First 1/2 Day of Work

So, I'm about to go on my lunch break here at the Legal Resources Centre (http://www.lrc.org.za/). What an eventful morning! I woke up at 5am again (I need to get over this jetlag), so kept myself occupied at home: made coffee, watched the first two episodes of Friday Night Lights (trying to decide if I like this show or not), etc etc. Caught at cab at 8am (I'll usually take public transport with the other intern, Jessica, who's staying in the same complex as I am, but she's been gone on a safari with her boyfriend; she comes back tonight). My working hours are 8:30am - 4:00pm; everything starts and closes early over here. I got to work a little bit early, but the woman who I had been in contact with, Kamala, was already here. She is extremely friendly. Kamala is right out of the South African equivalent of law school, plus a year of studying at the University of Florida, and is fulfilling her mandatory one year law residency (is the best way I can put it), before she becomes an "official" attorney.

No one else was in the office, and Kamala had a meeting at 9:00, so I got to go with her. The LRC is representing a woman, a "informal trader" who sells fruits and vegetables at a market in Durban. Last week, she was arrested, her goods were confiscated and her selling spot revoked - all due to the hazy "FIFA laws" (the dark side of the World Cup). The LRC is representing her to make sure the charges are dropped, she is compensated for her goods (they can't be returned to her becuase they are perishable) and she is given a new spot, for the same rental price, to start selling. She has four children to feed and this is her only means of livlihood. We met with one of the city's municipal directors, who ended up being very cooperative. One of the largest issues with merchants, like the one the LRC, was representing is that they are very confused as to their rights and what the Metro Police can actually do to them. According to Kamala, the municpal authorities aren't generally that easy to deal with, but the LRC just took them to court last week (an "urgent," as Kamala explained) in regards to a storage facility used by the urban poor, and he clearly did not want to go to court again.

The meeting itself was extremely interesting, and provided for an exciting introduction to the LRC, but the trip there and back was equally as noteworthy: I saw parts of the city that I definitely would not have otherwise seen. Whereas yetserday I was walking along the prestine beaches of Durban (a picture would resemble anything from Miami to Cannes), I saw a much poorer, destitute area today. Though I didn't feel scared at all (though the area was extremely poor, it was full of people trying to make an honest living by setting up stands at the flea markets), I wouldn't say I was necessarily comfortable either. We got a bit lost, and when we thought we had found the building (we were wrong), Kamala made a comment that she hoped her car wouldn't get broken into by parking on the street. The LRC has "company cars," which are the opposite of any company car you might picture: they are intentionally shabby and old, so that when visiting clients and poor neighborhoods, they aren't targets for burglars. The company car wasn't available so Kamala took her own car. Luckily, the municipal building was gated off, and had its own parking lot with a security guard.

After the meeting, we made a quick trip to the Magistrate's Court, to drop off some documents for another case the LRC is working on. The case has to do with police brutality. Finally, we came back to the office, where I have been given my own office (!) complete with a computer and LRC email address. I met most of the employees here (the offic has about 15 people - there are four offices in South Africa, the largest in Jo'burg). The office is located in the Diakonia Centre, a really cool looking building with many other offices. There is a cafe in the courtyard, which is where I'll be getting my lunch; they usually serve traditional "Zulu" food, today they have a maize (corn) and bean mixture.

(I'll be posting pictures soon!)