Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa. With a population of 3.8 million it is basically a cosmopolitan city. Walking through the city you would not necessarily guess that you are in South Africa. By comparison the population of Soweto is 1.3 million, but Soweto is all black and when you walk through it there is no question where you are. Apartheid had the effect of creating a satellite township for every city. Soweto is Johannesburg's satellite, although it is growing at a much faster pace and is expected to someday overtake the city, in terms of population.
My hosts in Soweto are Elliot Mashinini and Mpho Matloga. They are pictured here at the legs of a large statue of Nelson Mandela, in Mandela Square in Johannesburg.
The day after this photo Mpho and I went to the Apartheid Museum. When you enter the museum you are given a ticket which is arbitrarily stamped either "blankes" or "nie-blankes," which is Afrikaans for "white" or "non-white." As it turned out Mpho got a "nie-blankes" ticket and I got a "blankes." As you enter the museum you are immediately separated according to your status, so Mpho and I were suddenly directed to different entrance ways, which felt weird. When we were later reunited in the museum, Mpho was quite upset and said it had brought back a lot of bad memories for her. Remember, anyone over the age of 25 grew up under apartheid. Mpho pointed out that under apartheid she and I could not have walked together in public. The multi-racial scene pictured above could not have happened.
The day after this photo Mpho and I went to the Apartheid Museum. When you enter the museum you are given a ticket which is arbitrarily stamped either "blankes" or "nie-blankes," which is Afrikaans for "white" or "non-white." As it turned out Mpho got a "nie-blankes" ticket and I got a "blankes." As you enter the museum you are immediately separated according to your status, so Mpho and I were suddenly directed to different entrance ways, which felt weird. When we were later reunited in the museum, Mpho was quite upset and said it had brought back a lot of bad memories for her. Remember, anyone over the age of 25 grew up under apartheid. Mpho pointed out that under apartheid she and I could not have walked together in public. The multi-racial scene pictured above could not have happened.
This is Nelson Mandela's old house in Soweto. He has not lived there for a long time, although supposedly about 10 years ago he suddenly showed up and sat in a chair in his old house, greeting visitors as they came through. No luck this time, though.
You might wonder what Mandela was doing during the Soweto uprisings in 1976. The answer is that he was already imprisoned on Robben Island and had served 14 years of what was to be a 27 year sentence. The struggle against apartheid was very long. When Mandela became president in 1994 he was already an old man of of 76. Still alive now at 94 years, he is more than twice as old as the average black male in South Africa. Mandela won a Nobel Peace Prize because he managed to transition South Africa to democracy while avoiding a race-based civil war that many thought was inevitable.
You might wonder what Mandela was doing during the Soweto uprisings in 1976. The answer is that he was already imprisoned on Robben Island and had served 14 years of what was to be a 27 year sentence. The struggle against apartheid was very long. When Mandela became president in 1994 he was already an old man of of 76. Still alive now at 94 years, he is more than twice as old as the average black male in South Africa. Mandela won a Nobel Peace Prize because he managed to transition South Africa to democracy while avoiding a race-based civil war that many thought was inevitable.
