Anna Mayr

Anna Mayr is currently studying in the Global Studies Programme, a master of social sciences, jointly offered by Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg, Germany, UKZN and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Looking back at her semester in Durban, she remembers the city as a rich field for observations on aspects of globalisation, identities, perspectives and opinions, leading to never ending discussions at the coffee shop.

In their chapter, Glimpses through the Cage of Fear: International Students experience Durban, Anna and Ravi Baghel show that crime—or rather talk about crime—is one of the main things to hit outsiders when they arrive in South Africa. The writers provide an account of their experiences as international students: not of crime, but of crime discourse. They discuss the dramatic impact of the fear of crime on their lives, as conveyed in conversations with South Africans and reflected in the security arrangements in their neighbourhood. They consider how this made them feel like prisoners in their home. They were eventually brave enough to go downtown to experience aspects of Durban which they would have otherwise missed out on. Their piece also draws attention to the ways fear of crime restricts the movements of women; they refer to women venturing into public spaces in Durban only if accompanied by their fellow male students.

Reference:
Baghel, Ravi, and Mayr, Anna. 'Glimpses through the Cage of Fear: International Students experience Durban', in Rob Pattman and Sultan Khan (Eds.), Undressing Durban (Durban: Madiba Press, 2007), pp. 228-234.