The apartheid museum and Newtown

Between Soweto and Jo'burg, an interesting and puzzling place is called Gold Reef. It is a theme park "a la Disneyland", with trains and so on, but the theme is here the age of gold mines (on which Johannesburg has built its wealth - and inequalities). I have not entered this park, but right next is the Apartheid museum.

Note : this post is kind of a "spoiler" ... If you plan to visit the museum one day, I would suggest not to read it. I think it's better to visit this museum not knowing what other visitors may have felt, and feel it for yourself.

Already at the entrance, you understand that it will not be a joyful visit.

The entrance of the museum : Whites enter on the left, Non-Whites on the right.

I was given a "non-white" ticket.

You enter from the gate corresponding to your ticket. The choice here is random - and so is life, isn't it ? The place you are born, the color of your skin, you don't choose this. The apartheid chooses for you what you can and cannot do. It seems nothing, in the context of the entrance of a museum, but when you enter, you take in the face all these signs that existed, as incredible as it may seem, until a few decades ago. I was born when apartheid was there.

Entrance of the museum.

Entrance of the museum.

At the end of the corridor, a large photograph of people, supposedly from some administration, or maybe doctors, and you understand that by passing by this gate, you would be controlled all the time. Do the white have the same ? Going on in this corridor, you see on the other side the white entrance. Does it have the same things inside ? You don't know, because you can't access it. A few meters further, both paths join and the visit is the same. But I felt frustrated to not see what is in the other side. A person entered at the same time as me in the non-white entrance, she was part of a small group. The two other ladies with her, and their (black) guide had been given a "white" pass and thus took the other entrance. I saw she also felt uncomfortable, and frustrated. I am sure we were both thinking "what is on the other side ? how can I go and check ?". In the museum, it would have been easy. In the real life of apartheid, back in those times, it would have been impossible. Trying to extrapolate my frustration and disgust to the people who lived and suffered from this, gives me a taste of what those times may have been. But I'm sure it was even worse that I can imagine.

The visit goes on.

Apartheid museum.

Apartheid museum.

All people ultimately are African. A reminder that the "cradle of mankind" is close to Jo'burg.

 The museum then contains a nice (but temporary) exhibition dedicated the the local icon Nelson Mandela, and many testimonies of these times. You finish the visit with a strange taste in the mouth.

The Mandela exhibition.

List of suicides ...

"Architects of segregation : Jan Smuts and J.B.M. Hertzog". Both have avenues with their name.

Unfortunately, photos are forbidden inside the museum. I managed to take a picture of the famous and disturbing room with the 131 ropes, symbolizing the political executions during apartheid.

131 ropes. 131 executions. 131 dead.

After the museum, you need fresh air and you can walk in the small park close-by. If you have the strength to enjoy anything, then you can enjoy the view on the city. In the foreground, you can see the theme park. All along the visit, you hear the sound of people having fun there. Disturbing.

View of Johannesburg from the apartheid museum.

 After this, I went to the city center to visit the Museum Africa, located in Newtown. Newtown is a recently renovated part of the city. The people who were squatting there have been moved. Of course, the law forbids now to simply tell people to leave : an epidemy of cholera gave the authorities a (good, somehow) pretext to move these people, destroy the area, and take it over. The area is now nice, but the museum much less interesting that the apartheid museum.

Newtown.

Market Theatre.

The city center viewed from the bridge above Newtown.

The city center viewed from the bridge above Newtown.

First sight of Soweto

Soweto (SOuth WEst TOwnship) became world famous during the apartheid in South Africa. It's a symbol of many things : poverty and race segregation in townships, struggle against apartheid, new tourism in South Africa, etc. The visit of Soweto usually includes the house of Nelson Mandela and that of Desmond Tutu, two icons of the fight for freedom and democracy in South Africa. Near-by, restaurants and bars show that this became a very touristic place, probably the main touristic "attraction" of Johannesburg.

The Hector Pieterson memorial in Soweto.

Soweto also hosts the largest hospital in the South Hemisphere (and maybe of the world ?), which reminds you in case you forget in one second, that the health conditions of many people here are terrible. South Africa is one of the countries with the largest number of HIV/AIDS positive people. Access to medication is improving, but the problem is still here.
Close to this Baragwanath Hospital is the Soweto Campus of the University of Johannesburg. A modern campus, showing that development through education is taken seriously here.

