A different side of Jo’burg

Yesterday I saw a different side of Jo’burg. I drove through beautiful suburbs with huge houses – the only thing I’d seen of the city thus far – to the suburb of Soweto. Many of the houses there were in bad shape – some were simply pieces of tin leaning against one another to form shelter.

In Soweto I drove by Freedom Square where the Freedom Charter, an alternative vision to the repressive policies of the apartheid state, was drawn up. I stopped by the Regina Mundi church which offered sanctuary during the riots of 1976. And I was able to spend some time at the Hector Pieterson memorial which marks that sad day (June 16, 1976) when Hector Pieterson who was only 12-years-old was shot during a peaceful protest over the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in township schools.

I also visited the Apartheid Museum yesterday. In front of the museum a quote from Nelson Mandela reads, “For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

This quote became even more meaningful as I saw hundreds of gallows representing political prisoners who were killed, read signs showing the segregation of the time, and learned about the current constitution of South Africa which affirms, “The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.” One of my contacts explained to me that it’s a constitution which South Africa is growing into – which has not and will not be easy.

I’m still processing all of this. And all of it does tie to business culture. Anyone who wishes to do business in South Africa must understand the country’s past and its future.