Today we traveled to Soweto (South Western Township) for a four hour walking tour. We met our guide and five other tour participants just across the street from the Hector Pieterson Monument. Hector was a thirteen year old who was killed in the crossfire during uprising and massacre in 1976.
Soweto was a black township where blacks were moved out of the main part of Johannesburg in the 1930’s. The blacks would have to show a pass to enter the white areas. In 1976 the students from the area’s high schools rose up to protest apartheid. The police violently repressed the uprising resulting in over 170 deaths.
We toured the former home of Nelson Mandela and walked by the home of Desmond Tutu. Both are Nobel Peace prize winners.
We stopped for lunch to have a traditional Soweto street food. it consists of bread, fries, cheese, sausage, sauce. So much for our vegan diet. It was very important how we ate it and where to put our water and napkin.
We walked through an area with the nice houses and then the average houses and then to the impoverished area. A young man from the area gave us a tour and let us take photos. The money we all donated goes to help the entire neighborhood.
We ended our walk at the Soweto tours. It used to supply nuclear energy, but is now used for bungee jumping.
Now to see what the people are so proud of: The world class soccer stadium. They hosted the World Cup in 2010.
Tim & Kathy Simonsen 