Should I expect to encounter racism in South Africa as a black women?

Question

I have spoken to South Africans who insist there would not be a problem if I travelled there but having done a bit of reading into this the impression that I am getting is that i would probably encounter racism from the white South Africans as despite the fact that apartheid no longer exists, the mentality is still very much evident.
Could someone truthfully tell me if I would experience problems as I could book to go somewhere else instead. I never thought my skin colour would be a big problem in countries until about 5 years ago when I went to Mexico and experienced a lot of racism [people not wanting to serve me in cafes; telling me hotels were full when they were not, and being asked to get off of buses so my passport could be checked and then being told that I wasn't really British]. I now try to make myself as aware as possible about my future destinations and would not for example travel to Russia due to the prevalence of neo-nazi factions and several other countries.

Thanks Jet but I spent most of my holiday in tears in Mexico and I would hate to repeat that experience. I do not think that most of the world is closed off to me but I do know that going to: Russia, Serbia, Austria, Germany, potentially Portugal, Vietnam, China, Argentina, El Salvador, and parts of south East Asia would be probelmatic to me as a black person so I would not go there as I simply want an easy life and don't want to be judged by the colour of my skin.

DJ actually the only countries I have ever experienced racism were Mexico and at Ohio airport en route to Miami. I have been to New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Antigua, France, Alaska, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Egypt, Tunisia, Switzerland, Mauritius, Italy, Monte Carlo and Romania with no problems. I booked a holiday to New Zealnd in June 07 and don't anticipate any probs there either..

el_cuscat... I read on the Lonely Planet Guide to Central America that Salvadorians are not welcoming to Black people and I do use the guides all the time as they are very accurate.

Answer 1

Hi, I'm South African and black, my boyfriend is South African white. There is racism in South Africa just like anywhere in the world, you'll probably not experience it. What I can tell you though is South African whites are very welcoming of blacks from other countries than S. Africans and black S.Africans love any black person that comes in the country.

Having said that, there's nothing to be afraid of, the same goes with everywhere else in the world, be careful where go and keep your belongings safe. Wear a money belt under your clothes. Don't answer your mobile phone just any where, if you can, go into a shop and answer it there.

Check out this website http://www.southafrica.net/

You will enjoy South Africa it is a lot of fun and an interesting culture, you'll see.
Enjoy SA!!!

Answer 2

I'm sure we all wish there was no racism in the world, and that no one was judged by the color of their skin. But sadly it does happen.

As for what you might expect in South Africa, i would say that it all depends on what you do when your there and who you do it with. You might get some "under-the-breath" racism. But i very much doubt anyone would verbally abuse you. Like i said before, it depends were you are. There are people in this world that dont change, and there way of thiking will always stay the same no matter how wrong it may be. So if you try to keep away from people that may look at you differently or treat you differently and you should be fine.

I hope you enjoy your trip.

And it is racism free :)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

On a side note. Why do you say that you would have problems going to El Salvador? I was born there and the people are naturally darker. Why do you think you would have problems?

I'm hope you have not just been hearing the El Salvador horror stories that some people like to tell, because if you have then you are missing out. El Salvador is a beautiful country and you shouldn't deprive yourself of experiancing it only because of what people say.

God Bless

Answer 3

To a certain degree it depends on where you are going and who you are going with / staying with. I am amazed at how well the country is doing at reducing racism post apartheid but it is not something that can dissipate overnight. You are much more likely to come across people with dodgy attitudes who believe they are no longer racist than people who stop you shopping in places / staying in places or even people that know they are racist but also know that they are not allowed to do anything about it any more so as long as you can handle people with a bug up there *** and a weird superiority complex then you should be fine.

Denzil

P.S. You will have no trouble in Austria or Germany whatsoever, lovley places full of lovley people (and there is amazing white water in the Austrian alps if that is your thing :D)

Answer 4

I have recently returned to South Africa for a holiday after 10 years living abroad. I must admit I too was anxious but I have to say that going back to Africa was the best thing I could have done for myself. The warmth and genuine hospitality by black, white, coloured, indian was inspiring. I feel more racism here in Vancouver, Canada today than I felt for the three weeks I was in Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. You will love it. Have a most wonderful trip.

Answer 5

We as a nation have learnt so much about how wrong we were in the past - we now proudly live in a democratic, cosmopolitan country where freedoms of speech, religion, race, gender and creed are vigorously upheld and protected. I can honestly say that you should not anticipate any racism - only welcoming hospitality and friendliness particularly in the cities such as Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town and tourist destination such as Sun City and the game reserves. You may encounter racism - ignorant, backward fools - wherever you go in the world, but this is certainly not typical of modern South Africa.

Ask on Answers what sort of itinerary and activities you are interested in in South Africa and you'll get plenty of positive feedback. Don't forget we're sunny and warn during your cold Winter!

Answer 6

Well Tripper I am sorry to hear your experience in Mexico I don't really think Mexico is not a racist country but ignorance is everywhere I myself am hispanic and was born and raised in southern california I know in every race their are good and bad people hell I even experienced racism from black follks here in Los Angeles but I just put it past me and know that their are good black folks out their that treat other races with alot of respect vise-versa but anyhow I hope you enjoy South Africa and like someone said on a previous post enjoy yourself no matter where you are in this world. Don't worrie what others think.

Answer 7

Im a white south african and dont have a problem with blacks at all. In SA you will not have a problem at all. We live in a wealthy neighbourhood and our neighbours are black and we dont treat them differently. Go to South Africa, after all the majority of the people are black and the president is black. You have a better chance of expierencing racism as a white south african. We have buried our differences and shop in the same malls go to the same restaurants, hotels and breathe the same air. Fifa would not have given us the worlcup for 2010 if there was a problem. You really should go to SA.

Answer 8

If you did encounter some racism in south africa it would be of a far different kind. The hotels and businessed there would not show outright racism because of the changed politics. On the other hand if you were to meet a white south african man you would feel some animosty from his family. Go there and see, it would could not be worse that your last experience.

Answer 9

I am African-American and I went to South Africa for 2 weeks
(my mother went w/ me) and we had no problems. Loved it and had lots of fun!!!! Will go again. Don't worry-I have also been to other parts of Africa and never have experienced any racism. As a matter of fact I think I got treated better especially by the men : ) (hotels, taxi's, restarants, resorts, etc) HAVE FUN!!

Answer 10

i am white and went to cape town last year stayed with family who had been over there for 40 years, their neighbour hood was mainly black and it was very uneasy, they however seem to cope ok, did have a great time but had to make sure we didnt go to the wrong places, and dont go out at night unless we knew were we where, to me it was a scary place in parts, but absolutly a great place to go. went to namibia, botswana and zimbabwe,on safari, not the most welcoming of places, some people were nice but hey you get it everywhere you go, some nice people some nasty people, we got robbed 3 times. But i would definatley go back and do it all again.