Today, we head to Johannesburg and fly out of South Africa. I feel really sad about it. It is a wonderful country. Yes, there’s still a lot wrong with it. It remains an unequal society with extremes of wealth and poverty. And there is a great deal of crime. But it is a country that is full of hope and promise. Its black population, although economically still emerging from the legacies of history, is free to reach its full potential, which it will achieve in time. Many black people here today go about their business with confidence, and talk to whites on equal terms. Such was far from normal when I visited 33 years ago. The white population, South Africa’s former rulers, appear to have embraced the change that occurred in 1994, which, in my view, is conducive to ongoing good race relations. When I reflect on how South Africa was in 1984, it is a miracle that the country was able to find a way to bring about change, and have a democracy that actually remains a democracy. A true democracy in South Africa was never a foregone conclusion. When I reflect on the black on black violence that occurred in the period 1990-94, it is heartwarming that peace has endured. South Africa has always been special to me. I’ve loved being here in 2017, and I won’t wait 33 years before I next return.
Today, we fly to Singapore. The blog is not yet finished. While in Singapore, we will visit Changi prison, where Allied soldiers were held by the Japanese, under brutal treatment.
To the Drakensberg with Love 