Durban, South Africa

Durban was a tough sell. In the lead up to our arrival we were aware of the personal security issues associated to Durban and it didn't exactly inspire. There's a designated area of water just outside the port named The Dump and that kind of set the tone.

The big draw for our guests were the tours, mainly headed out to various game reserves. It certainly wasn't the city. Perhaps there's another Durban that I didn't see or experience but the one that I did simply didn't offer enough for me to make the effort.

This feeling was exacerbated by the whole vibe upon arrival. Arriving into South Africa meant immigration. The welcome into the country wasn't exactly warm. South Africa has a very clear and well documented history of racism and discrimination in relatively recent times. You'd be forgiven for thinking that this has been addressed across the decades but it really hasn't, although I suppose you could argue that it's changed tack. I guess you could also argue that positive discrimination is being employed in an effort to provide balance? Personally it felt a little more like simple discrimination aimed at anyone white or Indian and this comes as a result of the countries legacy. Almost an opportunity to make a point of punishing you for the crimes of forefathers who shared the same skin colour.

My example is very basic and not one to get too upset about and I only mention it here as it set a tone and it felt avoidable. It was also about perception. Immigration was painfully slow and the ship normally has a system whereby those that have critical functions on board get fast tracked through to allow them to be back on board, should the ship experience a safety critical event, such as a fire or a medical emergency, both of which are not unusual. The severity is often low (thankfully), but a reason for that is that the right people are on hand to deal with the situation. More often than not, those of us in those roles are officers, more often than not, those officers tend to be white or Indian, other nationalities are represented but I'd say the majority are the former. We all get pushed through immigration so we can resume our emergency duties on board.

However, it was very clear that this was perceived locally as a privilege bestowed due to race and this was made very clear both verbally and through positive action. No one was to get any priority regardless of the rationale. To be clear, this is an operational need and not a privilege. Don't get me wrong, of course it is convenient not to have to queue. My team need to get through so they can resume their security role, relieve one another for meal breaks etc, as such I need them through and back to duty sharpish. I can't have them standing in a queue for an hour. Despite efforts to represent this need, immigration were unmoved and if your nationality suited them, they'd push others to the front. It came across as unprofessional and unnecessary. However, there's a history there that clouds judgement and were I have been on the receiving end of that, maybe I'd also seize the opportunity to seek small petty revenge in the form of inconveniencing others through the power I yield. It's hard to relate to that sort of oppression having been raised in a society where I have never personally experienced discrimination.

Regardless of how I dress it up or come across as understanding it meant losing a morning and losing any particular will to go ashore. However, I didn't lose any sleep over it to be honest. It's a shame but not that surprising to see this in action.

Additionally we were warned about safety. Durban has a pretty poor safety and security culture where life appears to be pretty cheap. We were told under no circumstances that we were to go on foot outside of the port. Last time the ship was here two crew members were stabbed.

Roll all of this into one and I was content to abandon any thoughts of going ashore. Durban can be consigned to somewhere we docked and leave it at that.

We sailed that evening, the day had been uneventful thankfully with everyone making it back on board without any incident.

Onwards to overnight in Cape Town!!!