"We are survival machines--robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes."----Richard Dawkins
I have been to Johannesburg twice and my husband once, and other than a single day of sightseeing last time, neither of us has ever really seen Johannesburg or left the airport. So this time, we determined that we will get out and see something. We started by touring the Cradle of Humankind Museum and Sterkfontien Caves. This area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. Within the Sterkfontein Caves, scientists have discovered many hominid and other animal fossils, dating back more than 4-million years, to the birth of humanity. The most important and most famous of these fossils are “Mrs Ples”, a 2.1-million-year-old Australopithecus skull, and “Little Foot”, an almost complete Australopithecus child's skeleton that is more than 3-million years old. These fossils, both found in the Sterkfontein Caves in the Cradle of Humankind, tell us much about the precursors of modern humans.
The "walk" through the cave is fun for modern humanity. The area is dimly lit but you get to see stalactites and a few stalagmites, as well as an underground lake of sorts. There is a bit of bending and even some crawling, but don't let it discourage you. The walkthrough takes you through the area where Mrs. Ples and Little Foot are still under excavation, so you can't really see them. But it is interesting to see the sink holes where the hominids appear to have accidentally fell into the cave system and died. There bones have slowly covered by and absorbed into the limestone and thus preserved. It's sad to imagine their fall which was probably thirty feet, unintentional and most likely, mostly greeted by darkness.
From the Cradle of Mankind Park, we went to the Maropeng Museum which is a very fascinating architectural structure composed partially of sod. It contains a museum of mankind--very much an interactive museum geared to young people, a hotel and a restaurant in this weirdly shaped complex. There's also a silly boat ride to nowhere, but we still enjoyed it.
One of the best parts of the Maropeng Park is a Walk to Freedom exhibit which is a display of lifesize sculptures of Nelson and Winnie Mandela, Walter and Albertina Sisulu and Oliver and Adelaide Tambo and behind them are 100 other life size sculptures of lesser known freedom fighters dating back to tribal era. It was fascinating to go through and read about all these "strong shoulders" that Mandela, Sisulu and Tambo stood upon to reach their lauded achievements. I realized that what I knew about South African history could fit on the head of a pin.
The following day, we took a guided all day tour called the Path to Liberation. We had a great guide, Mark, who owns Purple Hippo Tours. I realized that I only knew a scant history of apartheid and the establishment of democracy in South Africa, and this tour gave that fact greater emphasis,but also taught me a great deal about those who opposed and fought to destroy apartheid.
We started the tour at Liliesleaf Farm. This isn't actually the beginning of the Mandela Story. It's well into the middle or further. For a good read about Mr. Mandela, I highly recommend his autobiographical Long Walk to Freedom.
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| Building At The Farm |
However, Liliesleaf Farm was Mr. Mandela's hideout and a secret meeting place for the architects of apartheid destruction. The African National Congress, after years of peaceful, but not very effective protest, opened their military wing, the Spear of the Nation, meant to destroy infrastructure of South Africa and bring the white ruling class to the bargaining table. The farm was a "front" established by Russian operatives of the South African Communist party. Mr. Mandela assumed the alias David Motsamayi, a supposed gardener, cook and chauffeur at Liliesleaf, and to avoid suspicion lived, in the Farm's tiny Servants’ Quarters during this time.
At this excellent Museum, visitors can learn about the formation of the armed struggle against Apartheid and about the famous Rivonia Trial, which led Nelson Mandela and his comrades to be sentenced to life in prison on Robben Island. Nelson Mandela himself was already imprisoned, so not arrested in the raid, but written materials discovered at the Farm led to his trial for treason. Their attorney, Bram Fischer brilliantly managed to get them convicted for sabotage, punishable by life in prison instead of treason which was punishable by the death penalty.
Soon after the trial Fischer was arrested for contravening the Suppression of Communism Act. In 1966 he was found guilty of violating the act and conspiring to commit sabotage – he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He died on 8 May 1975 while still in prison. He was cremated and the prison refused to give the family his ashes. To this day, their location is unknown.
Another surprise fact we found out was that the ANC operated a tour company called the Africa Hinterland Camping Safaris which owned one safari truck (pictured below) that ran actual safaris into points north of Jo-burg for a very cheap price--because they were transporting guns and other materials of war in secret compartments unbeknownst to the tourists. The company operated until 1984 and each trip carried in approximately one ton of weapons from outside countries. They were never caught. There is an interesting film in the museum in which tourists were revisited and told the truth about the safaris. There was a broad range of responses from outrage to joy. Most agreed the safari was quite good and they would go again.
