Entry Nine: Durban
My last few days in Durban were a great experience (a little stressful, but great). My final night in South Africa I went to two different meetings. The first meeting was the one I was following from day one. The purpose of the meeting was to create a youth network (Global Youth Network). Because it was the last night, I wanted to see progress. But, as usual, there were issues to deal with.

The main issue at this meeting was deciding how many people were to represent a region. There were four regions: Africa, Europe, Asia/Pacific, and the Americas. Each region was allowed to have two representatives, but the Americas wanted more than two. Why? The region is not just America, but it is the Americas. This includes the United States, Canada, Latin America, Central America, and the Caribbean region. There is no way only two people can represent the Americas. And this became an issue.

Since the Americas knew that two people could not fully represent the entire region, they insisted they must have four. This became an issue. One region disagreed (I am not going to say which one) because they felt that the U.S. economy has a large influence on other regions and the West always wants to be on top no matter what. The Americas responded by saying that the U.S. economy was not the issue, but the amount of different countries within the Americas.

Because of this issue, the meeting was not going anywhere. I wanted to express how I felt about the dissenting region, about their lack of understanding and how much they are blinded by power. But I had promised myself that I wouldn't say anything during this meeting because it was the last meeting and I had been so active during the week that I wanted to experience it all from another perspective. Also, my voice had been heard so often I thought it would be fair for someone else to have a chance.

Every region had a five minute break. The Americas met and made the decision to ask for three people. But the other regions said no, Americas must have two. The Americas said that each region should add one more, so everyone would have three representatives. Two other regions agreed, but the dissenting region still said no. So the Americas went back to arguing for four.

I then went to the front of the room to express how I felt. I said, "When I came to this meeting, I didn't want to say anything. I am not speaking for the region of Africa, Europe, Asia/Pacific, or the Americas. I am speaking as an individual at this meeting. What you guys don't understand that it is the 'Americas' and not 'America'. The Americas having four representatives is not a lot. And when we asked for a youth network, we didn't ask for all these rules and laws and trials and tribulations. What you guys also failed to understand is that the Americas include Canada, the United States, Latin America, Central America, and the Caribbean region. And four youth can not represent that. You are saying that four is too much, but if there wasn't the Americas, if there wasn't an 's', then every country would want their own two representatives. Canada would have two representatives, the United States would have two representatives, Latin America would have two representatives, Central America would have two representatives, and the Caribbean region would have two representatives. So what would you say then? That would be ten representatives, but you are saying four representatives would be a problem."

I felt better expressing myself, but I had to leave the youth network meeting to go to another meeting that night. It was a meeting for the Jewish community in Durban. I was not a part of this community, but some friends pulled a few strings and I got in. The hardest part was getting into this meeting, because they had a list of people invited and I was not on it. And you had to show your passport so that you could prove your identification.

First, I must say that there were Jewish people who were discriminated against at this conference. As a result, there were Jewish people who didn't have a chance to speak and address themselves at the World Conference, so they became the guest speakers at this meeting. It was interesting because I was the only black male there (and one other black lady). The guest speakers were the Israeli Ambassador, a man from the American Simon Wiesenthal Foundation, a lady who came to tell her story about her husband murdered and a French rabbi who also came to give a story about an attack against his temple. I felt sad for the speakers, because they had so much to say and their voices weren't heard at the World Conference. The Jews also handed out t-shirts and paper handouts with quotes. Two quotes that caught my eye were, "When people criticize Zionism, they mean Jews," by Martin Luther King, Jr., and "Attack Racism, Not Jews."

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