This past weekend we went to the Apartheid Museum. The purpose of the trip was for a group of us to discover and learn more of the history of our country so that we could move forward in to the future. The Apartheid Museum is unfortunately not a popular place for South African’s but very popular for foreign tourists. The funny thing is that Chrissy and I visited it on our honeymoon. It has been a helpful place to recognize what we are up against as we seek to walk into our call to be bridges of reconciliation. There is hope if we can walk through our past into the future together. One thing that struck me most was the pervasive lies, propaganda and systematic oppression that were put in place under apartheid. Everything was set up to segregate blacks from whites and to benefit the whites minority population at the expense of the majority black population – The scariest thing though is that post 1994, the democratic elections, one would have expected things to have changed but for the average black person on the street not much has changed. Apartheid might not be the law but the is an ever increasing distance between the haves and have not’s, a distinction that runs mostly along the black white line does not help to bring people together. This is what we are feeling more and more called to work against. The challenging thing for the wealthy white, I being one of them, is that because of our privilege we have to choose to enter into this struggle for equality and justice. We also have the choice to leave and return to our lives of privilege. It can be difficult to stay and learn, as it is easier to turn a blind eye and remain ignorant. It is a more radical choice to try to listen to and identify with those who are oppressed or who are poor, especially when you are part of the reason they are in the position they are. I pray that more white people will stay and commit to the journey of learning together how to reconcile, to follow Jesus into a place of healing together. Praise God for food, taxi rides, singing songs, soccer balls, rugby, tea and coffee and laughter that were also part of this challenging day. They all brought us closer together and give us stories that we now share.
3 comments:
Trev,
Great post. It's exactly 11 years since we were sitting at Mt. Sinai Church in NE Portland during the Portland Urban Project talking about race and reconciliation! We had a bit of a match around "American Racism!" =) But being true to your hunger for Christ, there you are, in your native country wrestling with how to be an agent of the God's justice. Praise Him for your journey. And Happy Birthday to Chrissy! Much love to you all FOUR of you!
Hi Trevor. Thanks for sharing. This journey remains difficult for me, but it is leaving a mark on me and Anne-Marie's lives that speaks of significance and purpose.
Your post title reminds me of the feeling I picked up at the first conversation I attended at you place. Instead of forget and move on, we are called perhaps to remember and move on. Remembering makes the difference.
Chat soon.
hey Trev. to tell you the truth in the beginning i didn't believe that this can happen, no-one wanted to touch the subject due to several reason (Ignorance, so called forgiven, afraid to be Labelled)but you did. we don't normally say this to you but you deserve it Well Done
Trevor, Chrissy, Keira, + 1. thank God that justice will be done in this country through you. we admired you. And well for the workload ahead of you God will see you through
to Chrissy Have a happy birthday
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