To be sobered by the human condition

One thing that I wanted to do in South Africa was visit the Apartheid museum.  Coming here, I read a book on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that occurred in the aftermath of the atrocities of Apartheid -- a commission that would give a voice to the victims.  It gave me a good primer and I picked up things here and there from a magazine article on South Africa or a movie like Invictus, but I really didn't know a whole lot about Apartheid or what happened.  I hate that feeling of ignorance.

Starting off they send you through one gate if you are a white and another if you are a non-white to view ID cards of the race that isn't you.  Being white, I saw cards of blacks, Indians, and coloureds ("coloured" was a term used for mixed race people).  However, you soon realize that this was a whole lot more than a black and white issue.  It's funny, we like to make things black and white because it's simpler, but life isn't simple.  This was an issue of black, white, Afrikaner, Indian (Gandi lived in SA and there is a very large Indian population), Chinese, Zulu, and San (the bushmen and first settlers of the area) to name a few.  One of the plaques captures this perfectly showing how 1,000 people managed to change race in a year.

The museum covers around 100 years from roughly 1900 to 1994, but my head was spinning trying to grasp what happened and how it happened.  You learn that the English had something to do with it and that the Anglo-Boer wars had something to do with it.  You learn that the discovery of the largest gold deposit in the World (underneath modern day Johannesburg) had a lot to do with it.  Poor whites and poor blacks moved there and mingled together in slums and worked mines together in miserable conditions.  The Afrikaner (whites of Dutch origin who came in the 1600s) would nationalize after wars with the English and over trying to improve conditions for the poor whites.  Segregation would develop and then a critical election of 1948 would see the National Party come to power and pass the first of many Apartheid laws that would severely restrict what non-whites could and could not do.

Opposition would form with groups such as the South African Communist Party (became largely black), African National Congress (ANC), and the more violent Pan Africanist Congress (PAC).  Nelson Mandela would become a leader in the ANC and is one of the individuals who helped move the ANC from a mostly peaceful opposition to a more forceful opposition.  These efforts would land him and several other leaders in prison in 1962.  This crackdown by the Government would scatter the opposition until a student (teenagers) march in 1976 that resulted in the deaths of several kids would help mobilize the general black population and revitalize the ANC.  This event is memorialized by the Hector Pieterson memorial in the poor and extremely large townships of SOWETO.  SOWETO is a very significant place here and is where Mandela and Tutu both lived when in Joburg.

The next 14 years would see horrific violence by whites against blacks and blacks against whites and even blacks against blacks.  The Truth Commission revisited all these atrocities by people from all sides.  A change of leadership in the National Party in 1989 and mounting internal and external pressure would lead to the release of the political prisoners in 1990 and free elections for all in 1994.  These four years were hardly peaceful as the Zulu (large black tribe in Southeastern SA in the province that Durban is in) dominated Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and ANC would fight violent turf wars with the IFP at times being supported by the white government and police force.  The government began negotiations of the election process with the IFP only to end up shifting towards the ANC.  Nelson Mandela would emerge from prison mellowed by his years of interacting with the white guards and would champion a nation of forgiveness and inclusion (He had not always been this way).  If it had not been for him, South Africa could have easily become another Zimbabwe.

So many thoughts raced through my head.  How do people do this to other people?  How does a group of people become collectively brainwashed? How do we justify it? How do we look the other way? How do our Churches justify it?  It felt so incredibly complex that I felt like an ignorant American who thought he kinda of knew what was going on, but didn't have a clue.  I thought about how I was 11 when the elections happened and I didn't know about a thing about them.  I vowed that I would someday remove the veil of ignorance from my children.  Not knowing is never an excuse.

