We all got back from Kruger yesterday, exhausted and eager to be “home.” I never realized I subconsciously considered 10 Lock Rd. to be such a place, but when the plane touched down in Cape Town and we got our first glimpse of Table Mountain, I felt as if our journey was over and we were home.
Our excursion to Johannesburg and Kruger National Park was successful, albeit exhausting and sometimes even overwhelming. One of my favorite parts was our visit to Sharpeville. I was amazed at how well it all worked out…I became interested in their community, and we so happened to be going on excursion in the area, and then Marita and Vernon were nice enough to fit it into our already packed schedule. Everything worked out flawlessly. We went on a tour led by some of the community members I had met in Cape Town. The story of the “Sharpeville 6” was clarified in greater detail (I had met a member of the “Sharpeville 6” in Cape Town as well).
A mob of about 200 residents of Sharpeville marched through the streets, protesting exorbitant rent prices (during the Apartheid Regime, blacks were not allowed to own land, thus enabling the government to remove them from their houses if they were not able to pay ridiculously high rent prices). The mob proceeded to the mayor’s house and asked him to join their cause. Upon his refusal, he fired a revolver into the crowd, injuring a handful of the protestors. When he ran out of bullets, the mob burned down his house, killing the mayor in the process.
In response, the Apartheid government singled out 6 of those supposedly in attendance and sentenced them to death by hanging. After eating their last meal, with mere hours before their imminent hanging, their death sentence was terminated on account of international demand. Their belated release in 1990 has left 2 survivors with mediocre jobs: one man sells vegetables and stays away from even the idea of politics to this day; one man finally found a job just this past year cutting grass at the municipality.
We were able to see the building that was burned down, or at least what is left of it. The house was never rebuilt, and only a small weathered frame remains, unprotected and available for all to see and touch. The frame of the house is actually in an old woman’s front yard. All of us sat down under the frame with the woman and her children, taking pictures and communicating in any we could. It was one of my favorite experiences on the excursion, yet I could not help but think of those six people who probably could never come near that site. A place of such peace and happiness for some is a place of horror and pain for others.
It was also upsetting to compare the progress of Soweto to the progress (or lack there of) in Sharpeville. For whatever reason, Soweto has been built up while Sharpeville has been completely overlooked. Tomorrow is Human Rights Day, previously commemorated as Sharpeville Day. As a protest to yet another example of neglect, the community has decided to protest their former national holiday.
I was happy, however, to read an article commemorating Sharepville on the Yahoo homepage today. It described the ceremony at the Garden of Remembrance that we also visited, as well as giving insight into the daily lives of citizens in the community. Such recognition is what the community strives for, and I hope our visit will spark the acknowledgment and appreciation they deserve.
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