From here, we went on a tour of Soweto which is an acronym for South West Township. This was built to house African workers in the mines away from their white counterparts. There are only four roads into Soweto, meant to serve as a way of cutting the township off if deemed appropriate by apartheid leaders. It's a very colorful place with open markets, a variety of housing from good to atrocious, a large soccer stadium and is home to two Noble Prize winners living on the same street, Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
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| Soweto Plaza |
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| Soweto Plaza 2 |
Soweto is also the home of The Soweto uprising of June 16, 1976 . This was a truly shocking day - even by the extremes of South Africa's then hated apartheid regime. Thousands of children took to the streets to protest at the compulsory introduction of Afrikaans into schools - it was the language of the white minority and seen as a tool of oppression. While white children had free schooling, black families had to pay about half a month's average salary per child, as well as buy text books and stationery. Government spending on each white child was 644 rand - for black children it was 42. Many classes had as many as 60 pupils. And most black teachers could not speak Afrikaans. Black children were receiving a poor education and many were dropping out of school. Against this backdrop, the protesters gathered at Orlando soccer stadium. Students carried banners opposing the introduction of Afrikaans and were set to march from the high school to the soccer stadium. Organised by the Soweto Students' Representatives' action committee, the demonstration was supported by many teachers. Most parents were unaware the peaceful protest was taking place and did not know their children were in a dangerous position. When the crowd found their way blocked by police, they moved towards Orlando High School. There, police fired teargas and students responded by throwing stones. Police began shooting at the children. A picture of dying Hector Pieterson being carried away became a symbol of the Soweto uprising. The photographer who took it, Sam Nzima, said: "I saw a child fall down. Under a shower of bullets, I rushed forward and went for the picture. It had been a peaceful march, the children were told to disperse, they started singing Nkosi Sikelele, the South African National Anthem. The police were ordered to shoot." There are various reports of how many people died - 176 is the figure usually given but some estimates put the toll at 700.
What is certain is that the events of that day ensured the rest of the world woke up to what was happening in South Africa. Protests and violence spread into other townships in the days after June 16. By the end of 1976, thousands had been killed and injured by the police and many more arrested. It took many years of international and domestic pressure before Nelson Mandela was freed from prison in 1990, ending the horror of apartheid South Africa.
From this point, we returned to downtown Johannesburg and constitution hill. This area served as a prison for many years and various unfair imprisonments in horrible conditions, including solitary confinement (usually with the prisoner unclothed) and torture took place. Today it is the site of the highest court in South Africa, the Constitutional Court. Judges do not serve for life, but for 12 years. It is a throwback in concept to the tribal "judgment under a tree." In tribes, disputes were settled by meeting with the tribal leaders under a tree. The whole village could attend while the leaders considered the grievances and they could contribute to the case. It was a transparent process and everyone living there would know first hand what transpired. In the Constitutional court, citizens of South Africa have the right to attend proceedings and contribute. Judges are seated below the people to show their servants role. Interestingly, there is also an art museum with a revolving set of exhibits in the court.
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Constitutional Court |
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| Constitutional Court Hallway |
Downtown Johannesburg is a really problematic area. When apartheid was ending, the business moved several miles out and basically built an entirely new financial and business center, leaving the central city to rot, more or less. And it is still in VERY bad shape. We visited what was at one time and may still be the highest tower in Africa and had a 360 degree view of the area. These photos don't really show the devastation that still exists well, but downtown is full of squatters and a lot of crime with a few exceptions. Our guide said he had folks ask for a room "downtown" when they came and he had to get them to understand that's not a good idea.
Johannesburg is an incredibly dense urban area and it appears to be surrounded by mountains, many of which are tailings from former mining operations.
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| Central Jo'burg |
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| Central Jo'burg |
Overall, it was an overwhelming but amazingly informative day and it makes me want to know more about South Africa and its history that in so many ways parallels our own history in the USA.
"Johannesburg is weird, because half of it is like Los Angeles. It feels like just wealthy parts of L.A. But half of it is severe slummy, something like Rio De Janiero or something. So it's kind of weird, because it's both happening at the same time."--Neil Blomkamp
Paul's Ponderings: We learned a lot about Joburg on this trip, despite our short stay. As the quote above says/alludes, it's a complex place. Really poor areas that are really dangerous and very rich and no different than suburban LA or what have you. And it is a HUGE sprawling area to boot. And getting bigger all the time it appears. That said, we've had a good time here. South Africa is a really complex place and well worth a visit.
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