I've noticed something else since I've been here; I've noticed hope.  It's a small sample size so it may not be worth much.  I see whites who talk about the horrors of racism.  I see blacks who support many of the non-black World Cup teams (even the Dutch!) because they like the brand of soccer they play.  I have seen conversations made up of English, Zulu, and Afrikaans.   I see a multitude of cultures that embrace Bafana Bafana (The South African Soccer team).  There are many problems here to be sure and concerns about a corrupt Government.  Things could certainly get worse, but I have this incredible sense of potential for this place.  There is such a warmth and a joy in the people and the spirit of Mandela looms large.  What is the power of a leader?  A leader can brainwash a people or bring them back from the brink.  Let us pray that the right kind of leaders can take charge of this place.

"So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter.  Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.  The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice.  He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene." Isaiah 59: 14-16

Bafana Bafana!

Some quick random thoughts about South Africa:

• Contrary to popular belief I was not at the America - Algeria game in person.  I am staying with several people who were and definitely watched the it at the house in person.  I am looking into their game against Ghana!
• Germany - Ghana at the main Stadium (Soccer City Stadium) in Johannesburg was an incredible atmosphere and an incredible game!  So many German fans there and many Ghana supporters as well.  Spectacular stadium!
• Dribbled against Christiano Rinaldo at a fan zone thing at the game
• Some German girls tried to paint a German flag on my face which I promptly refused (I was completely supporting Ghana!)
• I have indeed acquired my own vuvuzela.  At the Germany - Ghana games, every time Ghana got close to doing something, all the vuvuzelas got much louder and much more exciting
• Saw S. Korea and Nigera on the corner flag 4 rows back in a S. Korea jersey (Thanks Scott Lee!)
• S. Korea fan have this strange thing going on with Devil Horns
• Many Nigerians live here and they are considered to be "shrewd" buisnessmen.
• Bafana Bafana is the name of the South Africa team here which means "The Boys" in Zulu.  Saw the Bafana Bafana - France game at a Church in Durban during yet another braai -- they love their meat here!  Great time!  Great win by the boys.
• People of all colors here have been wearing the Bafana - Bafana jerseys and supporting the team.  This is a big deal.  The blacks have always fully supported the team as that is their sport here.  But the whites (generally rugby supporters) and Indians (either Cricket or supporting our Countries) have also been wearing the jerseys and supporting the team.  Great to see so many jersey everywhere!
• America fast food chain count:  I have seen something like 8 KFC's and not a single McDonald's.  I guess they really like their fried chicken!
• Soccer is the World's game right?  But most of the big sponsors are American companies: Budweiser (official beer and only beer served in the Stadium), Visa, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Vitamin Water (yes, Vitamin Water).  Money talks!
• They drink sodas out of the can with straws here
• Some local foods / traditions: Braai, Pop and sauce, milo, samosas, curry, Cream Soda (different than ours)
• They use the Queen's English (alough 11 languages are spoken here)
• Went to get one of my tickets at the ticketing center in a Casino (right next to the Stadium)
• Durban has a fanfest zone on the beach and is defintely the warmest city in South Africa
• Joburg on the other hand is freezing cold at night (probably low 30s)
• They also have a really nice water park / Sea World that could rival a few in Florida and is certanily nicer than Wild Waves in Federal Way
• Witnessed a really great Zulu tribal dance group in the bazaar there -- they were having way too much fun! 
• Had a group of waitresses perform a zulu song and dance for me at a restaurant (a little like the birthday song at Red Robin without the bird)
• Security is much more lax here at the airports.  Don't have to take off your shoes and they don't check your ID
• You can't pump your own gas (You're not the only ones Oregon)
• Unemployment rate is high here and everywhere y zpeople are trying to some job for you to get money like watching your car for you at the store, washing your car at the beach, or building really elaborate sand creations at the beach for donations
• 1Time Airlines is a great way to get around
• Drivers are crazy here and you better not get in their way.  They also like to talk on their phone and drive a stick at the same time.
• Country flags for the World Cup countries everywhere here
• They speak 11 languages -- notably English, Zulu, and Afrikaans
• Phil Collins and Backstreet Boys are both alive and well in South Africa
• I have the simplest (but sweetest) phone that I picked up for soemthing like $15
• Incredible contrast between poverty and upper middle class here
• And finally, GO USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's like Eastern Washington -- except with monkeys

One day into this crazy adventure and it is already an overwhelming success.  I touched down in Johannesburg in the middle of a beautiful sunset.  I quickly jumped on another flight (after picking up my tickets and realizing I may have lost one of my games) to Durban.  I was picked at the airport by Trevor Francis who drove me an hour and a half to his beautiful home in Shelly Beach.

