Feb 21-07: Returning Home & Parting Thoughts on South Africa

Photos: all scenes from the Apatheid Museum

I have been thinking a lot in the past few days, of what I would say if someone asked me to sum up our South African experience. So many incredible words and statements have come to me, or I have read over the past weeks, that speak to the heart of this truly incredible country. As fate would have it, many of those words have been Mr. Mandela’s, as he is quoted in different places, everywhere you go. His words are often the most profound and visionary when speaking about the people of is country:

"It is our privilege as South Africans to be living at a time when our nation is emerging from the darkest night into the bright dawn of freedom and democracy".
"Had the new South Africa emerged out of nothing, it would not exist."

The central theme I keep coming back to is a “land of contrasts”, from the very rich to the very poor, white and black, so many languages and cultures represented, and as TK, our guide yesterday called it “the good, the bad and the ugly” all together. As incongruous as it seems to be, South Africans manage to fit it all together like some tapestry of experience that includes an incredibly painful (and very recent/raw) history, along with a capacity for forgiveness that I have never witnessed previously in my life. And above it all, everyone we met talked about the future, and their excitement about creating a new and better South Africa for all people here, regardless of colour. Their capacity for resolution, for hope for the future, it just amazed me. And its all the more humbling when one thinks of their incredibly painful history, and the still very harsh reality for many of its black citizens.

The mystery is, how do they do this, how can they keep this incredible attitude, hope and vision for the future? I think it has to do with South Africans themselves, there is something there is unique to this country that creates visionary thinking – call it national pride, whatever you like, its real and palpable, everywhere you go. And the impact of Mr. Mandela can never be underestimated – his presence is felt everywhere in the country, and his profound words can be found everywhere. I think there are few men than have been greater visionaries or better leaders than this man, anywhere in the world. And SA has the great fortune to be able to call him their own. It is very clear, after you see and hear everything, that if he had been a different man, he could have led his country into a bloodbath, from which it might have never recovered. Instead he chose reconciliation and forgiveness, and a commitment to document and remember the past and the country’s painful history, but not to be bound by it, and dragged under by anger.

"My country is rich in the minerals and gems that lie beneath its soil, but I have always known that its greatest weath is its people, finer and truer than the purest diamonds"
- Nelson Mandela

Its truly astounding, but perhaps in a way it fits perfectly with the general life outlook of South Africans... The core of this attitude for black South Africans is the ideology of ubuntu, which I heard spoken about in a number of places. It’s a concept that defies easy translation, but speaks to the concept of the place of the individual in the community, and responsibility that goes with that…some of the better descriptions are “I am because we are", or "I am what I am because of what we all are", and "A person 'becomes human' through other persons". It is not just words for Africans, but a way of living and interacting that is very much alive in their communities. And this sense of absolute inclusivity is all the more ironic when one considers the meaning of apartheid, which means to be apart or separated. The spirit of ubuntu extends to all races, and I was continually confronted with the fact that black South Africans feel strongly that all people living here are equal South Africans, with the right to be here, and a responsibility to make it the best country it can be.

"We do face major challenges, but none are as daunting as those we have already surmounted".
- Nelson Mandela, 1996

One of the signs at the Apartheid Museum, in the first section that talks about the discovery of the oldest human remains in SA, says simply the following:

Humanity was born in Africa.
All people, ultimately, are African.

Given how we were so warmly welcomed, everywhere we went, then I can confidently say that this is the way all South Africans make you feel, as if you belong here. We will be back, without a doubt. This place creeps into you, and I don’t think you are ever completely free of it. And I cannot think of anything more wonderful.

Feb 20-07: Our Final Day in South Africa

Photos: various views of Soweto homes

Well, it’s been a whirlwind 3 weeks, I can hardly believe everything we have seen and done. Our last day was spent in a most fitting and perfect way – a day long tour of the community of Soweto, finishing with a visit to the incredible Apartheid Museum.

