Apartheid Never Happened. That's Why I Need A New Road Map.

So.


Apartheid.


A brutal system of segregation enforced by a militant racist regime which forced thousands of people to live under the whip of a white minority. I wouldn't call it breaking news. Hell, we were just the first country to give it a name.


Now, eleven years later, we have become one of the most liberal constituencies in the world. The first dictatorship to ever vote ITSELF out of power, and put in charge a majority government without revolution or coup.


Awesome.


Hear me out - I love my country. An African born and bred, I am proud of everything we achieve, and (sometimes annoyingly so) ridiculously optimistic about it's future. We have a shit-ton of problems, yes, and that will take time, but on the whole, we're doing quite well.


Which annoys the crap out of me.


I started thinking about this a while ago, but yesterday really got me riled. Several years ago the chaps in charge, the big cheeses, started systematically wiping out any trace or monument that was associated with apartheid. Airports named after apartheid presidents were renamed, entire towns and cities were renamed, statues torn down and replaced with effigies of heroes from 'The Struggle'. The entire memory of what had happened still burns in peoples memories, and everything possible was, and is being, done to remove any sort of reminder.


This is what gets to me.


Sure, it was an awful, awful time, with unbelievable cruelty and suffering. I am in no way denying that. I agree with celebrating and supporting the memories of the people like Hector Peterson, Helen Suzman, Steve Biko and countless others who did everything they possibly do to make things right. But why sweep over 60 years of a countries past under the carpet?


Street names, that for years and years have been just streets, are being renamed right and left at a cost of literally millions. Just because I drive down Jan Smuts Avenue everyday on my way to work doesn't mean I think about the 1920's involvement of South African troops in the reparation schedule of Versaille. For crying out loud, it's a fucking road name.


Yes, it was a horrible time, and should never be allowed to happen again.


Yes, it has bad, ugly connotations.


But for heavens sake, does simply hiding any evidence of it really make it disappear? No way. A country's history is a country's history, good and bad. Both should be remembered. One to be celebrated, the other as a reminder to not go down that road again.




At least, that's my opinion.




But then again, Exclusive Books is having a sale on Metropolitan Maps and Atlases, so maybe I'll be okay.