From Teacher to Tourist

My weekdays are filled with 5.30am starts, lesson plans, marking, tests and teaching but that doesn't stop me from being a proper tourist at the weekends. 

So last Saturday we took a trip Constitution Hill, a place which remembers the past but embraces the present and how far the South African justice system has come.

Here lies an old prison where we saw the horrific conditions that ‘black’, ‘coloured’ (which is rather bizarrely the more politically correct and less offensive way of saying ‘mixed race’) and other ‘non-white’ prisoners were living and how poorly they were treated in comparison with the white prisoners. What I found most shocking was that this level of discrimination was still apparent in this prison well into the 80s, after all three of my older sisters were born. Wherever you travel in the world, you will always come across racism from those ignorant few, but such blatant discrimination encouraged by higher authorities, was difficult to accept.

But as we leave the prison museum feeling deflated we step out to a brighter building, standing on some of the remains of the old prison – Constitutional Court. This is where every South African (of any skin colour, any religion and any political view) is welcome if they feel they have been unfairly sentenced. The rights of every civilian are protected within these walls.

Following this we were very lucky to get tickets to see the derby at FNB Stadium: Kaizer Chiefs vs Orlando Pirates. You might notice the familiarity of the first team’s name, and that is no coincidence! That British band which we all know and love are avid Leeds United supporters and were particularly proud of ex-captain Lucas Radebe, who played for Kaizer Chiefs – and so adopted the name (with a minor spelling alteration to avoid copyright issues!) to remember their hero. Because of this (and the fact that the majority of my students were Chiefs fans and told me they would lose all respect for me if I supported Pirates) I cheered, shouted and bellowed down my vuvuzela (I couldn't resist buying one!) in support of Chiefs.

Reema and I (vuvuzela in hand) were excited to see the game

Unfortunately, it wasn't a particularly exciting game. It ended nil nil and moved swiftly on to penalties (they only seemed to have about 5 minutes of extra time) where Pirates won. Despite this, the atmosphere was amazing. The FNB was one of the Stadiums used in the 2010 World Cup, holding 92,000 (bigger than Wembley!). Imagine a stadium that size filled with enthusiastic, singing, clapping (and even dancing!) supporters!

Unlike in the matches in England, all the fans were mixed together. Although the two teams were ultimate local rivals (very much like City and United) the entire crowd was one. Pirates and Chiefs were sitting side by side, teasing each other when goals were saved, penalties were missed or players were booked. That just wouldn't happen at the Manchester Derby!

But one thing that couldn't escape our notice (nor was it unknown to those fans around us), we were quite clearly an ethnic minority. I must admit it was one of the most surreal moments of my life when local fans were coming up to us, clambering over seats, to have photos taken with us. Some even asked the photographer to come over and had professional prints made.

We spent Sunday at the Apartheid Museum. I wish we could've have spent more time there, but the minibus was soon waiting to pick us up. If ever you get the opportunity to come to Joburg, the Apartheid Museum should definitely be one of the first places you should visit. I won’t tell you too much about the exhibitions because, as I say, you really have to go and visit it for yourselves. But you know you are going to get a taste of what life was like during the Apartheid when you see your ticket and read:

“Your ticket to the museum has randomly classified you as either ‘white’ or ‘non-white’.

Use the entrance to the museum indicated on this ticket”