Last day in South Africa

  Today, Sunday the 22nd of March, is our last day in South Africa. We have a full day planned with a visit to Soweto, the Hector Pietersen Museum, Nelson Mandela Museum, and the Bruma World Market. Details on these visits later in the day.
    Yesterday was Human Rights Day in South Africa. On the 21st of March in 1960 69 blacks were killed for protesting the pass laws. The day is celebrated with some gatherings and remembrances.
   Soweto (the southwestern township) is populated by some 4 million people.   It was designated a place where natives would live who worked in the mines. During apartheid it was designated a black township. There is a very diverse level of living in Soweto today. The have the shanty houses that are simply walls with a place of sheet metal on the roof and then there are upscale homes. As with most of the area, people from Zimbabwe are coming across the border, setting up camps and taking jobs from the South African poor.
    We also saw the Hector Pieterson museum. He was a 13 year old boy killed during the student march in Soweto (they were protesting the use of government required use of Afrikkan in the school curriculum). Lastly we visited the street in Soweto which houses two Nobel Peace Prize winners - Reverend Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. Desmond Tutu still lives in his residence but Nelson Mandela's is now a museum.
     Last but not least was the Bruma market. A flea market of sorts with some everyday items to more tourist related stuff.
     Onto the plane we go. Goodbye South Africa....for now.