Life in Apartheid South Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa

Rather than attempting to give you even a brief overlook of the history of Apartheid in South Africa (although an interesting story it is a little more bleak than I want to get on my blog - plus there are a lot of internet sites that have a pretty thorough treatment of the entire history if you desire further information) I thought I would share just a little of what we saw and experienced and how it affected us during our time in Africa. My husband was working there for 7 months and I was there for the last 3 weeks of that time and we were very blessed during our stay to have a lot of interaction with all walks of life and came away with some definite impressions.

In case you don't know me very well you may not be aware that I have always, as far back as I can remember, entirely rejected the notion that any race of people should be considered inferior to any other and have similarly found the maltreatment of anyone based on that premise to be extremely repugnant. You need to know that about me. It is very much a part of who I am.

Apartheid was in effect during our time in Johannesburg and had been for many years. Some of the rules had been recently relaxed in order that the government might gain greater support among black Africans, but in the eyes of most of the world it was still an ugly and unacceptable rule of law. The United States being a leader in its opposition to Apartheid had set in place strict sanctions against South Africa. Some of those were that none of South Africa's airlines would be allowed to fly into the U.S. Similarly no U.S. airline would fly into South Africa. That fact dictated that I fly to another foreign country that did not have in place those same sanctions. Thus my flight to Frankfurt, Germany and from there to Johannesburg.

My husband had originally gone to Johannesburg to work for a company there on a trial basis. The thinking was that if he liked it after 6 months our entire family would move and take up residence there. This was an adventure that all of us eventually embraced and were excitedly looking forward to. When our 15 year old son first found out he wouldn't be able to get his drivers license there until he was 18 he was not at all enthusiastic about going. Several months after my husband left home for South Africa our son made up his mind that he very much wanted to go anyway. He felt he would have a great adventure and the sacrifice would be worth it. Even our daughter who was attending Berkeley at the time on a full ride scholarship decided she would leave school to take up her education over there until if/when we returned. Our youngest two daughters as well as myself were looking forward to an adventure from the get go. Phill looked at beautiful homes in the area that were quite large, some of them complete with tennis courts, lovely thatched roofs (an endearing style over there - more on that another day) that could be obtained at fairly reasonable prices. He also noted that most of these homes had razor wire on top of their surrounding walls, an ominous sign. In spite of any drawbacks, everyone eventually came on board and loved the idea of going. Yet as the weeks and months wore on Phill felt more and more as if it wasn't a good idea to stay permanently. For one thing he was having to pay taxes in both South Africa and the U.S. This due in part to the aforementioned sanctions. There were a lot of other financial incentives for him to stay in the U.S. After much discussion with me and much prayer he eventually made up his mind to come home at the end of the trial period. We had to trust him on this as he was the one living there and had a clearer picture of the situation our family would be in. Not all signs were bad - but enough negatives were on the list to sway his eventual decision not to stay. Much disappointment all around.

We decided that I would go to be with Phill for the last few weeks so that I could have the opportunity to see Africa - a dream come true.

After my arrival, on our first trip out to the indoor mall for some shopping my purse was opened and inspected by guards at the entrance. They were checking for bombs. The African National Congress (organized by black Africans) was now in the throes of a desperate effort to gain equal stance and power in the South African governmental process. There had been many bombings in recent months and white Africa was being ever diligent.

Phill had been attending an LDS Ward there in Johannesburg all during his stay. The members were warm and friendly. Many families had made a point of inviting him into their homes for visits and meals and now that I was there they graciously included me in those invitations. One of the families had a black African living during the work week in their garage so that it was more convenient for him to work for them. Most Africans lived in townships at that time which was a way of segregating them by law from the white population. The townships had no electricity or indoor plumbing. They were at the extreme end of poverty. Crime and killings were rampant. This gentleman was their friend and they loved and respected him, but due to the law of the land he could not stay in any part of their home other than their garage.

Soweto Township - today it has been much improved and although it
still has its slum areas, it is slowly becoming a much more desirable area.

During my stay as we drove outside of South Africa into such places as Bophuthatswana, Swaziland, Zulu villages and other areas, the homes of the natives were in stark contrast to the average white family's dwelling.

The day we visited Mafeking we were stopped 3 times on our return to Johannesburg at roadblocks that had been set up by soldiers with machine guns and tanks. They were stopping cars due to a recent triple murder and coup attempt in Bophuthatswana and the concern about undesirables infiltrating. A little frightening to we Americans who are used to driving about fairly freely in the U.S.

This is not to say that we did not have a pleasant stay and wonderful experiences there as you will see in days to come. It was the trip of a lifetime for me, but Apartheid hung over the land like a choking pollution.

Tomorrow: The beautiful people