Soweto is not at all what I expected it would be, and I now know that Canadians generally have no correct ideas of the place. First of all, it’s a HUGE city – almost 4½ million people live there! Is a bustling city like any other, with multiple suburbs, schools, the biggest hospital in South Africa, 2-3 major soccer stadiums, a university…the list goes on and on. The range of the houses, from very opulent homes owned by professionals, to more modest middle class houses, down to the very worst shantytowns (they call these “informal settlements” in SA, which simply means they have established illegally, and primarily by refugees to the country).

The one thing I did notice, is that the sense of community and aliveness that seem to have been missing so far from my experience of JoBurg – this I found in Soweto – if Jozi has a heart and soul, then Soweto is it. The city has a bustling economy, and is growing rapidly – with a whole new business in B&B’s, restaurants and tourism. Our guide was a young man, born and bred in Soweto, and the pride he has in his community was very evident – he told us time and again how everyone in his city gets along in the spirit of ubuntu. You can see a real change here than in the white townships – gone are the electric fences and security gates, and people LIVE on the streets, and from our guide described, they have a rich and active community life.

He drove us all around town, and showed us the wide variety of communities, houses, businesses, and we were completely astounded by Soweto – it is clear that Sowetans are very proud of their community, and want people to know that they are a happy people above everything else. With the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 World Cup to take place in their major stadium, its clear they cannot wait to share Soweto with the world. I now know that this is the heart of JoBurg, where its sense of live, culture and energy comes from.

One of our first stops in Soweto was the Regina Mundi Catholic Church, the largest Catholic Church in the community, and a site of great historical significance for the community – the name means “Queen of the World”. In the days of Apartheid, blacks were not allowed to be seen in public in groups of more than 2 persons, for fears that they might be plotting against the government – they could be (and were) arrested should any gatherings take place. So, the churches became the places where people could congregate, and this church became a haven of sorts for that purpose, and the site of many political meetings. “When protesting students were fired at by police on their way to Orlando Stadium on June 16 1976, and Hector Pieterson and many others were killed, the students fled for sanctuary to Regina Mundi. With buckets of water at the ready, they managed to douse the teargas canisters thrown into the church by police. But then police stormed the church, firing live ammunition. Although no one was killed, many were injured and the church's sacred symbols were damaged. The broken marble alter, the bullet holes in the ceilings and the damaged figure of Christ all bear testimony to the terrible lack of restraint shown by police that day.” Although the church is now undergoing some renovations, they are leaving some of the bullet holes, the damaged alter, and statue of Jesus with the blown away hands, all as painful reminders of the sacrilege that was visited upon the church that day.

The next stop on our tour was the Hector Pieterson Memorial & Museum, commemorating the transformative events of June 16, 1976. This was an incredibly moving building (and the memorial built outside) – Hector, 12, was one of the first casualties of the Soweto uprising of 16 June, 1976, when over 500 high school students were killed as they protested over the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in township schools. The resulting reaction by the police, rioting ad subsequent protests by students across the country, was the spark that started a massive change across the Nation towards the end of Apartheid. So the events of that day hold a very special significance for both the nation, and the people of Soweto, and fitting that it should be memorialized appropriately.

Our lunch break was at a Soweto institution, Wandie’s Place. Excellent (and abundant) buffet, more eating! The walls of the place are papered with cards from people all over the world, and a wide variety of famous people have eaten here, James Brown, lots of Hollywood stars and politicians. Quite the place!

Then we visited Mr. Mandela's old house in Soweto, which has now been turned into a Museum. Such a tiny little place, really, but opulant by the standards of the neighbourhood. Down the street is the house of Bishop Tutu, hence the street is famous for having two Noble Prixe winers once living on it.

