Land of Signs

 “The infectious spread of apartheid into the smallest details of daily
life made South Africa into a land of signs” Ernest Cole

Greetings from the Outlook Lodge in Jo’berg! We all managed
to get a decent sleep last night and were able to enjoy our first day here-a
small but significant blessing, as we were given much to think about today. But
first, a bit about the place we are staying. The Lodge, actually a larger
house, is located in a fairly quiet suburban setting, and is quite lovely.  We were greeted upon our arrival here with a
warm summer like evening and the sounds of several exotic sounding birds.  Our host and engaging house manager here,
Francois, has helped make our stay relaxing and seamless-another small but
significant blessing for a bunch of nearly jet lagged stragglers like us.  Many thanks Francois!

Today we spent the early part of the day learning about the
landscape of Soweto, a township in Johannesburg (The name Soweto is actually an
acronym that actually means south west township so-we-to). Our guide, S’nothile
(pronounced Snow-tilly) schooled us in the past and present of Soweto.  It is very much a work in progress, partly due
to the residual effects of apartheid.  Apartheid
has only been abolished since 1994, with the first democratic election held that
year.  Apartheid has been a part of the
social landscape for decades, and has in turn devastated the physical landscape
and the effect on the people has been exponential.  To get a feel for this, we spent the later
part of the day at the Apartheid Museum. One of 
the exhibits we saw was based on a book entitled House of Bondage by  Ernest  Cole - one of the long chain of individuals
who helped move South Africa into a democratic state.  

The quote at the beginning of this post is from Cole’s book,
and refers to all the signs that were posted in front of one store front alone.
Signs dictating to black South Africans where they could eat, go to the
bathroom, stand and a multitude of other instructions for people who were
clearly not acceptable to others.  The
part of the quote stating that the state had become a “land of signs” had me
wondering how often as Christ’s representatives we make our own lives into a
land of signs.  How often do we, without
realizing it much of the time, put people around us into categories that are
inferior to ourselves in some way?  How
often do we place others at the back of the bus, based on a perception?  I think the answer, at least for me, is “too
often”. 

We will be learning more as we go, and hopefully by the end,
be more humble than the day we arrived.  Until
our next post, as they say in siSwati “Salani Kahle”-Stay Well.  We’ll be home soon.

Angela