Johannesburg

The morning of the 16th, Matt, Nate and I woke up and packed our gear. Matt was feeling pretty crumby, so I rushed to make us something to eat, then the taxi arrived to take us to the airport. After 20 minutes of driving, with 10 minutes more until the airport and about 45 more until our flight, I realized I had left our phone at the hostel. Oh well. As Matt reassured me, "it's the best possible time to lose it!"

So, after a short flight we arrived in Johannesburg (to read the recent societal conflict in Joburg, please read the BBC article here), and after a few obstacles related to transportation, we finally arrived at our new backpackers. I investigated the hostel and nearby shopping center while Matt rested for a few hours. Then Nate arrived and, after some dinner, we decided on our plans for the following day before bed.

The next morning, we stopped by a pharmacy for Matt then headed to the Apartheid Museum. Before we walked through the front door, we were randomly assigned races then split up. We were reunited within minutes, but it underscored how suddenly you can be separated from people you care about. Personally, I think the skin color, family, and nationality any person is born into are a matter of chance. And I think everyone should be treated equally, without regard for those characteristics; but not everyone subscribes to that belief.

In the museum, we learned that the appalling system of segregation didn't end until 1991. We learned about the forced removals of families from their homes and the separate townships built hold different races. We learned about the Pass Laws, which forced people to carry identification so the police could monitor and restrict their movements. And we learned about the Sharpeville Massacre (which happened at a protest against the Pass Laws) and the Soweto Uprising (to oppose the teaching of children in Afrikaans). But we also learned about people like Mandela, Biko, and Sisulu and organizations like the ANC. It was a very emotional and educational few hours.


After we left the museum, it was time for Nate to catch his bus to the airport. We said goodbye and he hitched his ride. He headed home to the US to stay, for the first time in 4 years, and Matt and I were back to the original two travelers again.

That afternoon, Matt had a rest while took care of some last minute trip chores. I spent about an hour in the sun, trying to get the tan I knew people at home would expect and then showered before heading out. I walked quite a distance to a large market where I bought the souvenirs that I had been wanting throughout the trip (having to carry every bracelet and trinket on my back really restricted my souvenir purchases :). I took a taxi back to the hostel that evening and Matt and I had dinner before re-packing our bags (in the dark because of a planned power outage) for the final time and hitting the hay.

The following morning, we were up early for our tour of Soweto, or the south western townships of Johannesburg (to learn more about the famous area, please visit the Wiki article here). These were constructed during Apartheid to house the black population of the city but were not well-known outside of SA until the Soweto Uprising in 1976. As we drove around the area, our guide educated us on the different forms of housing and the evolution of the area into the 21st Century. We stopped at various landmarks like Nelson Mandela's and Desmond Tutu's former homes as well as visiting the Hector Pietersen Memorial Museum and the Regina Mundi Catholic Church. Pietersen was 13 when he was killed during the Soweto Uprising and his name has become synonymous with tragedy.



On June 16th, 1976, a large group of students set out to march in protest of the recent decision to mandate the teaching of children in Afrikaans. The students didn't speak the language and wanted instead to be taught in their native languages. During the protest, unrest mounted and eventually shots broke out. One of the first casualties was young Hector Pietersen who became a martyr to the cause. Afterwards, as his picture circulated throughout the press around the world, it garnered support against the Apartheid government.


After our tour of Soweto, we were taken back to the backpackers where we grabbed our bags and hopped on a bus. In a half hour, we were at the Johannesburg airport. We had to wait several hours there, sending postcards and reading books, before our flight left. It was a 19 hour flight with a long fuel layover in Dakar, Senegal where we weren't allowed to exit the plane. Early the next morning, we were excited to find ourselves in Washington DC, and one puddle jumper later, we were picked up in Philadelphia.

We were finally home.


The pictures in this post are: the South African Bill of Rights, barbed wire with newer and older homes in Soweto, the Madonna and Child at the Regina Mundi Church, and the famed picture of Hector Pietersen.