Giraffes saunter easily across the grasslands. They nibble on the tops of trees without difficulty. They move around in small groups, their long necks and long legs moving in graceful coordination, their mottled skin offering camouflage among the shrubbery. They are the picture of elegance.
Almost.
Those necks and legs get in the way when a giraffe wants something on the ground, like grass or water.
In order to reach down, a giraffe has to force its front legs far apart and stretch its neck. It looks awkward, almost painful. Sometimes it takes a couple of tries before the animal gets it right. It puts the giraffe at risk from a lion or other predator. You can almost hear it saying, “Oof!” as it gets back up.
Giraffe eating grass. In the background, wildebeest (gnus).Giraffes at watering hole, front legs stretched apart.
What’s true for giraffes is also true for people. Sometimes we have stretch to get something. It may be inelegant. We may feel quite awkward. But that’s what we do in order to get what we want. And then we walk away, our heads up.
Fields of grapes contrast with the surrounding mountains.
We emerged from the Namib Desert and drove south along field after field of grapes. After the ancient sand of the dunes and the strata of Fish River Canyon, this greenery spoke of planting and harvest, of life drawn from stone. The nearby Orange River provided water for irrigation and for Norotshama Lodge, where we would spend the night.
Norotshama Lodge, an estate along the Orange River, Namibia
Then we came around a corner and saw where the field hands lived. Stretching for at least a mile from the road were huts built in traditional African style, made of reeds cut from the river and tied together to make walls and roofs. There was no evidence of electricity – no poles, solar cells, or windmills. There was no evidence of water being piped in; I wondered whether people had to walk to the river every day. Laundry in a variety of children’s sizes said that families lived there. I asked our tour guide where the children went to school. He said that the nearest school was 50 km away. Then he added quickly, “There might be a Christian school somewhere in that village. I don’t know for sure.” (He didn’t sound confident.) The pathways among the huts were, of course, not paved.
Migrant workers village Photo by Robin Harvey
“Someone is making money from those grapes,” my friend Robin observed, “but it’s not the workers.”
We were told that 19,000 workers are employed by the farm during the course of a year. Pruning the vines in spring and harvesting in fall must be done by hand. We could see extensive infrastructure for the grapes but none for the workers’ housing.
Migrant Workers Housing Photo by Liliana Quijano
I had heard reports of migrant workers’ substandard housing in the United States, but this was the first time I had seen something like it for myself. By staying at this lodge and eating at this restaurant, I was supporting the economic system that paid workers less than they deserved so that I could eat food that was a little less expensive. I couldn’t opt out – I was entirely complicit. The workers were the victims, and I was the beneficiary. For the first time, it was not a faraway problem I could ignore. But I didn’t see that I could do anything about it, not to benefit the African workers where I would stay the night nor to benefit anyone else. As clearly as ever I understood that apartheid is no longer part of the legal system in Africa, but it is still part of the economic system, and it will take generations to change that.
Since I’ve been home, I’ve made some changes in how I treat and pay service workers. I can’t change a system that has been in place since the beginning of humanity, but I can change how I participate in it.
I’m late to this issue, but I’ll do what I can now.
Right after the 9/11 attacks, I saw a T-shirt that read, “Kill ’em all! Let God sort ’em out!” The words were superimposed over a mushroom cloud. I understood the anger but disagreed with the sentiment.
This sign outside a Methodist church comes closer.
