On Saturday I was on the deck and captured some of the local, abundant bird life. The bird on the left is bringing some food to a nest nearby. Looks like he (she?) has a grub ready for the baby. On the right is a picture of a bird that builds a nest with the entrance at the bottom. The male builds the nests. The female checks out the nest and if she doesn’t like it she destroys it.
After breakfast, we went to the Apartheid Museum. Apartheid was instituted in 1948 and was the law in South Africa until 1991. The museum was a sobering looking at the injustices suffered by people because of their color and racial identity.
(L-R) Cathy, Cheryl, Heidi, Jim, Caroline, Tina, Rich, Kurt, and Chuck. Naas was the photographer.
On our tickets we were randomly assigned to be either white or non-white and were asked to go in the proper entrance. As you went in, the signs were a stark reminder of the privilege whites had and the inconveniences and the indignities that non-whites had to endure. There were "European only” signs, special restrooms, restricted benches, separate train station areas, etc. We were reminded of similar racial issues in U.S. It was an interesting way to start our visit and to get an idea of what they actually faced on a daily basis.
The pillars of the South African (SA) constitution are shown to the right. The SA Bill of Rights is very interesting. Remember this was written in the early 1990s in the midst of a huge paradigm shift in the country.
During the worst part of apartheid, blacks were detained without cause for up to 90 days which was often extended to longer. They were often kept in solitary confinement for that time in a cell that was 2 meters by 1 meter (6 feet by 3 feet). I think 90 days in that space would be enough to drive anyone crazy. Roughly 130 of them were hung for treason.
There was some more of interest to see and absorb. It is impossible to relate it all here. It was reminiscent in different ways to the Holocaust museum in Washington, DC and to the Martin Luther King museum. In all three cases, people in power used their power against people they considered different and inferior. The scale of what they did was different, but still incredibly inhumane. It is easy for to say, “ I would never be a part of something like that.” I hope that it is really true.