Before arriving, I imagined Bara's
predominantly black population might take issue with or at least notice that I
look different. Curiously, nobody has commented. Initially I believed this was
due to them just being thankful to receive any care at all. Non-EMS intakes can
wait upwards of 3 hours to be seen, regardless if they come in with traumatic
eye, brain, or orthopedic injuries. Nonetheless, for the Soweto poor, this is
their only option.
However, today I had another thought. I suspect
the only racial difference these under-served blacks draw is black vs. not
black. There is no Asian, just as there is no Australian, British, Indian, etc.
There is only what they know and see everyday, and then everyone else in the
hospital who is different from them – different in race, social, and economic
station. There is only us vs. them.
I was curious how providers felt about this
discrepancy. I asked one of the white interns how he felt. He didn't really
seem to notice it. Then I asked one of (few) black interns how she felt about
the issue. She didn't seem to really care. I suppose doctors draw that same
divide – the patients are not like us.