Our final day in South Africa concluded with a visit to the Apartheid Museum, a truly marvelous museum complex, that takes a few hours to walk through and absorb. Mr. Mandela was very, very smart when he decided to build these museums and memorials, as many of them were finished within a few years of his release, or his terms as President. They are all incredibly powerful symbols, and allow a very concrete sign that the events of the past will not be forgotten and will be properly memorialized and documented. They were all places that were extremely well done, both to accurately document the horrors of those times, and express hope for the future. The Museum is really well done, very informative, tells the whole history of colonization, apartheid, and the aftermath. Some of my favourite parts were the entry way – when you arrive you are given either a “Europeans Only” or “Non Whites” entry card, and then you have to enter through the separate doors marked as such – this takes you through two parallel hallways, showing the experience of being segregated. Very well thought out way of helping you understand how it must have felt to be treated like that. And then you walk up a long outside walkway, which has these great installations of photos (front and back) of people of different races, life-size, as if they are walking up with you, and they have been mounted onto mirrored panels – it is designed to show how all the races belong together in the journey of the South African nation, and the mirrors allow the viewer to become part of that journey, that community. One of the most effective public art works I have ever seen, really well done. Hence, I took a lot of photos of it…

The sign upon your exit from the Museum perfectly sums up South Africa’s view on all of it:

“Coming to terms with the harsh realities of apartheid and its lasting effects is a process of unburdening. It is painful to some and liberating to others. Take a moment to walk and contemplate the beauty of this, our country. Think about what has gone before and what is still to come.

And then walk away free".

Feb 19-07: Johannesburg City Tour

Photos: views of the new Constitutional Court & old prison building for black inmates; view of new Court building from old solitary confinement cells; MA at the Mai Mai Market; scenes from downtown Jozi;

“You must know your past and the cruelty that was committed to your people. But don’t keep this too much in mind because we are here to build a new South Africa. That is what you must commit yourselves to. You remember what has happened in the past so that, in future, you can avoid it.”

- Nelson Mandela, upon his return to the Old Fort prison in 2003

We took and organized tour of JoBurg (or Jozi as the locals also call it), to get a better sense of the city. JoBurg is actually quite huge – the population totals are often estimated, since there are many “unauthorized:” settlements and more refugees from neighbouring countries coming in all the time, so I don’t think anyone knows how many people there are for sure – but it is estimated somewhere between 6-8 million. The city has a number of suburbs/townships within that, and it’s very spread out, comprising over 250 square kilometers. Our first stop was Constitutional Hill, where South Africa highest constitutional court was built just a few years ago. It site on the site of an old Boer fort, which was built to protect the city from the original British invasion, and then later served as a prison for both white and black residents. It’s history in this century is best know for it housed ANC and white anti-apartheid political prisoners, as well as those who were incarcerated for more minor infractions (for example, being caught without your pass card was a jailable offense for blacks) – the prison housed both men and women, in very deplorable conditions. Mandela was also jailed here for a time when he was first arrested, before he was moved to Robben Island. You can see his old cell, and they have a great collection of his personal writings etc. kept there. He was moved from the black prison across the compound to the larger white prison – he was told it was because he could have a larger room to have his books and prepare his case. But the warders feared he would escape (there was an escape plan in the works that never came to pass), and they felt they would be able to spot one black prisoner amongst a large group of white men, and be able to shoot him, should he try to escape.

They have built the new Constitutional Court building adjacent to the site of the prisons, and have incorporated both building beautifully, and have built a museum through the jail site, through which you are toured and told about its history. They have incorporated some incredible public art and architectural details, rich with symbolism for a new and building country. And the fact that the Constitutional Court, which defends their new Charter of Rights document, is incredible important and meaningful to South Africans. The whole complex was built in 1994, and sits on a major hill in town. It’s an incredibly moving experience to witness it. Again you are struck by how YOUNG the country is, in terms of when apartheid was banished and SA became a fully free nation.

