2009.01.28: January 28, 2009: Headlines: COS - Mazambique: Blogs - Mozambique: Women's Issues: Personal Web Site: Peace Corps Volunteer Katie in Mozambique writes: In the tumultuous world of Mozambican public transportation, there is one highly coveted refuge: the front seat

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Mozambique: Peace Corps Mozambique : Peace Corps Mozambique: Newest Stories: 2009.01.28: January 28, 2009: Headlines: COS - Mazambique: Blogs - Mozambique: Women's Issues: Personal Web Site: Peace Corps Volunteer Katie in Mozambique writes: In the tumultuous world of Mozambican public transportation, there is one highly coveted refuge: the front seat

By Admin1 (admin) (141.157.6.22) on Sunday, March 22, 2009 - 8:38 am: Edit Post

Peace Corps Volunteer Katie in Mozambique writes: In the tumultuous world of Mozambican public transportation, there is one highly coveted refuge: the front seat

Peace Corps Volunteer Katie in Mozambique writes: In the tumultuous world of Mozambican public transportation, there is one highly coveted refuge: the front seat

Besides the driver, only two people ever sit in the front of a chapa. You have space for your legs, you’re not fighting the bags and babies for space, and the chicken and goats and whatever else is riding with you are all safely behind you. The front seat is extremely hard to obtain. You have to arrive at just the right time—just as the previous chapa is leaving but before anyone has started to fill up the next one. Whoever gets there first takes it, although even that isn’t always enough—chapa drivers make friends quickly, and chances are the front seat has been “reserved”.

Peace Corps Volunteer Katie in Mozambique writes: In the tumultuous world of Mozambican public transportation, there is one highly coveted refuge: the front seat

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The Back of the Chapa

Photo: La chapa de Beira a Gorongosa by Erazo-Fischer Flickr Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic


In the tumultuous world of Mozambican public transportation, there is one highly coveted refuge: the front seat. Besides the driver, only two people ever sit in the front of a chapa. You have space for your legs, you’re not fighting the bags and babies for space, and the chicken and goats and whatever else is riding with you are all safely behind you.

The front seat is extremely hard to obtain. You have to arrive at just the right time—just as the previous chapa is leaving but before anyone has started to fill up the next one. Whoever gets there first takes it, although even that isn’t always enough—chapa drivers make friends quickly, and chances are the front seat has been “reserved”.

Last weekend, coming home from our mid-service conference in Maputo, I got lucky—or so I thought. Comfortably seated in my front seat, I was excited for a relatively pain-free ride back home. The chapa filled up more or less quickly, and it wouldn’t be long before we were on our way. It turns out I had started basking in front-seat glory too soon, however: ten minutes later the driver came over, opened my door, and told me to get out and move to the back.

The conversation went something like:
Me: Why?
Driver: This man (as he pointed to a man who had just arrived to get on the chapa) wants to sit in the front.
Me: Why?
Driver: Because he wants to.
Me: I was here first.
Driver: He’s a man. You’re a woman. You have to move to the back.
Me: I’m not moving, I’m the same as him.
Driver: No, you’re not. He’s a man. If he wants to sit there he can.

I stared at the driver, absolutely furious. Of course I’ve experienced gender discrimination before, both here and in the States, but never so blatant. And I’ve seen similar things happen to Mozambican women, which is no less maddening, but I guess I’ve usually been exempt, as many people realize that we Americans have “different ideas”. And something about it actually happening to you feels different than watching it.
In retrospect, I probably should have sat there and refused to move.

But in the end, I wasn’t that brave. As my refusals continued and my lecture on discrimination began, the driver raised his voice, I raised mine, and we were starting to create a scene. So instead I told him I wouldn’t travel on his chapa, and demanded my money back. As I stood outside of the chapa, watching the man take the seat that was rightfully his and waiting for it to leave so I could get on the next one, some of the passengers had some good natured fun: “Crazy white girl, now your trip is going to be delayed for hours, come in the back”. The whole thing was crazy—I just wanted to get home.

