It is a very strange feeling being back after 20 years.
My visit with Kerry, my sister, was bitter sweet. It was great to see her and the family, yet disturbing to see the "fortress" they live in. All the homes are for the most part in gated communities, they all have fences most with electric wires on top and gates that are automatically closed at all times.
I was always looking over my shoulder to make sure I was safe. I think that that part of my nervousness was the constant reminder by my family to be carefully and not stick out like a tourist, WHICH I AM!
I never felt comfortable or "at home" in Johannesburg.
Cape Town was a different story.
I have lots of fond memories of my university days in Cape Town in the mid 70's. I was able to find my way around without to much trouble.
My visit to Robben Island was very special.
I took an active part in the anti Apartheid demonstrations in Cape Town in 1972/73. It was surreal to see the cell and the conditions in which Nelson Mandela and the other political prisoners were kept.
We were guided through the complex by an ex-inmate.
The entrance to the Maximum Security Prison
on Robben Island
I took an active part in the anti Apartheid demonstrations in Cape Town in 1972/73. It was surreal to see the cell and the conditions in which Nelson Mandela and the other political prisoners were kept.
We were guided through the complex by an ex-inmate.
There are many shanty towns that have popped up around the towns. The Blacks are migrating to the towns looking for work and a better life. Under the Apartheid government they were forbidden to move around freely, they were given limited schooling to the age of 15 only.
Some of these shanty dwellings have been replaced by brick structures. Most of the Blacks that I speak to say that the biggest challenge is housing and work, and that the government is not moving fast enough to meet these needs. It is only 15 years since Mandela was voted into power ( another one of my special memories - voting for him in the first free elections to take place in South Africa at a poling booth se up in Irvine, California).
Some of these shanty dwellings have been replaced by brick structures. Most of the Blacks that I speak to say that the biggest challenge is housing and work, and that the government is not moving fast enough to meet these needs. It is only 15 years since Mandela was voted into power ( another one of my special memories - voting for him in the first free elections to take place in South Africa at a poling booth se up in Irvine, California).
The fact that there was no mass killings at the time of the change of government and the fall of Apartheid is a result of of the vision of Mandela.
He has set the tone for the new South Africa and everyone here knows that the future success of the country lies in the unity of all races here. This was emphatically spelled out by the ex political prisoner from Robben Island. It will take a new generation to realise this dream as there is still distrust and resentment on the part of the older generation that still remembers the dark times.
Those to young to have experienced Apartheid are the real "New South Africa".
He has set the tone for the new South Africa and everyone here knows that the future success of the country lies in the unity of all races here. This was emphatically spelled out by the ex political prisoner from Robben Island. It will take a new generation to realise this dream as there is still distrust and resentment on the part of the older generation that still remembers the dark times.
Those to young to have experienced Apartheid are the real "New South Africa".
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