Crossing the Racial Divide Response

      

The article "Crossing the Racial Divide" by Lydia Polgreen gives us a close-up look at the new (and rather abrupt for people living there) arrival of white South Africans in a black town. It especially focuses on the reactions of people in the town, the huge mix of confusion and surprise it stirred up. The author seems to be trying to send the message across that people can change, in ways that others may not even realize. Of course, a white South African family called the Hewwits' really did grow throughout the article.

       Upon the arrival of the Hewwits, many people were unsure and surprised. For instance, a woman named Regina Matshega spots the family and says "I couldn't believe my eyes. What are white people doing here?" What she really meant was South Africa was poverty-struck and unfortunate and she didn't expect these folks to move in. But I believe that despite first impressions, the Hewwit family was really there for the better. That they rally made an effort to throw away the luxury and ease of their past life and slip into the hardships of life in this town. In the article it says "...they only took the barest necessities that people in townships could aford: a few changes of clothes, a couple of pots, some blankets, and thin mattresses. With no running water, tepid bucket baths replaced hot showers." They kept living there despite the struggling. Also, The Hewwits wanted to get out of living inside a bubble "like so many people in South Africa". And it was not only themselves who accepted that. Even some South Africans (including Vusi Mahlasela, an important South African musician) knew it was a good change and that these people were not what was assumed initially.

        Overall, the author wants us to know that although the idea of stepping out of the bubble made some people angrily question the family, with things like "Was this a publicity stunt aimed at getting a book... or a reality TV show?" it was really just these family going deep inside themselves, reaching out to people who had to live under disgusting conditions and trying to make life better. She tells a story that really makes us think about the extent of human kindness and compassion, imprinting the idea that appearance and race shouldn't be putting a standard to our morals or our life in general and instead we need to go beyond what we see, because that may get us further than we realize.