We left there and visited the downtown core – Duncan, our guide, explained that the reason that we were seeing only black people on the streets is that the white workers drive directly to their offices, and then return to their (predominately white) suburbs at the end of the workday. If you drove by some large office buildings, you could see white workers congregated into lobby restaurants having lunch; but you rarely see a white person on the street, it’s truly bizarre. The city is very bustling, lots of activity, but still quite segregated – very strange when coming from a place like Vancouver, where one is so used to have so many different people everywhere, and getting to enjoy that diversity every day on the street with others. I think it goes to a larger sense of paranoia amongst white JoBurg residents – partly it’s come from a place of reality, since from everything that people told us (white and black) the crime rate in the 1990’s was ferocious. So bad, in fact, a number of major businesses packed up and left the downtown business district – we saw a number of office buildings desperately trying to rent out space, and two major hotels that sit abandoned – Duncan told us that both these hotels were forced to shut down because of the high crime rates and lack of tourists. But signs of change are everywhere on Jozi residents seem to be unfailingly positive about how things are getting better – I think especially since the 2010 World Cup is coming here, so they have high hopes for a return to better days for the city. There are renovation and building projects going on in a number of areas – one major one is an area called New Town, which has the new Museum of Africa and a music district, bars etc. The issue of crime is high on everyone’s list of issues here, regardless of colour. We personally had no issues, and the guides said that of course we were avoiding areas that are particularly bad. Driving through the predominantly white suburbs is a study in security…high fences, electrical fences, armed monitored alarm, security guards (our lovely little hotel had all of these, although done in a very non-overt way if that’s possible). They are certainly quite frightened, that much is clear. But then again, the stories keep coming – the woman from the tour company who picked us up at airport (who is white) said that she has been mugged, as have all of her female friends and relatives. And rape is a constant concern as well, as its quite common. And black-on-black violence is even worse. But all residents here seem to love their city, and have no intention of leaving. And by everyone’s assessment, things are much better and are improving all the time.

We also visited the Mai Mai Market, a traditional African healers market in a section of downtown – it’s a very odd place, and not a place where tourists go, only a place for locals. There are a variety of store fronts where the Sangoma ply their trade (traditional healers, or they also call them witch doctors here) – Africans prefer to visit the Sangoma before the “western” style doctors and hospitals we were told. It is largely traditional/herbal treatment, but they also utilize various animal parts (lots of animal skins, bones and other parts). It was a really interesting window of African culture – but also clear they don’t get many tourists there from the odd looks we were getting throughout the place. I was glad we were able to go there with the guide. We didn’t want to take too many photos there, it seemed intrusive in a way – but Steve took a few quietly with his point-and-shoot digital camera which is much less obvious than our SLR. I bought a lovely necklace and bracelet from a nice woman there (your birthday present Carol!); later we went to the African Craft Market and found your Zulu mask, Leslie, for your birthday as well. I wanted to buy a cow hide rug (they have some really cool ones here and cheap), but Steve wasn’t a fan of the idea…have to work on him so I can buy it on my next visit!

We finished our evening back at the Peech Hotel, which has turned out to be just a really lovely boutique hotel, very comfortable, only 8 rooms, so it feels very intimate and cozy. Had two excellent dinners there, mostly because we were too lazy to call a cab and go elsewhere. That’s the one thing about JoBurg I could never get used to – not being able to stroll around in the evening and enjoy the city. You kind of feel like a prisoner in your hotel – a very comfortable prisoner, but nevertheless…

Feb 18-07: Arrived Safe in JoBurg

We arrived safely in JoBurg in the last hour, were picked up by our tour company, and are relaxing at the Peech Hotel, a very nice and very modern place. Weather is considerably cooler than Sabi Sands, so its a nice break. We have full wireless access here, so will probabloy make a few Skipe calls to the parents etc., and we;ll be on messenger. I had a million photos to upload to Flickr, so perhaps should try and do a few of those. I am SO pleased with some of the photos I took on safari, some are truly great.

The 5am rise is catching up with us now, so we may just have a relaxing dinner at their restaurant in the hotel and relax this evening. We have a full day tour of JoBurg booked for tomorrow, so looking forward to that very much. Our last two days in South Africa, then we'll be on the plane home!

Oh, and there are new photos on the Flickr site, and more safari ones coming, so have a look!

