As many of our readers may know, I have just returned from a two week trip to South Africa. South Africa is a beautiful country with amazing natural resources and an unparalleled sprit. The South African economy is booming, the Apartheid education system is under reform, and black economic empowerment is the law of the land.
The terrible stain of Apartheid remains strong in South Africa. Though blacks are making strident progress, they remain far behind the white minority, economically. In most parts of the counrty, black workers serve as near-slaves to a white minority that dreads even the concept of manual labor. I found it very difficult to watch black workers in this situation–tenants on their own land.
One of the highlights of the trip was my visit to the Apartheid Museum. The excruciatingly detailed museum is designed to put the horror and tragedy of Apartheid right in your face. The tour is so powerful that I could not finish. After I saw the exhibit of gallows used to hang anti-apartheid activists, I had to leave the building and sit outside and think. It was that bad.
Despite the progress made under a black government, the legacy of Apartheid can be seen in every inch of South Africa. From the astonishing HIV rate, to the horrible proliferation of rapes that take place daily, South Africans are struggling to regain their cultural norms in a new economic system that forces families to travel long distances to work for low wages.
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