I could afford to wait. I didn’t have a family to go home and cook for, I didn’t have a cranky baby to hold, I had money to buy cold water, and I didn’t have a husband who would ask me angrily what took so long. It was annoying, but this was the first time I’d actively had to choose between inconvenience and accepting “the way things are”—but what if I had that choice to make every day?

I made it home, and per usual there were kids playing in my yard. Two of the older girls were calling the shots as the other kids, including the boys, followed their instructions. Baby steps.




Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: January, 2009; Peace Corps Mozambique; Directory of Mozambique RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Mozambique RPCVs; Blogs - Mozambique; Women's Issues





When this story was posted in March 2009, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers RSS Feed

 Site Index Search PCOL with Google Contact PCOL Recent Posts Bulletin Board Open Discussion RPCV Directory Register

PCOL's Candidate for Peace Corps Director Date: December 2 2008 No: 1288 PCOL's Candidate for Peace Corps Director
Honduras RPCV Jon Carson, 33, presided over thousands of workers as national field director for the Obama campaign and said the biggest challenge -- and surprise -- was the volume of volunteer help, including more than 15,000 "super volunteers," who were a big part of what made Obama's campaign so successful. PCOL endorses Jon Carson as the man who can revitalize the Peace Corps, bring it into the internet age, and meet Obama's goal of doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011.

Director Ron Tschetter:  The PCOL Interview Date: December 9 2008 No: 1296 Director Ron Tschetter: The PCOL Interview
Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter sat down for an in-depth interview to discuss the evacuation from Bolivia, political appointees at Peace Corps headquarters, the five year rule, the Peace Corps Foundation, the internet and the Peace Corps, how the transition is going, and what the prospects are for doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011. Read the interview and you are sure to learn something new about the Peace Corps. PCOL previously did an interview with Director Gaddi Vasquez.

Feb 22, 2009: Return to Indonesia? Date: March 1 2009 No: 1333 Feb 22, 2009: Return to Indonesia?
Clinton says PC expects to resume in Indonesia 18 Feb
Indonesia still touchy about Peace Corps 17 Feb
PCVs Remain Safe in Madagascar 30 Jan
Dodd's Senate seat up for grabs? 21 Feb
Tony Hall Talks About Poverty and Hunger 18 Feb
Pro Football Player Aaron Merz to serve in Zambia 17 Feb
Moyers could be new Murrow for US Public Diplomacy 17 Feb
Obituary for Nigeria CD Francis Underhill Macy 10 Feb
George Packer writes: Parties argue government role 10 Feb
James Rupert writes: Missile Strikes Counterproductive? 10 Feb
Danny Hevrol in Madagascar amidst fighting 6 Feb
Reed Hastings writes: Please Raise My Taxes 6 Feb
Obama overrides Hillary on Chris Hill appointment 6 Feb
Joseph Acaba has "The Right Stuff" 4 Feb
Maureen Orth writes: A New Start 2 Feb
Henry Rayburn could make art out of anything 1 Feb
Obama out to marry military power with diplomacy 30 Jan
Mike Fay honored by the San Diego Zoo 30 Jan
Charles Stroh writes: Karzai seen as impediment to change 29 Jan
Madeleine Meek writes: The market and the bath 26 Jan
NPCA gets new Web Site 22 Jan
Read more stories from January and February 2009.

Some PCVs return to Bolivia on their own Date: October 23 2008 No: 1279 Some PCVs return to Bolivia on their own
Peace Corps has withdrawn all volunteers from Bolivia because of "growing instability" and the expulsion of US Ambassador Philip Goldberg after Bolivian President Evo Morales accused the American government of inciting violence in the country. This is not the first controversy surrounding Goldberg's tenure as US ambassador to Bolivia. Latest: Some volunteers have returned to Bolivia on their own to complete their projects.



Read the stories and leave your comments.








Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

Story Source: Personal Web Site

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Mozambique; Blogs - Mozambique; Women's Issues

PCOL43103
65


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: