Category: South Africa

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Apartheid Museum of South Africa in Johannesburg

Today we went to the Apartheid museum.  It was probably the most interesting thing in Johannesburg we did.  For those of you who do not know what Apartheid is, I will explain.

What was Apartheid?

Apartheid was a system that oppressed all non-whites. It was used in South Africa to ensure that the minority white population was dominant in everything. There were black political parties but black people were not allowed to vote so none of the black political parties would ever win. Apartheid was a horrendous and terrible way of controlling people and redistricting their rights. 

My Individual Thoughts from Inside the Museum

These are some notes I made inside the museum.  I put them in separate paragraphs because I like to think of them as individual thoughts.

Predicting the Future or the Future, Predicted

Here is a quote made by Nelson Mandela in 1952, I find it funny and inspiring.  Nelson Mandela said ”One day I will be the first black president of South Africa”

This is my reflection on the quote.

I like to think that instead of him “predicting the future” he was saying “one day I will be president” and he meant it like “I will work hard to become president and it will happen.”

Escaping the Danger by Becoming the Danger

I read a story in the museum about a black man who was constantly being brutally harassed by the police.  He wanted it to stop so he decided to become a policeman himself.  I was a little shocked by this because why would a black man become a policeman? He would probably be sent to hurt his own people.  I think it was because they felt like they needed to escape the danger by becoming the danger.  It made me sad to think of this, but some people I think are softer than others and succumb to the enemy.

I Did Not Know about All the Others

I realized, while I was looking through the Museum shop, that before coming to Africa and listening to A Long Walk To Freedom, I only vaguely knew about Nelson Mandela and I did not know at all about Apartheid or Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Winnie Mandela, or Mandela’s children. Joe Slovo, Albertina Sisulu, George Bizos, Govan Mbeki, Ahamed Kathrada (also known as Kathy), Andrew Mlangeni, Raymond Mhlaba, Dennise Goldberg, and Bram Fisher.  These were all people who were in Mandela’s life and helped him become the man he was. 

I Look Up to Nelson Mandela Very Much

I was so Awed at how Mandela always knew what to say, his words were just full of wisdom and it’s like he just knew what to say to make everybody feel confident or sad or whatever emotion he is going for.  He knew what will calm or please or rile up the crowd.  He carried himself with such confidence and poise and dignity. He is definitely someone I look up to.  When I see him in a video or picture I think of leadership, pride, prowess, calm, and reassurance.  

History Everybody Needs to Learn

The Apartheid Museum was a very good place for us to visit. Even though I read Long Walk to Freedom, I never imagined police brutality was so bad. It was even worse than America. In Nelson Mandela’s Book, he talks about how bad the police were but in the videos at the museum, it showed the police being more violent than anyone could imagine. Even though the museum is sad and it has a painful history, I think it is all history that everybody needs to learn.  Everybody in the world.       

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Touring the Cullinan Diamond Mine in South Africa

We toured the Cullinan Diamond mine!  We did not get to go down into the mine but we did get to see the outside machinery.  We had to wear hard hats and reflective vests and we had to blow into a machine that tested our breath for alcohol.  The diamond mine was very loud.  The diamonds are found in a rock called Kimberlite.  The miners bring out 11,000 tons of Kimberlite from below the surface and get only a handful of diamonds each day! 

They have 3 shafts but only two of them are in use.  Shaft one is used to bring up the kimberlite and shaft 3 is used to bring down and up people.  The shaft used for people has a giant elevator that can carry up to 103 people in one trip! One fact I learned that I found very interesting was that if a machine can’t fit in the elevator they will dismantle the machine, and re-build it below the surface! The kimberlite is brought to the surface via shaft one, then dumped onto a conveyor belt that goes to two more conveyor belts that go to the plant where the diamonds are harvested.

Overall I really enjoyed learning how diamonds go from sitting in a rock to in a ring or necklace.  I would highly recommend touring or just visiting.   

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Dinner at Saint Restaurant in Johannesburg

Dinner at Saint was so amazing!  The bathrooms were super awesome!  I got pizza but the home-cooked kind.  It was plain cheese but it was so good.  The service was amazing!  For dessert, I got a milkshake and it came in a silver goblet.  The goblet was not real silver but the color was silver.  I would very highly recommend this restaurant. Five Stars!!!!!

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Soweto Township Walking Tour in Johannesburg, South Africa

apartheid museum statue

Soweto Walking Tour

After Constitution Hill, we did a walking tour of Soweto. Our tour guide’s name was Tobago. We started by walking by the Hector Pieterson Memorial. Hector Peterson was a 12-year-old boy that was shot and killed in Soweto. He was walking home from school and crossed paths with a massive group of school kids that were marching to the capital building and a group of police officers that were trying to shut down the peaceful protests. The police started open firing on the children, and many were shot. Hector was thought to be the youngest one to be killed, but it was later found out that there was an eight-year-old girl who was killed. Hector was famous because of a photo of him being carried to a clinic where he was pronounced dead.

Visiting the Mandela House Museum

Next, we went to Nelson Mandela’s house, which had been turned into a museum. His house was surprisingly small. It had three rooms, and in the front, it had bullet holes in the brick from when the police would shoot at the house for no reason. The police probably would come up with ridiculous reasons for shooting at the home, but I think they were trying to invoke fear.

After Mandela’s house, we went to Desmond Tutu’s house, but it was not a museum. Then we went to Winnie Mandela’s huge Soweto house, which was also not a museum. After the place, we went to a brewery, and dad tried some beers.

Up the Soweto Towers

Then we learned how to signal a public taxi bus to take us to the Soweto Towers. At the towers, some of us, not me, were going to do a free fall, but Bardez could not do it because his back and Emmy and Zeb were too chicken. I won’t say I was chicken because I was turkey. No, I just do not do those kinds of things. We ended up just riding up to the top of the towers, which was scary enough for me.

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Constitution Hill Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa

apartheid museum statue

Today was a day at Constitution Hill. Constitution Hill was a jail turned into a fort, then turned back into prison, then turned into a museum. Since it was women’s day, the museum entry fee was zero dollars. We went down into a room with a video interviewing former prisoners. The things that the warders made them do were horrendous. Completely inhumane!

One of the things that I read that stuck with me was the food service. The jailers would not give Bread to black people because “it would hurt their stomachs.” The number of silly things that the warders would say was innumerable. There was also ridiculous brutality in the jail, and you could be punished for the smallest of things and even things you did not do. Constitution Hill was a great museum, and I hope we get to go back to look at the Women’s section of the museum. I enjoyed