Blue Flag Humanity
Blue Flag Humanity
I try to walk down at the beach as often as I can … daily is the intention. Even if it is windy or rainy or both, it is always a special experience for me. I feel connected to nature and the vastness beyond me, I feel grounded and all my senses get awakened, including my sixth sense or intuition. The time I spend mindfully walking and paying attention to the present moment contributes positively to my mental health and often it’s during these walks that the answers I’m looking for come to me.
However, these beach walks also stir up other thoughts and emotion that leave me feeling unsettled. Something that often comes up for me is the vast contrasts … humanity contrasts.
Along the popular promenade at Blouberg beach, I see so much attention being given to maintenance of infrastructure, road markings, signage, flower beds, many many municipal workers endlessly shoveling sand off the walkways and moving tons of kelp (seaweed) off the sand … and lots law enforcement offices in patrol.
There are certain beaches around the Cape Peninsula that enjoy this level of attention, either ensuring they keep their Blue Flag status or working towards achieving this status. The Blue Flag is an internationally recognized symbol that beach goers use to locate beaches that are safe, clean and “appropriately” supervised.
This actually all sounds (and looks) great, because this status translates into tourists, business opportunities, creation of jobs and money flow. These are important components of how the world goes around in the systems of today.
But who enjoys the benefits of the many labour hours and huge amounts of money spent to maintain these public areas? By in-large, except for less than a handful of events / holidays throughout the year, these blue flag zones are never experienced by the people who work so hard to maintain them. Yes, business opportunities and tourism mean that jobs are created and therefore individuals from impoverished areas get a chance to try and uplift themselves. And of course, the opposite of all this maintenance attention would also be concerning, particularly if our beautiful natural spaces were neglected.
When I walk past the municipal workers who are picking up heavy piles of kelp in the sweltering sun, I now try to make eye contact and greet them. If they acknowledge, I also sometimes thank them for their hard work. Often I get a smile back, but mostly I see and feel struggle and perhaps I sense resentment. If I really try to imagine their situation and try to feel what they could be feeling, my inner sensations are very noticeable and this is even sometimes a feeling of nausea.
How difficult it must be to spend hours in the hot sun trying to make perfect an area of leisure that you may never get to enjoy. Even harder, you get to observe the privileged that are enjoying the sand, sea, restaurants and facilities, with a sense from them that they are expecting these places to be pristine.
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What could these people working in these areas be thinking and feeling? Do you think that, when they see those who clearly have far less struggle than they do, it inspires them? Are they perhaps determined to be here one day, having fun with their families, through this hard work they do? Maybe some do, but mostly that’s not what I sense from looking into their eyes.
These Blue Flag scenarios are not limited to beaches. These uncomfortable feelings I had can be extended to all places where people are working at a minimum wage (or less) in areas and establishments who largely cater for the enjoyment of the privileged.
I don’t often indulge in these establishments anymore, such as restaurants and retail shops, but I do appreciate the beautiful beaches and I am therefore aware of the hypocrisy as I write this. I am also aware that the bosses that manage these workers and the owners of these establishments may have good intentions and do their best to look after their employees. In addition, I don’t have any profound solutions or alternatives, mainly because I feel that the systems that govern the economics of the world create a “trap” that is almost impossible to work around.
This is not a political discussion and it's not about who is not doing enough. I know that there are individuals and organisations that work tirelessly at trying to address these stark contrasts in existence .. in fairness .. in humanity. I applaud every one who has felt what I feel, so much so that they are doing something about it.
Mostly I wanted to share what I feel deep inside when I make eye contact with someone working in these areas, and I see past their smile which they may feel obligated to present.
All I hope to instill, if you are reading this, is a sense of awareness. Perhaps I am hoping for a little more. Maybe it’s an ask for us to “see” these people … see these fellow humans. Let them know that they are not invisible. Maybe even greet them, thank them and wish them well from a sincere heart. Maybe even ask them about their families and their dreams. I don’t know what else you can do, but I feel that this acknowledging of their existence, may help them endure another day with perhaps a little less struggle within their hearts.