Entrance of UJ Soweto Campus.

Parking inside the campus.

View to an old factory from the campus.

Soweto campus.

Behind and above the campus, the hill where nkosi sikelel' iafrika was written. It is now part of the South African national anthem.

If the campus looks nice, the sad reality of Soweto is never very far. The hospital mentioned above is just next, and also beyond the fences surrounding the campus you can see the poorest parts of the township. These little houses aligned and packed in areas without water or waste system, they seem to have been "built" 50 years ago and not have changed since then. It may be true.

Going towards Orlando - a suburb of Soweto -, nice (and protected) houses show that a new rich class emerges here. Or at least, that richer people start to build their home there. But right next, back to extreme poverty, with people burning tires to bring some heat to the freezing winter nights.

Close to the campus, the Soweto towers - a former power plant - have been decorated.

The Soweto towers, view from the campus.

The Soweto towers, view from the campus.

City parks of Jo'burg

Being alone here, the easiest "distraction" on a nice sunny day is a visit to one of the city parks. Johannesburg hosts many parks - I've visited only 1 of them, in 2 times. When you enter a park, you just forget that you are in a city of several millions inhabitants, and you just enjoy the nature. I think most parks are very artificial though, and they look more like golf fields. But still, a walk in one of the parks is very relaxing.

Johannesburg botanic gardens : the Emmarentia Dam
This is the first part I visited, back in January (summer !). It is close to the University and has an artificial lake where people go "sailing", and one can also enjoy the botanical gardens.

The Emmarentia Dam.

Emmarentia lake.

Ducks on the lake.

Duck. They are actually not at all scared of people and come very close.

These birds with a long beak are extremely noisy and almost aggressive !

Park.

Park.

End of the lake.

Johannesburg botanic gardens : some other side of the park ;-)

I went to this part on a nice winter sunday, it was about 20 degrees at 10am ... I like such winter !

Dry grass and trees.

Dry grass and trees.

A small lake.

Lake side.

Lake side, dogs playing in the lake.

Lake side and some dogs. The water is probably very cold and the two little black dogs never made it to the lake ;-)

Another lake.

An artificial "river".

This park is very quiet, and many people go there with kids or to walk the dogs. From a "social" point of view, however, it seems that mostly White people go there : walking in a park on Sundays with kids and dogs is something not everyone can afford here unfortunately.
Another popular destination on Sundays are the shopping centers - I'll come back to that.

The University of Johannesburg (UJ)

My work place is the University of Johannesburg, and more precisely its Auckland Park campus. It is located near Melville (a nice area to go out with bars and restaurants), and not very far from Parkhurst (where I live).
The campus is very large, with a lot of sports fields, buildings, student residences. It has also some nice green areas.
The main building is composed of several "rings" and "labs".

The Auckland Park campus map.

Once you understand more or less how it works, you can manage to go without getting lost, but it's not very easy. In particular, the architecture inside is very strange : stairs go in all directions, and the designer seems to have put a lot of attention to the fact that one should never use the shortest/easiest way from one point to the other.

The stairs in UJ.

The stairs in UJ.

The stairs in UJ.

But the campus also has a lot of parks, and it is a very pleasant place.

The University of Johannesburg.

The University of Johannesburg.

The University of Johannesburg.

The University of Johannesburg.

Just outside entrance 2 of UJ.

The department of Physics is located in the C-labs part, along with other departments (chemistry, biochemistry, etc.).

Outside the department of Physics (actually the Chemistry side).

UJ is a former Afrikaans University (RAU), as it can still be seen in many places on campus.

The entrance of the department of Physics, with some experiments.

A nice thing about the department of Physics is also that just outside the building, there is a very nice view on Johannesburg. The view on the city is fantastic at any time of the day or night, in winter or in summer.

View from on the city center from UJ (summer day).

View from on the city center from UJ (summer day).

View from on the city center from UJ (winter day).

View from on the city center from UJ (winter evening).

View from on the city center from UJ (winter night).