Feb 18-07: Safari Last Day

Again all good things must come to an end. And the past few days have been a truly unbelievable time, a one-in-a-lifetime experience. Although we hope to make it more
often than that, and come back again. Everyone should do an African safari in their lifetime, if at all possible. The experience has defied description for us.

This was our last morning here at Djuma, we fly out at 1:45 pm, back to JoBurg. We’ve been here 3 nights, almost 4 full days, ands its been a perfect amount of time, as we were able to see all of the Big Five, plus a lot of other animals. Our tracker & guide, James and Solly are really skilled at their job, and they obviously love what they do.I think the early mornings are catching up with us today, pretty slow going at our 5am wake-up call today. But it’s all really worth it, we saw more wildebeest and giraffe, and caught up with the full family of spotted hyenas as well. More coffee and Amarula on the morning break, and another sumptuous breakfast buffet. We have met some interesting folks – the past two days its largely been a large group of French and two couples from Germany – their English is limited (and my French is VERY rusty), but we communicated to basics pretty well. We also flew in with a young English couple, who were just married last December, and are here on their honeymoon, which is very sweet.

Feb 17-07: Now for Something Completely Different: Real Africa Part 3

Photos: kids from the village; woman cooking mealie; little Moambique girl; gathering water from the well; firewood pile; cooking hut; kitchen; Steve & james at James' house; kids from the village hamming it up for the camera

One of the very special things you can take advantage of here at Vuyatela is a tour of the local communities – today our tracker, James, took us to his community, a town of maybe 700 people called Dixie, about 10 kilometers from here. He very kindly took us around, introduced us to people, and encouraged us to take photos. Although it was an odd feeling to take photos like some looky-loo, they seem to have no serious issue with it (or if they do, no one says, so I guess its hard to know). The cost of our tour (about R140 per person, or about $55 total) is donated back to the school in the community, which is great, that they reap the benefits from it. Plus, coming there represents cash into the community, so they are OK with that.

The people in this area are known as the Shangaan. It is truly incredible the way that people live here, although on average, their living conditions are an order of magnitude better than what happens in the shantytowns in the major cities. There is no running water, no plumbing, no electricity. James showed us that power lines have been strung through the communities, but there has been no hook up to the houses, with the exception of the school. And until the government gets around to doing that, they will remain without electricity. They cook on open fires, in small huts, some concrete, some more simply constructed. The living houses are separate, as are some of the bathing huts. They have government-issued outhouses, which is good.

James told me that the women do a great deal of the hard work, spending much of the day gathering water (the wells/taps are always a distance away), and they carry or take large water jugs in wheelbarrows over to the pipes to gather water, probably a few times a day. Even the very small children are working, carrying water. And the women do all the cooking, and child care etc. etc. Nonku (who is the esthetician here at the Lodge) tells me that is these more rural communities, things are very traditional, and women do a great deal of the manual labour all day. Some of the men have jobs, as do many of the women, the game lodges in the area seem to be one of the biggest employers for most of the people here. James says that wages are not great, but they make their real money from tips from the guests.

They raise cows and goats for milk and eating, and grow corn and beans, which are the biggest staples in the diet. They make a kind of corn meal, cooked, called mealie pap, which they cook most days on open fires. You can see some photos that I took of a woman doing just that. The elementary school is in Dixie, and the high school is down the road in the community of Utha, which is 3 km – the kids of Dixie walk too and from the high school each day. If we had visited on a weekday (today is Saturday), we would have visited the school, where you get to meet the kids etc. Consequently, the kids kept running up the car, posing, yelling at us, asking us to take their photos. And they all ran out and waved to us – they were so wonderful, and incredibly friendly. I guess young children all over the world are not so different after all. We plan to make some prints and send them back to James, he can give them to the families. Along with some things we can collect for the community and the school. Kids clothes are really very much needed as are supplies for the school etc.

Each of the communities is governed by a village leader, which is a hereditary position. And there is a Chief, who lives about 200 km away, he governs an area that includes about 14 villages, James tells us.

