We have been in Southern Africa for two weeks now and have had interesting experiences so far. The journey did not start well though. We had to change a flight in Zurich, Switzerland on the way to Johannesburg, South Africa. We sat in that plane just in front of a guy who was being deported from Switzerland. He was handcuffed by the policemen and was screaming in frustration. We did not understand what it was all about initially but I asked the guys what it was all about and got the information that "the man had commited a crime in Switzerland and had to be expelled from the country".
It was heartbreaking and frustrating to listen to the guy who protested the deportation violently. We felt powerless over the whole situation. It was a weard feeling to sit there and not to able to do anything about it. I told the policemen to treat the man in respect to the international humanright standards and with dignity. They were not impressed by my interference. First lady burst in tears whereus most of the passengers were more or less indifferent to the whole thing.
The pilot eventually told the policemen to take out the guy because he would not be able to fly otherwise which they did to our relief. It was a very emotional and most exasperating moment of our journey. We were impacted by the incident in the rest of the flight which was deteriorited by the turbulent wind. We arrived though safely and took a taxi to the guest house in Roder poort outside Johannesburg.
The manager in the guest house was a 32 year old woman who was armed with a pistol and a knife. She has a strange view of blacks and is one of the most ignorant persons I ever met on this planet. We went to Swaziland after three days there since we met a couple ahead of the quarter final between Ghana and Urugay. They also stayed in the guest house. This couple let us stay at their beautiful house in pinevalley , Swaziland for three days and we had a wonderful time there. We did a "Sibebe" which means walked through the rocky mountains in the area.
Swaziland is a very beautiful place but has a king who has an absolute power and a firm grip on its population. We saw a film called "without the king" which gives an informative picture of the country.
We continued then to Maputo, Mozambique by a minibus and had a pleasant journey. Maputo is still recovering from the civil war as the rest of the country. Unemployment is high among the youth who survive by trying to sale whatever they have. It is always sad to see so many people suffering from poverty. The island katembe just outside Maputo was a refreshing place and a bit of relief.
Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa have a long way to walk but the determination of their populations to get out of poverty in descency is amazing despite all the odds agains them.
The world cup has brought some people together in South Africa but its long time ramification and legacy to the country remains to be seen. I am not that much optimistic about the future of this country because of the tense relationships that still exist among different sectors of the South African society, the socio-economic injustice which is based on racial division despite political apartheid is supposed to be gone.
The arrival of Mandela in Soccer city at the final and to have been able to be a part and parcel of that event is something that we are very happy about. The final itself was not exciting but the right team won. Ghana was robbed its semifanla place by Suarez but they are the champions of Africa and the world. I am humbeld and grateful to have witnessed a world cup in this country despite my initial reservations.
We are planning to go to Durban, Port Elisabeth and Cape Town in the coming days. The apartheid museum in Johannesburg is something that I recommend every human-being.
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