Every young person has a number of destinations that they want to go to, mainly for holidays or to explore. I chose South Africa along with a couple of other countries when I was a teenager, not because it has become a great tourist attraction, but because of the history of its people. Wanting to be in South Africa always was a dream of mine, and I quickly understood why that was when I got there.

South Africa… Whenever the average African person thinks about South Africa, the first thoughts that come to mind are often the days of Apartheid, and the oppression and suffering that the Black South Africans had to endure for many years, before seeing the start of an equal life in 1994. Those thoughts quickly fade into images of the new South Africa; the only country on the African Continent that grew at an exponential rate in all its industries. The only country on the continent placed in a class of its own, with remarkable cities such as Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town. The civil infrastructure and private architectures of the buildings and roads in those cities is so mind blowing that as an outsider to the country, you loose yourself in sights that place you back in some of the most impressive cities in North America and across Europe.

I spent a few days in South Africa ahead of the team’s arrival by road; a few days which may have possibly marked me for the rest of my life. South Africa is what it seems from an outsider’s perspective, but very few know that there is a real South Africa within South Africa itself. I call it SOWETO, or in other words “The Heart of South Africa”. Even with all the luxury, and lavish lifestyle that the country has to offer to its people and its visitors, after a visit to the townships bordering the edges of Johannesburg, you quickly learn that you have not yet been to South Africa until you have been to Soweto. Forget for a moment all the tourist attractions, hotels, restaurants, amusement parks, and wildlife reserves, and spend a day at least, walking through the streets of Soweto, and experience Life… Pain… Suffering… Hardships… and Freedom. All that, through the voices of true Sowetans, people who did not even have the right to walk their own streets during the Apartheid Era, people who today walk those streets freely, despite the weight of the scars left by the previous regime.

It took me no longer than a couple of hours in Soweto, to learn that I was walking the streets that were ground to the start of 1976 student uprisings in South Africa, where Hector Petersen was shot and killed, marking a black day in South African history. Soon afterwards, I learnt that the majority of South Africa’s political activists, such as Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, and Desmond Tutu amongst many others had all grown up in these townships. Also from these townships are the majority of Black South African artists and stars, as well as the greater part of soccer players that have proudly donned the national colors as part of the Bafana Bafana. Walking those streets gave me a deeper appreciation for life, as I stepped in homes that once housed young revolutionists, backrooms where makeshift petrol bombs were made to fight the oppressors, buildings that once had underground rooms and improvised backdoors to escape the dictatorial police that would raid homes in the middle of the nights. Sites where remains of buildings such as schools, churches, community buildings and local Afrikaner government buildings laid as they had been burned down or destroyed by the youth during the uprisings were found in many areas. With those were also the remains of buildings that had negative influences on the local community such as bars and movie houses. Added to those were also areas where others had been assassinated or made disappear, such as Sarafina, due to their political activities, views or popularity.

Soweto, was strategically divided into 10 different zones, to separate the locals by tribes, by the “previous regime” as it is commonly called there, to weaken the people. It is a vast area with almost no ends or boundaries, with a population of about 1 million people, where everyone seems to be a part of a big family. Throughout the general grown up community that I interacted with, was a common consensus about life before the end of Apartheid. Despite the sense of relief that everyone has there, “Life was very hard” was repeated numerous times to me. “We had no rights… and we were thrown in prison for nothing at times” was said by those few that had some sort of previous political involvement. “Some needed housing, and in the end could only rent four walls to live in… They would not even allow us to have showers in our homes” I was told.

After just a couple of days, I ended up looking deep into myself to come up with answers to questions I’ve had over the past few weeks. I am fortunate to have lived the life I have lived, and to have the opportunities I have today, as we don’t realize it as human beings when we take things for granted... things as simple as a basic human right.

Walter Sisulu once said something along the lines of “It is impossible to understand the history of South Africa outside the history of Soweto…” and I agree with him, as all the media I’ve previously gone through never made me feel the way I felt when I was in Soweto. If you get a chance, take a walk through the streets of the Heart of South Africa… Walk the streets the Father of Africa grew up in, like I did… You may come back with a deeper sense of self…

Que Dieu te protège Soweto… Merci pour cette leçon… On se reverra bientôt…