Injustice

I just got back from Cape Town. While the city was strikingly beautiful, I can't seem to shake the race divide you see in the city. The differences run deep. On one side of the street you'll see a white community filled with mansions and beautiful views of the ocean. On the other..a township, filled with shacks, a place where only blacks live.

I almost feel ashamed that I didn't know more about Apartheid until I came to South Africa. Here is a brief history. The Dutch and English colonized South Africa in the 17th century. As was typically the case with African colonies, the Europeans took control of the indigenous people in the area. In 1948, a flood of laws were poured onto the community to formally institute the dominance of whites over other races. These laws forbid mixed marriages, made sure all blacks were moved into townships, reduced their education opportunities, and made all South Africans register their race as white, colored, or black. Afrikaans was forced as the official language in all schools, even when the black population only spoke English. During this time, Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in prison for allegedly encouraging Black South Africans to go on strike and for illegally leaving the country. For years, the country was left divided. In 1990, Mandela was released after spending 27 years of his life in prison. From 1990 to 1994, negotiations started to take place to end apartheid within the country. While you'd think the violence would have stopped during this time period, it only got worse. More people were killed during these four years than during the entire period of apartheid. Finally in 1994, all races were allowed to vote, giving the ANC (Mandela's political party) power over South Africa.

Here is the thing. While the laws have changed, the mindsets are still stuck. The divide is still here. While Blacks no longer are forced to live in townships, they still do. You won't find a black person living in a white neighborhood. The social economic divide is drastic between the two races. It's completely unfair. Whites live in beautiful mansions by the sea while blacks live in shacks in a crowded township.

As we were driving down the highway in Capetown, David took us to see Khayelitsha, a township in the Cape Flats. Home to over a million people, the poverty is drastic. I couldn't get over the fact that these people are still oppressed the same way they were before.

My friend Sabby came over this morning and we started talking about this divide. She moved to South Africa in 1996, two years after apartheid ended. She talked about how she use to go to "all white" swimming pools. When she got into the water, white families would actually leave the facility.

I brought this issue before the Lord this morning. He gave me Psalm 94.

"Does he who implanted the ear, not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers? Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. Can a corrupt throne be allied with you--one that brings misery by its decrees? They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge. He will repay them for their sins and destroy their wickedness."

That's a beautiful promise. This won't last forever. God sees it. He will act on it.

"The Group Areas Act, passed in the 1950s, prohibited blacks from living in the cities. Hundreds of thousands defied the ban and moved to urban areas in search of work, putting up shacks made of tin, wood and cardboard. Apartheid is gone, but its legacy-- and the shacks-- remain. In fact, the townships are growing: Khayelitsha is home to between 500,000 and 1 million people. There is no official census count."(Quote and photo taken from Sue Johnson 2004 online @ http://suejaye.com/webexhibit/1.html)

I took this photo of this township from the highway. The shacks lie behind the brown fence.