We started our first full day in South Africa with a lovely breakfast at our B&B - guava juice, cappuccino, fried eggs, grilled tomatoes, toast with Nutella, and passion fruit! So many of the things we missed from our time living in Uganda! We then got ourselves settled with reception (since it was too dark to do that last night!) and made some plans for our 48 hours in Jo'burg.
We started off our exploring at Bryanston Organic Market - a lovely outdoor market open 2 days a week. It has everything from local African crafts to fresh organic fruits and veggies and fancy french pastries! It was really wonderful to walk around and enjoy chatting with the vendors and perusing the different stalls. We found ourselves the fixings for an awesome picnic lunch - fresh baked baguette (supposedly the best in Jo'burg), blue cheese, hummus, and a belgian chocolate brownie for dessert! It was a beautiful morning soaking up the local flavor and admiring all of the beautiful crafts and foods.
After that, we used our new found Jo'burg navigational skills (much improved since yesterday, I should add) to spend the entirety of the afternoon at the Johannesburg Apartheid Museum.
The Apartheid Museum is an internationally known museum that traces the history of the Apartheid from hundreds of years ago to today. What an incredible few hours we had there! Upon entering the museum, the first thing that struck me was 7 large pillars standing over a reflection pool in the courtyard of the entrace. Each had a different word on it - democracy, equality, reconciliation, diversity, responsibility, respect, and freedom. Each of the pillars stood for one of the fundamental values of the new South African constitution. On a wall nearby, a quote by Nelson Mandela read: "To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in away that respects and enhances the freedom of others." What beautiful principals and words on which to found a country.
After that, we headed into the musuem. Our tickets had randomly assigned us as "white" or "non-white" and we had to use the corresponding entrance to begin our tour. I was assigned non-white, so I parted from Ryan and took my separate way into the museum. I walked through a corridor of faces of ID cards of other nonwhite South Africans - this was an interesting way to enter the museum in the mindset that color was a significant dividing factor throughout much of South Africa (and America's) history.
The museums walks its guests through the Apartheid history starting at the beginning of Jo'burg's population boom - when gold was discovered and a wide variety of people rushed to the area to try to get in on the fortunes that awaited. From there, it goes on to describe the emergence of slavery, the beginnings of the Apartheid movement as a political strategy, and the various leaders who emerged on both sides of the struggle for equality. It was an incredibly well done museum - absolutely packed with information and so, so many things to think about. I'll try to list a few of my key insights and thoughts while I went through - there was just so much there!
- Slavery in SA: I've always found it absolutely absurd that people would believe that they had the right to enslave a fellow human being, but while watching a movie near the beginning of the museum, it struck me as especially odd that this would have happened right here in Africa - African people enslaved by African settlers, to work the land that was already theirs, for the profit of someone else. What a bizarre injustice that European settlers would arrive in this land and feel that they had the right to capture and enslave the native people who lived here. Absurd! Disturbing! This is obviously not a new revelation, but being here in Africa and thinking about it, it struck me anew as completely outrageous. How has slavery been such a significant apart of world history?! I'll be learning more about SA's history of slavery at the Slave Lodge museum next week, so more pondering on that to come I'm sure...
- The transition from segregation to apartheid: I didn't realize that SA started with a policy of segregation - as more people of all races moved into the cities, leaders tried to develop a way to "deal with" the diversity present in the cities. What started with segregation, including burning areas where people had chosen to live in diversity, took a significant turn towards apartheid when the white leaders in power didn't feel that segregation was firm enough to keep people of different colors separate from one another.
- Nelson Mandela: Wow! Such an incredible leader and an incredible man!!! What an experience to be able to learn about this amazing man just months after he passed on. We got to visit a special temporary exhibit on Mandela, describing his role as a character, comrade, leader, prisoner, negotiator, statesman. It was powerful to follow his story from the son of an African chief in rural SA to his leadership of this incredible country. It is also amazing to consider the ways in which he was able to take the lead in this divided, grief stricken country, and turn it into a place where everyone can thrive! At the end of the exhibit were many favorite Mandela quotes (I love quotes!). Here are some of mine:
- "There are few misfortunes in the world that you cannot turn into a personal triumph if you have the iron will and the necessary skill."
- "The first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself"
- "I will support my friend even if he has been deserted by the entire world"
- "Running through the struggle like a golden thread was the indomitable human spirit and a capacity for self-sacrifice and discipline"
- People's willingness to give their lives for the cause: As with many revolutions and struggles for justice, the sheer number of people who suffered and died for this cause was staggering. In one room, 130 nooses hung from the ceiling, each representing a different political leader who had hung for their involvement in the anti-Apartheid movement. From there, we walked into an area with replications of solitary confinement cells - tiny, windowless spaces where political prisoners could be held any where from 60 - 540 days (without trial!) for their supposed involvement. This was so, so sobering...
- The turbulence of the later years of Apartheid: We learned today that more people died in final four years of Apartheid than the previous 42 years in which Apartheid existed. As different groups vied for power and stakes during political negotiations of the time, crazy violence and unrest ensued. During one part of the museum, we walked through a hallway with images and artifacts from political leaders trying to sort things out. Through windows in the hallways, we could observe video footage of what was happening in the world outside - riots, violence, weaponry trainings, etc. It was powerful. I guess it just goes to show that even when so much progress has been made, there can still be long way to go.
- The power of youth!: In the anti-apartheid struggle, the young people of SA played a huge part. Tomorrow celebrates the anniversary of the youth uprisings in Soweto, a township near Jo'burg, where young people rose up against the injustice they faced. We watched video footage of young people throughout the 1970's and 1980's that showed their impact on the movement. Without becoming violent, they became "ungovernable" - thus destroying the power that the corrupt political leaders held. It was powerful to see how even when the 'big guns" were in prison, the young could act and create change that created a turning point in the movement.
- The unfortunate commonalities of oppression: I've had the amazing experience to get to visit many monuments to overcoming injustice around the world. During my time in the museum, I was reminded of other halls I've walked through in other museums around the world that celebrated the victories of other groups in the face of awful oppression. From the DC Holocaust museum to the Rwandan Genocide museum in Kigali, it is disheartening to realize the many ways that people all over the world have done horrific things to one another. As I walked past pictures of unnamed people knowingly participating in a world that did such awful thing I just kept thinking - how could you? How can so many take part in such devastating acts against fellow human beings? It's saddening to realize the things that we are all capable of, and a good reminder to always be fighting and living in a way that creates justice and empowers everyone to live the life that they deserve.
After lingering in the museum until they closed the doors, we enjoyed a dinner and great debrief conversation at a restaurant near our B&B. As we were getting close to finishing our supper, we noticed the nearby grocery store was closing its doors. Having my heart set on a Magnum bar to finish off my night, I ran next door while Ryan paid the bill. Have no fear - we will soon be finishing this extraordinary day with two fresh Magnum bars! :-) It's the little things, right?
Tomorrow we will get to visit Soweto, the sight of the youth uprising in 1976, as well as tour the sights of Johannesburg. We've been in the country only 24 hours, but have already learned and seen so much!
Until tomorrow.....thanks for reading!
~emily~
PS - one more quote to leave you with from today:
"Good moral character is not something that we can achieve on our own. We need a culture that supports the conditions under which self love and friendship flourish." ~Aristotle
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