Retreat-
The weekend after the mid-semester trip, all 19 of us went on a retreat to the beautiful city of Hermanos. The retreat was lead by author John De Gruchy. We discussed South Africa, reconciliation, religion, and much more. It was a very nice weekend, and the scenery around us was beautiful! Here are just a few pics (these are the pictures from just my Iphone, I took some amazing ones on my film camera but have yet to get those developed so I will post at a later time):
Speakers:
We have had 4 very unique speakers in our Friday classes for Marquette, but in order for you to understand one of them I need to give some background information about South Africa.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission-
After Apartheid ended, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and many other political and religious leaders of South Africa came together to form the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). This group would hold hearings where people of South Africa could talk about the horrors they witnessed in an attempt at a national reconciliation. The TRC also held hearings where perpetrators of violent acts during Apartheid could apply for amnesty, or a pardon for their acts. There were, however, some rules. The perpetrators needed to a) have committed the act during the time of Apartheid, b) the act must have been politically motivated, and c) the perpetrators must give ABSOLUTE full disclosure of the details of the event during the hearing. Only then would the board decide to grant amnesty or not. Now the TRC had many flaws and could never actually achieve full national reconciliation, but they definitely helped in the respect that people got to share their stories, families got to receive some closure by finding out what really happened to their loved ones that were killed, and just some effort was being made to remember what happened during Apartheid.
Amy Biehl-
Amy was a graduate of Stanford University and was studying at UWC (where we study) on a Fulbright Scholarship in 1993. She was very passionate about the fight to end Apartheid, and would join in on many protests and demonstrations. Although she was white, she was appalled by the way South Africa was treating people of other races. On August 25, 1993 Amy was driving a friend home in Guguletu, a township outside of Cape Town. A mob of angry black men pulled her out of her car, and she was stabbed and stoned to death. After her death, Amy's parents founded the Amy Biehl Foundation in Cape Town. This organization, where a few of my fellow housemates volunteer, offers programs to help empower and educate youth in impoverished communities in Cape Town.
Now that you have some background, let me tell you about the speakers we've had.
Two of the speakers that came to talk to us were two of the men that killed Amy Biehl. While this might sound shocking to you all, there is a lot of events that happened since that day. Amy's parents met with her killers, and forgave them completely. They believed that this is what Amy would have wanted. The Biehl's brought these men back to their home in the US to see where Amy lived, and treated them like family. These two men today work for the Amy Biehl Foundation. I have to say it was quite shocking seeing these men sit in front of us. They told us the story of what happened that day in August, how their lives have changed, etc. For them, killing Amy was not personal. It was a politically motivated attack. There was a mob that formed in protest of government activities, and their emotions were high. This led to them killing Amy. While I do not think it is OKAY what they did and by no means CONDONE what they did, I can understand in a way what they were feeling and why they did what they did. They talked about this a lot, and I think it is an important distinction...to UNDERSTAND why they did what they did and to CONDONE what they did. Anyway, it was a very interesting talk and I am glad I got to hear their story.
Another speaker was Molly Blank, an American filmmaker and journalist who, coincidentally, came to South Africa on a Fulbright Scholarship. She was very interested in the school system in Cape Town, so she taught and observed different schools in the area. She was appalled by the gap between the white schools and the black schools, and created a documentary entitled TESTING HOPE. It was a very powerful documentary, and we talked with her about her experiences, the creating of the documentary, her current projects, etc. This really hit home for me because I am teaching in an all-black school while I am here and I see the conditions that these students are in while they are in school. The sad reality is that a large number of my students and black students across South Africa will not be able to pass their matric (an exam that is similar to our high school diploma) NOT because of their smarts, but because the schools could not teach these students to their full potential. If you are interested in learning more about the movie or purchasing it, you can CLICK HERE or CLICK HERE to see some of her videos from her latest project.
The last speaker that we heard from was former Mayor of Cape Town Frank van der Velde. He was the mayor from 1991-1993, which was still during Apartheid. During his time as mayor, he organized Nelson Mandela's speech that he gave after he was released from prison. He told us the whole story of the crazy events of that day and what went on behind the scenes to actually get Nelson Mandela to the location where he spoke. That was a very cool experience!
District 6 Museum:
Yesterday we went to the District 6 Museum. District 6 was a residential area in Cape Town where, during the Apartheid regime, its 60,000+ residents were forcibly removed strictly because the government wanted to use that area to make a "white-only" area. The entire township was flattened by bulldozers and wrecking balls. Today, most of that area is still in shambles. Here are just a few pictures from the museum:
Robben Island:
I had the honor and privilege to visit Robben Island, the place where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 of the 27 years he was imprisoned. This was a very humbling experience. We saw the island, the kennels where the guard dogs were kept, the houses of the guards, and finally the prison. We got to look into the cell where Nelson Mandela stayed for 18 years. He had a pot to go to the bathroom in, and slept on two THIN mats with a blanket. When I looked into that bare, tiny, uncomfortable cell, I could not help but think of what that experience must have been like. I think I would rather have been dead than stay in that cell for so long. Yet, Mandela was a hero. He not only stayed there, but he worked on ideas to improve this country and came out even stronger than he went in. I already knew how amazing Mandela was, but this just showed me HOW STRONG Mandela really was. During his stay, he wrote a manuscript of his experiences that would later be called Long Walk to Freedom. It was turned into a book, and in the last few months turned into a movie. For those that haven't seen it, I would HIGHLY recommend it. Here are a few of the photos from this experience:
To see the rest of the pictures from these last few weeks, you can CLICK HERE. Thank you all for the non-stop love and support that you are sending my way. If you have any questions or comments, you can contact me!
I also am accepting mail here, so if you want to mail me a letter or anything, ask me for the address!
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