Excursion could not have come at a more perfect time. After spending over a month in Cape Town and experiencing everything we have, everything we did met so much more to us and still gave us over a month to reflect on it.
We first went to Johannesburg where we visited many historical cites and museums. These places are a very powerful place to be. The Apartheid museum, the Hector Peterson museum, and the old prison, are powerful enough in itself to have and everlasting impact on someone who knew nothing about South Africa. This impact I think is magnified for us after spending time in South Africa and being able to see how these injustices in the past still control the lives of South Africa. For example the fact that even in the prisons there was apartheid in how they treated and where they kept whites, blacks, and coloureds, in comparison to the separation and racism that still exists today. Also the horrible conditions in the prison then may have been worse, but from what I hear South African prisons are still pretty bad. Or many people who would go to the Hector Peterson museum would be upset by the school system set up for blacks during apartheid. But if you look today not much has improved with overcrowded classrooms, shortage of teachers, and lack of textbooks. And when the education system is setting the students up for failure, it is only going to set these children up for future poverty. In the Apartheid museum I was disgusted by the beatings, torture, and attitude of the police. But when I look around today in South Africa there is still lack of respect and no trust in the police from citizens, and from the side of the police there are abuses, racism, aggressiveness and corruption. When I went inside all of these museums I started to realize how much the past is still part of the present. Many people say that it is important to remember history so it does not repeat itself. In this situation I think it is important to remember the history in order to recognize, understand, and fix the problems of the present. These problems include racism, education, poverty, prison system, authority, along with an entire list of problems we witnessed in the museums that have not really been addressed and fixed.
I guess it would be unfair for me to say that nothing has been done. In Joburg we did witness some progress. Some of the houses in the township were newer and nice. You could also see examples of Black people who have made it out of poverty and drive around in nice cars. While I am glad this has been made possible, I cannot help but think of the prediction of Steve Bicco that a few Blacks would enter the upper class, but the majority of blacks would remain poor in a capitalist society. I think Joburg represents this perfectly. Joburg is the economic center of South Africa and while some Black people have “made it”, it just seems like the Black people in Joburg will never really achieve equality in the capitalistic American-like city.
While I loved everything we did in Joburg, as city I didn’t like it nearly as much as Cape Town. I felt like I was back at home with fast pace traffic, busy people, and bad weather.
Krueger was a great break from the heavy week we had while in Joburg. As many would agree the coolest part was definitely the guys have mustaches. Just kidding….. The coolest part was having a lion walk right next to the truck we were in. Also my heart was racing when we were on a walking safari and a rhino somewhat charged at us until the guides scared it away. It was nice to just be able to relax and enjoy ourselves the last couple days of excursion. When it was time to leave I think we were all ready to get back. We were all a little homesick and wanted to see Table Mountain everyday and enjoy Cape Town life.
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