all can make a difference!