Friday, September 24, was Heritage Day in South Africa. Heritage Day is a national holiday on which South Africans celebrate the country’s many diverse cultural heritages. Most people have the day off from work and celebrate the occasion in various ways. In Cape Town, all of the national museums offered free admission. I opted to check out two such museums in hopes of becoming better accustomed with South African history. A fitting way to spend Heritage Day!
One of the museums I visited is called the Slave Lodge. The front of the building is pictured below.
It is one of the oldest buildings in Cape Town. Its name is derived from its former function as the center of the slave trade in “the Mother City.” The Slave Lodge was the place where the Dutch colonists housed the slaves they captured from their exploits in foreign lands (primarily Asia). Below is a picture of routes the Dutch East India Company traversed to capture slaves.
The modern museum provides visitors with an overview of the history of slavery at the Cape.
The morning I spent in this museum was one of the most challenging I’ve experienced in Cape Town. Upon entering the building visitors view a sign that unapologetically reminds them that slavery is often viewed with so much guilt that people are afraid to speak about it and thus forget the stories of those who suffered under it. The Slave Lodge seeks to remind its visitors of those very stories.
As I made my way through the exhibit I struggled to make peace with the fact that people, who long ago were held captive in the very rooms where I was now leisurely strolling, were once the property of another person. I felt their ghosts laden with the burden of their untold stories lurk around me. I could tangibly feel their lack of freedom. And I felt something else too. I felt a deep sadness permeate my entire being as the knowledge sank in that one group of people willingly exploited and dehumanized another group all for profit’s sake. Standing in the midst of that place, slavery hit me in an overwhelmingly new way that broke my heart. I felt as though my faith in humanity vanished and I was left feeling incredibly grief stricken.
I stood paralyzed in sorrow and leaned back against the walls of the building where the slaves of the past were once housed. I felt the cold from the wall seep through my clothes and into my body. As the chill permeated my being, I began to think of contemporary slavery and the ways in which dehumanization still occurs today.
One of the signs in the Slave Lodge stated: “Slavery is a form of domination of one person over another.” Based on that definition slavery is still alive and well. I left the Slave Lodge with a burning question in my mind: What forms of domination of one person over another exist today and in what ways do I contribute to them? In what ways do we contribute to them?
The ghosts of those long ago exploited peoples still cling to the walls of the Slave Lodge. Their memories are palpable. I pray that our generation may become aware of and forsake its reliance on dominating and dehumanizing behaviors that exploit others. May the God of freedom who creates, liberates, and sustains us be present with us and guide us to heightened awareness and action.
One of the museums I visited is called the Slave Lodge. The front of the building is pictured below.
It is one of the oldest buildings in Cape Town. Its name is derived from its former function as the center of the slave trade in “the Mother City.” The Slave Lodge was the place where the Dutch colonists housed the slaves they captured from their exploits in foreign lands (primarily Asia). Below is a picture of routes the Dutch East India Company traversed to capture slaves.
The modern museum provides visitors with an overview of the history of slavery at the Cape.
The morning I spent in this museum was one of the most challenging I’ve experienced in Cape Town. Upon entering the building visitors view a sign that unapologetically reminds them that slavery is often viewed with so much guilt that people are afraid to speak about it and thus forget the stories of those who suffered under it. The Slave Lodge seeks to remind its visitors of those very stories.
As I made my way through the exhibit I struggled to make peace with the fact that people, who long ago were held captive in the very rooms where I was now leisurely strolling, were once the property of another person. I felt their ghosts laden with the burden of their untold stories lurk around me. I could tangibly feel their lack of freedom. And I felt something else too. I felt a deep sadness permeate my entire being as the knowledge sank in that one group of people willingly exploited and dehumanized another group all for profit’s sake. Standing in the midst of that place, slavery hit me in an overwhelmingly new way that broke my heart. I felt as though my faith in humanity vanished and I was left feeling incredibly grief stricken.
I stood paralyzed in sorrow and leaned back against the walls of the building where the slaves of the past were once housed. I felt the cold from the wall seep through my clothes and into my body. As the chill permeated my being, I began to think of contemporary slavery and the ways in which dehumanization still occurs today.
One of the signs in the Slave Lodge stated: “Slavery is a form of domination of one person over another.” Based on that definition slavery is still alive and well. I left the Slave Lodge with a burning question in my mind: What forms of domination of one person over another exist today and in what ways do I contribute to them? In what ways do we contribute to them?
The ghosts of those long ago exploited peoples still cling to the walls of the Slave Lodge. Their memories are palpable. I pray that our generation may become aware of and forsake its reliance on dominating and dehumanizing behaviors that exploit others. May the God of freedom who creates, liberates, and sustains us be present with us and guide us to heightened awareness and action.
I suspect each and every one of us could look no further than the tags in our clothes for reminders of contemporary slavery. Every single one of us is guilty when we willingly buy clothes made in the thousands of sweatshops around (predominantly) Asia. Shoes. Socks. Underwear. Not to mention durable goods. And this doesn't even scratch the surface. We are still living in - and perpetuating, contributing to - a world built on the backs of slave laborers.
ReplyDeleteBut what is the alternative? Are you willing to pay $125 for a pair of jeans made at a company that pledges fair treatment of its laborers? However disgusting the ideology and conditions where they are kept, some slaves may be (have been) better off than if left alone.
An interesting point Australian Snowman and exactly what I hoped would arise in my readers' minds. That is something that we each need to look at for ourselves and collectively.
ReplyDeleteOk, I just posted my blog about our museum experience and ignored this iceberg... and now I'm reading your post and must commend you for an excellent articulation :-) I enjoyed our museum day and look forward to further adventures. Hope you're having fun in Jo-burg!
ReplyDelete