Chapter 90: I Wish I Could
To a large extent, the many problems that black people in the 21st century have are caused by Western colonizers.
Before the arrival of Western colonists in Africa, the local black people were still in a primitive society. After the colonists arrived in Africa, they forced Africa into a slave society, so the black people followed the colonists and traveled all over the world.
Needless to say, after that, with the development of social economy, social welfare has gradually improved. However, due to their low level of education, the cultural and moral standards of blacks have not kept up with the development of the times and are still at a relatively primary level. Coupled with the development of the media, the shortcomings of blacks have been infinitely magnified, which ultimately led to a complete collapse of the overall impression of blacks in the whole society.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was no such thing as social welfare in all countries in the world, including Britain. Even white people had to struggle to survive in the so-called "sweatshops", let alone black people. Black people in the Cape had no social rights. They did the hardest work, received the meager wages, were poorly clothed, and had no food to eat. They were the most miserable group in the world.
Putting aside their skin color, these Zulus are actually quite nice. At least when they work, they are very hardworking. Their first job is to clean up the burned ruins. These Zulus don't even use tools. They just carry the ruins on their shoulders and hands and gradually clear them out of Oak Town.
"Hurry up!"
"Don't let me see you guys slacking off!"
"Run faster, run!"
Kaka and Yaya were also working hard, each holding a whip.
Their whips are not just for show. If someone doesn't work hard, they will really whip him, and they will whip him hard on the head and face.
This is already pretty good. In the Portuguese plantations in Mozambique, when black slaves made mistakes, the most common punishment used by the Portuguese farmers was to chop off their hands, cutting them off at the elbow. If the slave whose hand was chopped off could survive, he would have to continue working. If he could not survive, there would be no ifs, and the Portuguese farmer who committed the crime would not be punished at all.
This is the situation of Africans in this era.
"Reed, tell Kaka and Yaya to prepare more dinner for them." Rock did not interfere with Kaka and Yaya's work. It would be useless to interfere. The general environment was like this. Rock could not change the overall environment. He could only improve the living standards of those Zulu people within his ability.
In fact, it is also hypocrisy. Rock's purpose is to improve work efficiency. Under this premise, it doesn't matter if he gives one more piece of bread or half a fish every day. As a port city, Cape Town's seafood is really cheap.
While transforming Oak Town, Rock was also reorganizing the refugee camp.
In fact, it is very simple to change the situation in the refugee camp. Here, no one dares to question Rock's orders. As long as it is Rock's decision, it will be implemented without fail.
Rock didn't need to explain to the refugees why they should maintain personal hygiene and public hygiene. For those who violated the discipline, he just had to starve them for a meal, and they would remember it next time.
"Remember, when distributing food, you must strictly check their personal hygiene. There must be no black mud under their nails, no eye boogers in the corners of their eyes, and their clothes can be worn out, but they must be clean. Organize ten people into a group and supervise . If one person fails to meet the hygiene standards, all ten people will be punished." Rock's method was simple and crude. It was useless to appeal to their emotions or reason at this time. Only by using this simple and crude method can the effect be seen in a short period of time.
"Boss, will this work?" Anton expressed his doubts.
If Anton still had some illusions about what the British called "civilized society", all his illusions were shattered after he came to Oak Town.
Except for Rock, all the Chinese policemen had never imagined that in some corner of the world, there were some "foreigners" who were living so miserably. They did not have enough food, clean clothes, were unkempt, skinny, and many of them were in worse health than the Chinese in the Qing Dynasty. According to the words of the former Indian policemen, sometimes all it took was a piece of candy or a piece of chocolate to get a Boer woman, or sometimes even a girl.
If you calculate it this way, it seems that buying women from the Qing Dynasty and sending them to the Cape is not so cost-effective.
In fact, it is not calculated in this way. If the Chinese policemen are willing, they can indeed form families with the Boer women. Many Boer women would be happy to do so as long as they can leave the refugee camps and do anything.
But in that case, the Chinese bloodline would inevitably be diluted. Perhaps after a few generations, the Chinese in the Cape would be no different from the white people. This was not what Rock wanted. Rock did not object to the Chinese and Boers forming families, but if possible, Rock still wanted to ensure the purity of some of the Chinese bloodline as much as possible, so that the Chinese could thrive and multiply in the Cape.
"Of course it works. Improving personal hygiene is just the beginning. We still have a lot of work to do next." After Rock finished speaking, he suddenly thought of a question: "Keep an eye on your men and don't let them go too far. If they get a girl pregnant, then let them marry her home honestly."
Rock almost forgot that the Chinese policemen were also adults, and many of them had physical needs, but the refugee camps were filled with women and children, so -
Just like what those Indian policemen said, the living conditions of the Boers are now too difficult. Self-esteem is a luxury at this time. They have to survive first.
"Boss, if you say so, I'm afraid they would be happy with it." Anton knew his men very well. If Rock really allowed them to marry Boer women, then I'm afraid -
The consequences could be disastrous.
"I wish..." Rock suddenly realized this problem. These Boers are all white people, big foreign horses.
"It's up to them. If they really find the right one, I don't mind them getting married. But all this must be based on mutual consent. If I find out that someone used force, everyone knows what happened to Rahul." Rock didn't force it. Everyone has their own aspirations. If the Chinese policeman can find a suitable girl, then it would be nice to start a family. There is plenty of space in Oak Town anyway, and it is convenient to build a house.
As for Rahul, that guy has now been exiled to Robben Island to keep Sharma company. August Russell is considering reducing the number of Indian police officers in the Cape Town Police Department and hiring them from the Qing Dynasty instead.
This is definitely a good thing, as it means there will be more and more Chinese people in Cape Town in the future.