One of his first stops was his father’s house. His father is a guide with Londolozi Game Lodge and has been for over 30 years. As the youngest son, James was supposed to have stayed in his father’s house and lived there with his family, but he explained that his father’s second (current) and James’ wife did not get along and were fighting all the time, so he bought his own house. To get a house, you must first pay for the land, which is about 500 rand, and ask the permission of the village leader. Then you need to make the bricks and have help in constructing the house – the make the bricks in the village, James showed us a load of sand that has been delivered to his house that he said he’ll be using to do that on his next leave.

James is married and has 2 boys. His wife and kids were away, she is visiting her sister in a nearby village. He showed us a small grave in the backyard, a couple of months ago, his 8-month old daughter died, and she is buried close. We were very touched at his openness and being willing to share that with us. And our hearts went out to him.

He drove us around the village, and also a section near the back where a group of Mozambique refugees are now living. They are in the country illegally, and so have no papers and cannot work officially, but some of them find work under the table at the local lodges. Otherwise they simply do without. And if the government chooses to, they can send them home. But for now, they seem to have settled in where they are. Hard to believe they could have less than the Shangaan, but they do.

We also saw the wells from where they carry water, a long distance for some each day. And I don’t any of it is treated, so who knows whether it is safe to use. The kids were so happy to se us, they came running from everywhere, and they all waved. I was amazed by the generosity and so many smiling faces.

We stopped at a small craft market on the way out where I bought some placemats and a sculpture, at least leave a bit of money in the local economy. There have so little, its amazing.

We had a long chat with James on the way back, to ask him what they might need most in the village – he said anything for the school would be most welcome, as would clothes for the kids (many of them are barely in anything), and he gave us an address where we could send him some things. So we plan to pack up a box of things for the kids, school supplies and clothing etc., and send it along once we get home. If any of our friends or family have old kids clothes that you’d like to donate to this, it would be so much appreciated. I think we’ll make this an annual tradition at Christmas.

Feb 17-07: Safari Day 3

Our game drive last night was fairly quiet again, although we did see a herd of water buffalo …VERY closely I might add, and they are HUGE, REALLY HUGE. The have heads like armour plating, and when they stare at you, its very disconcerting, like they are looking right through you. The angle of the shots goes directly into the sun, so the photos are not that great. They set up evening drinks and nibblies by the hippo water hole, where we watched the sun set and had a very civilized drink together. A rest stop is part of every outing, with either drinks, or coffee and muffins in the morning. Dinner was again another excellent spread last night, seems to be non-stop eating around here! We all crashed early, as 5am comes VERY early.

The weather this morning was clouded over, but much cooler (thank god), they said it was well over 35 celcius yesterday…and with no breeze, it seemed like you could melt within moments. We all laid low yesterday afternoon. Our game drive this morning was really productive – we were joking with Solly that we’d like to order a cheetah and rhino, since those were the only two that we had not yet seen. As fate would have it, not long after the other team had spotted both, so we raced over to where they were (sort of like a roller coaster in a jeep down these dirt roads!), and there was both a cheetah and rhino in the same field! We spent some time with the cheetah first, Solly tells us that its rare to see them, maybe only once a month they see one. Then we had to do a little tracking to find the rhinos again, but Solly is very good at what he does. We picked up their trail in a large field, three white rhino males. I have some awesome photos of them, again, we got so close! And our luck was on a roll today, in the same field behind them was a large family of elephants, 4 adults, two babies (Solly says the babies were under a year old). So, we again spent some time with them, and so very close, the pictures I got, well, I am amazed at our good luck so far. Its going to be very hard to edit those down…

And our safari trip tonight we saw another group of lions, we caught them in the late afternoon when they were totally flaked out. They tell us that lions are very lazy during the day and all they do is sleep. As you can see from the photos, we were no more than 20-30 feet and they slept pretty much the whole time, didn’t worry at all about us! Then they did do a little moving around, and I since they were so close, again, I was blessed with a few stunning photo opportunities. We’ve been SO VERY lucky with animal sightings on this trip so far…