He introduced himself by asking the group 3 questions each had to answer:
Where does he come from?
What is his religion?
What sport does he represent?
Out of all the diverse answers from the group of 20 he emphasized the fact that people naturally box people and stereotype. This is also so not true, but this is the way people behave. Our transformation is 'country speaking' which is not too bad - but the country moved fast! and we are staying behind. The effort that we have to make is important. Transformation is to develop and develop = to change (keyword) - to grow. He looked at transformation from an angle saying that it is not change, although we cannot exist with the word transformation is not that! He said transformed = change and transformation = the process of change were we haven’t arrived - he explained it as being like liquid not a solid - we are in the process of shaping and that means we make mistakes, but we must learn from that and rethink on how can we now change this.
What stood out for me was the why? question on if we do not understand why we are doing it why will we do it?
He also touched on TOLERENCE and the levels in which we tolerate instead because of forced change, we need to CONFRONT it otherwise we are running away from reality. Therefor tolerance needs to move to acceptance. This lead to discussions on racism and this was illustrated mostly by the government and politics which then brought us to internalized oppression and this is what have a huge impact on the business sector and as example he referred to service delivery. Unfortunately according to me he didn't really address the workplace which would have been of value in our own environments. He also made use of a great deal of swearing which was not very comfortable to me. I would actually suggest a shorter session for his discussion.
He kept us longer though than the time that has been allocated and therefore we had to rush to get our on-the-go lunch (which was a nice surprise packet!) to hit the road to Johannesburg.
Our exiting visit! to Constitutional Hill Museum / Court:
Being Human Rights day, the highway was such a pleasant drive and we all had lunch on the way, but for some reason although it was after the weekend, the group really seem to be exhausted. I think we all also had an emotional afternoon. Time was a factor as we arrived a little later than expected and therefor I wish I had more time just to hesitate for a few minutes in respect for everything that happened behind the walls in the apartheid era. The fact that although they all were prisoners they also had their own levels of social standing and discrimination within the space of the four walls. Peoples dignity was no issue and the circumstances horrible. Although all of them were prisoners they the whites and blacks were treated differently.
Unfortunately being a public holiday the library was closed and we did not see that which is a pity.
The Court is impressive and the symbolic / symbolism in the foyer awed me. The guide explained to us how the court sessions worked and inside the court the most beautiful handmade South African flag. We very briefly visited the ladies prison which seemed to be a little more human-like, and the sketches that was made by a black political lady prisoner (cannot remember who she was) which she smuggled out of the prison through her husband and lawyer actually also captured the terrible circumstances at the time.
I also had the opportunity to have a discussion on this terrible past with one of the group members, a black lady and all I could suggest that it is our responsibility to actively create a new and different future, especially for our children.
So except for being emotionally drained we were physically so tired and some even took a short nap on the way back, knowing we had to complete and finalize the group assignment as we do only have tonight and tomorrow night we need to know exactly what each of us has to present in order to practice and memorise.
