Jan is not the biggest fan of museums but tolerates it when traveling as a rite of passage. However, Yemi has visited many famous ones around the world that he really enjoyed - the Louvre in Paris, Van Gogh's in Amsterdam, the Tate in London, Uffizi in Florence, and many more especially in NYC. Yet, he confesses that none of these great cultural establishments gave him the feeling we both felt as we entered the Apartheid museum in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Chabu picked us up around 9am. He is a huge Zulu guy that had the best sense of humor one could hope for on a guided tour. He talked a lot about food and how "he wanted to give the ants who will eat him when he dies a run for their money."
He took us to Soweto, the "Top of Africa" - the continent's tallest building, past the twin towers to Orlando East and the Mandelas' houses. We even had a traditional lunch on the only street in the world to have two Noble Peace Prize winners living on it - Archbishop Tutu and Mandela. These we all very interesting but nothing close to the grand finale; our last stop at the Apartheid Museum.
Chabu gave us two entrance cards, one white and the other black. There were two gates to enter and we quickly realized that the cards' colors represented the race of who was allowed in. However, Chabu had wisely given Yemi the white only entrance card and Jan the black. As we walked down separate gates, lined with iron bars showcasing ID cards of people from that era and their respective "race classes", we were instantly consumed by a visceral glimpse of a time of racial segregation. It was the beginning of a very captivating journey through the sad era of apartheid.
We both knew about this tumultuous time in the country´s history but visiting this museum brought it to life. We watched a film about the history of South Africa pre-apartheid and learned about the original bushmen, the Batu people, the invasion of the Dutch and the eventual arrival of the British. The Dutch and British would later form a union owning 90% of the land, leaving the Africans disenfranchised. In the mid 20th century, the Dutch Afrikaners came to power and apartheid was born.
The museum had whole sections dedicated to Mandela, or Madiba as he was called. It covered his life as an attorney, his wife Winnie, his ability to co-opt people even in jail and his lessons learned while imprisoned. There were videos of interviews of Mandela, propaganda videos and footage showing the Afrikaner leaders defending this ruthless practice. It was all very experiential!
We had many interesting conversations with the locals during our time in South Africa and learned that they still have a long way to go when it comes to racial issues. Perhaps there's no better reflection of this than the fact that of all the countries we have visited, it was the one place where we both blended-in and stood-out at the same time as an interracial couple.
Throughout our journey in South Africa, we observed an economic inequality that was very stark and very much along racial lines. As we toured this BEAUTIFUL country, we pondered about how sustainable such imbalance in a society is. We are both staunch believers in humanity's ability to continue progressing and that is a belief that has definitely been reinforced on this trip. We think the people born after the Apartheid era, or "born frees" as they are called, are that beacon of light in South Africa.
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| The Orlando Twin Towers are decommissioned power stations that are now prominent Soweto landmarks. |
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| Our guide, Chabu, at the intersection of the 1976 Soweto uprising where students and police clashed. It is now dedicated to the youngest victim, Hector Pieterson. |
We both knew about this tumultuous time in the country´s history but visiting this museum brought it to life. We watched a film about the history of South Africa pre-apartheid and learned about the original bushmen, the Batu people, the invasion of the Dutch and the eventual arrival of the British. The Dutch and British would later form a union owning 90% of the land, leaving the Africans disenfranchised. In the mid 20th century, the Dutch Afrikaners came to power and apartheid was born.
a·part·heid
noun
- 1.(in South Africa) a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race.
The museum had whole sections dedicated to Mandela, or Madiba as he was called. It covered his life as an attorney, his wife Winnie, his ability to co-opt people even in jail and his lessons learned while imprisoned. There were videos of interviews of Mandela, propaganda videos and footage showing the Afrikaner leaders defending this ruthless practice. It was all very experiential!
Throughout our journey in South Africa, we observed an economic inequality that was very stark and very much along racial lines. As we toured this BEAUTIFUL country, we pondered about how sustainable such imbalance in a society is. We are both staunch believers in humanity's ability to continue progressing and that is a belief that has definitely been reinforced on this trip. We think the people born after the Apartheid era, or "born frees" as they are called, are that beacon of light in South Africa.
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| A house in Soweto with the last paragraph of Mandela's speech in Cape Town written on it |
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