The Rainbow Nation

So, I've been a bit slow about posting, but I arrived to Joburg on Monday night. Hooray! Three flights, a lost wallet and 24 hours later, I'm finally in the Rainbow Nation! It is grand!

Monday night we stumbled out of the airport (none of us got much sleep on the plane) to find that a previous HBS group had missed their cab driver, so we hopped in and he took us to the Holiday Inn. I know what you're thinking--that ghetto trash? Turns out the Holiday Inn is a bit different abroad... this is one of the nicer hotels I've stayed in. Think the Westin. I chatted with Moma & Papa Wheeler for a few minutes about the lost wallet, then quickly fell asleep. It was nice.

Tuesday we were welcomed in the restaurant on the 9th floor, with a view over the city. Turns out there's not much to be seen--a few tall buildings, some slums to the southeast, and lots of trees. For some reason I thought there'd be more, but that's fine. I guess it's more about the substance and the history than the natural wonders.

And what a history it is! I've mostly heard about South Africa from Winston Churchill's involvement in the Boer War and the books "The Power of One" by Bryce Courtenay and "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela. I know the former sounds like a pretty cheesy title (because it is) but it's one of my favorite books. It's inspirational, instructional, and fun. It's an easy read--I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it yet. I read "Long Walk" about 7 years ago, but I mostly remember it dragging on and on... but it is informative. It's amazing what they've accomplished here.

We went to the Apartheid Museum, one of the "must-see" attractions of Joburg. Perhaps the only one, in fact--the rest of what we've seen has been amazing, but not for your average tourist. The museum, though, chronicles the beginnings of racism in South Africa, followed by the loss of the British to the Afrikaners in the late 1940's. The new National Party, empowered by the election of 1948, made a formal law that it was illegal for anyone but whites to hold certain jobs, live in certain areas, or intermarry or have relationships with white people. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for his civil disobedience, and remained incarcerated for 27 years. Those were some bad years for the country. In 1994, Apartheid was formally ended and Nelson Mandela, newly freed from prison, was elected president of South Africa. What a day!

The thing that really struck me was that this all happened when I was nine years old. The dirt on the Soviet Union's grave was still fresh, and there went another bastion of old-fashioned racism, ignorance and intolerance. Sixteen years ago. That means that most of the people I have met here, blacks and whites, were living under this system at some point in their lives. Many of the university professors, students and general workers I've encountered were old enough to know what was happening. A 32 year old student was 16 when Mandela was elected.

The really amazing thing was the response of the newly empowered president, fresh from hunger strikes and weak from prison, did not retaliate. The most beautiful word I have ever seen was "Reconciliation," Mandela's creed (as seen in Invictus), emblazoned on the wall on the exit from the Apartheid museum. Rather than take from the rich whites, or kill or oppress them as has happened in so many other nations, they sought unity and peace. It is peaceful, for the most part. There is rampant crime, but the nation knows peace. People are a lot better off than they were, though the income disparity remains. There is no longer a formal divide, and many non-whites have made a name and a fortune for themselves, though the whites remain the predominate source of wealth. But they are working for a better life, and they are able to be happy.

My other exposure to South Africa was Jerusalema, a movie I saw on a plane a couple years back about a kid started out in petty crime then took over j-town. I'd recommend seeing the edited version. Mom & dad, wait till I get home to watch it...