Cape Town - Colonialism, Slavery, Apartheid and Healing of Memories

We had a wonderful, exhausting day - 3 excellent speakers and lots of walking in hot weather.

First, Lucy is a passionate, South African activist who gives historical walking tours of the city. Very authentic about the racism that still exists, her anger, her joy, her searching for signs of her identity in the city, the importance of relationship building...  she took us to a slave lodge museum where up to a thousand slaves lived. They couldn't always be distinguished by skin color so they weren't allowed to wear shoes so you could tell who was a slave - and the women wore the kerchiefs on the heads. We all wished we would have had more time.  We came away seeing how one can only truly understand the recent past by knowing its roots in colonialism and slavery.   The effect of the loss of identity that came with slavery has been profound impacts.  

Check out:   https://sites.google.com/site/capeslaveroutetours/

Or:   http://transcendinghistorytours.wozaonline.co.za/

The District Six museum, with our guide Joseph, tells the story of a diverse place where blacks and coloreds lived peacefully before apartheid. Prime real estate with an ocean view. During apartheid the area was designated as white and starting in 1968 they forced 60,000 people to leave their homes and move to townships over fifteen years.  A coherent community was fractured and separated by ethnicity to different township areas.  Divide and conquer.   Joseph was 28 when his family moved. The dominoes of implications for families and communities was devastating. Very moving.

http://www.districtsix.co.za/

The Center for the Healing of Memories - addressing those needing to heal from trauma of whatever kind through the sharing of stories and formal workshops and youth programs.  This organization is the brainchild of Father Michael Lapsley (a priest who became a supporter of the ANC during apartheid and who lost an eye and both hands to a letterbomb). It took off where the truth and reconciliation process left off - at first helping those who needed to heal from apartheid era trauma.  Although hot and tired at the end of the day, we were drawn in by the message of hope and the work they are doing.  

http://www.healing-memories.org/

Such great people, working to make a difference.  

But a key challenge has become so clear - how to get the white populations of both Namibia and South Africa to engage more fully.  Those that still have the economic power and class privilege have little incentive to work for an overhaul of the status quo.  They can exist in a bubble of privilege, accepting of upward mobility of people of color, but never venturing into the world of the townships.  (Guess that's not so different from home!)