FDA Visits South Africa

SOUTH AFRICA : THE LAND OF CONTRADICTIONS A group of 52 members of the FDA community headed out for The Republic of South Africa. Upon our arrival in Johannesburg (Jo burg) we were struck by the beauty of the country and the very friendly residents. We also amazed by the many contradictions we saw. The well off lived in modern apartment buildings with all the conviences you would find in New York City. The poor lived in what was called "Informal Housing" what we call shacks without services. Some of the communities had communal toilets and a water pump that served many families. In downtown Johannesburg , we enjoyed a panoramic view of the city on top of the Carlton Center (Africa's tallest building) Our tour guides provided us with a great deal of information about Apartheid. We visited The Hector Peterson Museum. In the black township of SOWETO we visited the home the former President Nelson Mandela. After taking a short boat ride to Robben Island we were greeted by a former inmate of the penal colony. He gave us a tour of the prison. Political Prisoners individuals who were anti Apartheid fighters were kept in separate cells, well others were confined to a 10 by 14 cell with as many as 20 inmates. Some cells were dormitories with large numbers of inmates. Nelson Mandela spent 18 years on Robben Island and also was incarcerated in other jails or an additional 9 years for saying that Apartheid was unfair, inhuman and immoral. We also visited the Sophia Police Station where many local residents of Alexandria were brutalized and beaten. We visited also visited the Apartheid Museum. In the museum we saw documentaries about the severity of apartheid. We took a cable car to the top of Table Top Mountain. we spent a day in Pretoria and saw many of the historic buildings in including the Union Building . We also went on a Safari at the Pilanesburg Reserve. We saw huge rhinoceros, giraffes, and rode in an open bus. Our guide had a loaded rifle and was prepared to use it if the animals came too close to the vehicle. We saw many Springbok a dainty antelope. It was very exciting to see animals in the wild. In Cape town we stayed at a newly opened 5 Star Hotel in the center of town. On our way to the Cape of Good Hope where the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean meet stopped to see a colony of penguins. Some of the more adventurous members of the group went swimming with the sharks.