Jo-Burg

The yellow hills surrounding Jo-Burg

Very few people in South Africa ever say the entire name of Johannesburg.  It is simply Jo-Burg.  We decided to stop, as we hadn’t been here last time.  Several of our 2012 students came – and highly recommended that we come.

I didn’t know that – like Denver - Jo-Burg is also a “mile high city” as it is 6000 feet above sea level.  That doesn’t mean that it looks high.  The “mountains” that surround Jo-Burg are all manmade, created from the dirt removed when gold was mined from the deep.  One interesting little tidbit, is that with the price of gold these days – and new technologies, the hills surrounding Jo-Burg are being dug up again to find the last little bits of gold that may have been left in these piled up soils.

Jo-Burg is a newer city than I would have thought.  It was founded with that first gold discovery in 1886.  Before that date, there were only five farms here, no trees, and primarily grasslands.  Today, it is a very green, treed city.  

During our few days of being a tourist in Jo-Burg, we went to Nelson Madela’s house, the Hector Pieterson memorial, and the Apartheid Museum.   All are to be recommended.

Nelson’s house: 8115 in Orlando West

Under the Forced Removal Act of the Apartheid government, many black people living in what were deemed to be white areas were forcibly removed from where they had been living and sent to “townships” that were created for their race.  Nelson’s house is in one such township.  We visited his house at 8115 Orlando West, Soweto.  It was a simple brick, two room house.

A photo of Nelson burning his pass book

Nelson burned it here.

During the time he lived here, every black and colored South African had to carry an ID card that allowed them to visit white areas for only certain times/reasons.  They also had to have their pass card on their person at all time, and were subject to police checks and punishments if they did not.  It was at this address where Nelson burned his “pass” card in protest (in the back yard where Jim is standing).   

Nelson also came "home" to this address when he was released from his imprisonment in 1990 after 27 years of prison.  

Interestingly, I did learn that while this address is always referred to as Nelson Mandela’s house, it was actually Evelyn’s – his first wife’s.  

Hector Pieterson’s Memorial.   This is a rather small, great museum that helps us to remember the shooting of school children who were peacefully protesting a new law that all their courses had to be taught only in Afrikaans (meaning that many black children would fail to pass).  Hector Pieterson was one of the first killed that day in 1976.  (I am always saddened when these critical events took place during my lifetime, but I remained either ignorant or silent.)  

When a newspaper published a photograph by Sam Nzima of the dying Hector being carried by a fellow student, the photo circled the world and became an iconic image that brought international attention to the Soweto uprising.   Most readers will recognize and remember this photo.  Google it!  Hector was 13 years old when he was killed.

  

As a black, you walk by the mountains of rock
moved by black labor in the gold mines.

The Apartheid Musuem.   A short blog post will never do this museum justice.  Jim and I thought we’d probably spend about two hours here.  We ended staying over four hours - and still did not see it all!   One immediate experience that ‘hits’ you is your admission ticket.  You are randomly given a white, black, or colored ticket – and you enter through different doors depending on your race.  Once you enter, what you see and experience is also different.  This lasted a relatively short time.  In a way, I wish this part had lasted even longer.  It was a powerful way to present what results from a happenstance of birth.