I had these two pictures in my sermon yesterday, and asked the congregation to recognize them.
I wondered whether anyone would recognize the first. But within a few guesses one of the high-school girls had it: Auschwitz.
Later the second was shown. But no matter what, no one could recognize this. My colleague, had to point it out: The Apartheidmuseum.
We seriously need to get in touch with our own history…
Helen Suzman remembered… and this has made a difference
June 29, 2009
After visiting the Apartheidmuseum while at Amahoro I made a kind of a personal vow that I will for the coming months take people their, and let them reflect on what they experience. Saturday was our first such a trip, with 11 people in their 20’s, 2 in their teens and one in his 50’s.
The museum has just too much to take in in one visit, so I picked about 5 stations which I didn’t spend time on last time, and really worked through them. The first was the Helen Suzman exhibition. What struck me was the part where she said that the stories of Jewish oppression (I think in the Holocaust, but it might also have been some other, or a few other, instances of anti-semitism) which she remembered was a strong influence in her fight against Apartheid.
For 13 years Suzman was the only member of parliament wholly against Apartheid, but she kept on fighting. Remembering Apartheid, not in order to experience guilt, but in order to change the future, has become very important to me, so Suzman’s remembrance of Jewish oppression and how this influenced her fight against Apartheid is a story which I also think should be remembered.
Well, will visit the museum with another group of interested people again in about a months time. Let me know if you are interested.
Steve Hays shared some remembrance from Apartheid, he still remembers.
my contemplations 