LAND OF THE FREE
Tour guide Robin Binckes describes taking an American family to Freedom Park in Pretoria
A dream is not a dream until it is shared by the entire community
“I T was designed as a place of reflection of the past, of the present and the future of our country,” I said as I turned right opposite the prison off Sophie De Bruyn Street in Pretoria and approached our destination, Freedom Park.
I was on the second day of a historical tour with a family from the US — Dan, Michelle and their two children, Michael (16) and Samantha (8).
On the first day, we had covered the history of the country in broad strokes and I had taken them to Alexandra township, the Apartheid Museum and Soweto. Today it was Freedom Park and the Constitutional Court.
As we drove up the hill to the entrance of Freedom Park, I said, “I chose these two sites for us to visit today because both of them embody what the struggle was all about. The Constitutional Court gives you an idea of some of our ideals and what we have achieved in a short space of time, whereas this is a place of reflection and communication with the spirits. We are a very spiritual country with a great deal of credence paid to our ancestors.”
We drove between two giant calabashes (gourds) at the entrance. “They contain water which is used to appease the ancestors,” I said.
“Seriously?” asked Dan, looking sceptical. I grinned. “Very seriously,” I replied.
There was silence in the car as my visitors looked around, taking in their surroundings.
I parked in the car park and switched off the engine. There was an air of tranquility around us and even the children were quiet.
“Perhaps if I use the words from our constitution, it will give you an understanding of what Freedom Park is really about. We the people of South Africa, Recognise the injustices of the past
Honour those who suffered for
justice and freedom in our land
Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and
Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our
diversity .” We climbed out of the car and I started walking to our first stop, the //hapo Museum.
“The name ‘//hapo’ means ‘a dream’ and is taken from the Khoi proverb, ‘A dream is not a dream until it is shared by the entire community.’ ” I clicked my tongue as I pronounced //hapo in the language of the Khoi.
“Freedom Park was, like many of the great ideas of this country, the brainchild of Nelson Mandela. The site that we are on, known as Salvo Kop, gives a great view of Pretoria and across from us in a southerly direction is the Voortrekker Monument, another great memorial. Freedom Park is built on a 52ha site and we are going to visit the three most important features of the park. //hapo, Isivivane and S’khumbuto.”
We entered the hi-tech lit museum to be immediately confronted by screens showing a powerful movie taking us back to the Big Bang. From then on it was a fast-moving, full-colour, interactive, breathtaking and spinechilling journey through our history, showing the early people, colonialism, slavery, wars, oppression, apartheid, the struggle and, finally, the period between 1990, when Mandela came out of
prison, and our first democratic election on April 27 1994.
I noticed that both Dan and Michelle wiped away a tear as they heard Mandela’s inauguration speech as we reached the end of the exhibits.
“Wow,” said Dan. “Wow. What a museum. That has to be one of the best in the world.”
“Your countryman played no small part in its design. A New Yorker by the name of Tom Hennes and his company Thinc acted as consultants to Freedom Park. The park was launched in 2000 and opened the first phase in 2007,” I said.
We walked up the spiral path and then down to the Isivivane, a circular homestead built of rock. In the middle section, giant boulders were positioned in a circle. Smoke drifted up from the circle. We were blanketed by silence.
“This is the resting place of the spirits and, in particular, those who were killed in what have been identified as eight major conflicts, including pre-colonial wars, colonial wars and genocide … you could buy a licence to hunt a Bushman, a human, up to 1936 in South West Africa, now Namibia, which was administrated by South Africa at the time.” The family looked stunned. “The other events remembered here are slavery, wars of resistance, the South African War, formerly known as the Boer War, World War 1 and World War 2.”
We took off our shoes and washed our hands as is customary as we entered the middle section known as Lesaka, a circle of giant boulders, which represents a burial place.
“Each of those boulders comes from one of our nine provinces and from countries that provided a safe haven to freedom fighters in the days of the struggle. Countries such as Cuba, Russia and other Iron Curtain countries.”
Afterwards, at my invitation, each member of the family had picked up a small stone and placed it in African tradition on a conical pile of stones, saying a silent prayer for the spirits of the heroes who died in the pursuit of freedom.
Then we made our way back up the spiral path through the Garden of Remembrance — which contains more than 32 indigenous threatened plant species, 16 of which are exclusive to South Africa — to the S’khumbuto or Wall of Remembrance.
“This wall is 697m long and is inscribed with the names of those who died in those eight identified conflicts. So far, over 75 000 names are included and there is space for another 50 000 for future generations. Hopefully, they won’t have to use it,” I said.
From where we stood, we could see the amphitheatre, a terraced space that can seat 2 000 people, adjacent to an imposing building with gentle sweeping architectural lines.
“That’s the Sanctuary,” I explained. “There, people are invited to commune with their spirits and express their grief or celebration of life.
“Finally, look over there.” I pointed to tall poles, like giant flag poles, which marked the perimeter of the amphitheatre. “They represent reeds. Reeds represent life and the rebirth of our new South Africa.”
I noticed Dan blinking rapidly and Michelle blew her nose again.
“Wow” said Dan, shaking his head. “Wow. What a place. Unique. You must be very proud.” I nodded. We walked back to the car. — ©
Robin Binckes