Soweto

We spent our day today in Soweto or the South West Township where the school riots occurred in response to the 50/50 law (in addition to many other oppressive laws). Students were protesting being forced to speak afrikaans (the language of the Dutch boers) in their schools. These protests consisted of dance, song, the refusal to speak afrikaans, as well as self defense tactics and ended with the murder and imprisonment of many school aged children, some as young as 8. The first person photographed who had been shot and killed was Hecter Pieterson who was a 13 year old school boy. This photo captured the attention of the world, but not before these senseless acts of violence had to occur. While in Soweto we visited a museum and memorial dedicated to Pieterson and all the other involved in these protests. We also stopped by the arch bishop Desmond Tutus home as well as the home of Nelson Mandela, which is the place where Winnie was forced to constantly protest her children from bullets and fire bombs while Nelson was in prison.