We had much great conversation.  He shared with me how he courted his wife Cindy (who was my contact) despite her being a South African that had lived in Seattle for 9 years.  It was a very moving story and showed how God had been working in their lives to make an unlikely marriage happen.

He was also very candid with me about the history of South Africa.  He and his wife are both white South Africans and he spoke of the bigoted racism of the Apartheid Government in South Africa.  He explained how there was still significant racism by both whites and blacks although progress is slowly be made.  There is much goodwill with the World Cup, but who knows what will happen after the Cup.  The whites are still the most well off and best educated although a black middle class is beginning to emerge.  There is corruption in the current government and there is a need for strong black leaders like Mandela and Tutu.  We also talked of the Church's role in both the Apartheid Government and in a new South Africa.

Cindy and Trevor have been the most amazing and gracious of hosts!  There was an amazing variety of South African treats waiting on my bed and I was a served a warm cup of Milo, which can only be described as a sort of chocolate malt drink.  I stared at the clear stars and learned of constellations that are only visible in the Southern Hemisphere.  It was interesting to learn of the Southern Cross which can be used to point to true South, certainly a little backwards for someone used to the Big Dipper and the North Star.

This morning Cindy cooked us up a delicious breakfast.  We then took off to a stunning game farm where we saw the likes of zebras and antelopes roaming free.  The scenery reminded me of Eastern Washington and Oregon -- except with monkeys which are apparently as common here as squirrels in the States.  I saw some gorgeous views of a gorge off a high suspension bridge and we wrapped up our tour with a nice outdoor lunch at the lodge.

As I write this, I just witnessed a breathtaking sunset from the house.  I have a sloppy and physical Chile / Switzerland match on in the background and I am savoring at the prospect of this evening's braai!  More to come on that later :)

Here at last

Have you ever felt that something will completely change your life before it happened?  I mean of course besides the obvious events of marriage, birth, and death.  I am feeling that way now.   This is a moment that has been building up with anticipation for four years since I was in Belfast.  Smitten by World Cup fever and the chance to go to Africa, I set out with reckless abandon to make it happen.

And here I am two days before departure, two days before I board a 17 hour flight to Johannesburg and a place that seems like a dream.  I tell people of my plans and they tell me they're jealous.  And why wouldn't they be?  It's the World Cup after all!  There's sure to be a lot of fun sprinkled with exotic foods and the kind of stories you tell until the day you die.  I'm here for all that.  I plan to take crazy photos, cheer until I am hoarse, and even acquire and play my very own vuvuzela!  Much fun will be had.

But that's not all this trip is about.  Amid the hysteria and the grandiose stadiums, there is another South Africa -- a South Africa of AIDS and poverty and reconciliation.  A big part of this trip will be experiencing and learning from these things.  I am planning to encounter various ministries throughout both South Africa and Malawi.  I'm not sure what I expect.  I don't expect to be shocked.  I've seen  the aftermath of serious conflicts in both Sarajevo and Belfast; I've seen poverty along the border of the Dominican.  No, there is something else...

I hope to be spoken to -- to encounter the living God.  I don't really know what that means.  I have ideas of course, but if I've learned anything in life, it's that God seldom works the way you want him to.  That's one of the things I love about the Chronicles of Narnia.  Aslan is a wild lion and he never appears as soon or as often as you want him to; he of course never does things the same way twice.  What am I looking for?  I feel like my life is kind of like a puzzle.  I have ideas about how it is all going to come together, but I can't quite make the pieces fit. I don't expect to solve the puzzle, but to maybe fit a few more pieces together.

Anyways, I plan to take lots of pictures and to blog about this crazy adventure, so I hope you can join me for the ride!