South Africa 2024 Trip Day 1, Part 4: Pretoria: The Voortrekker Monument, Pretoria (September 26)

   

This was a picture (which I have since cropped) of the new South Africa flag of the post-apartheid era. I actually took this one at the apartheid museum, as this was the final display, if you will, of the museum, the symbol of the emergence of a "new South Africa."

In attempting to summarize the 2024 South Africa trip, I am beginning to realize something. I had wanted to provide a fuller, comprehensive story, including the history, of some of these places.

But it seems to be getting in the way of actually publishing posts that review the trip.

Feeling that posting something a little more complete was long overdue, I recognized another truth: there is nothing sopping me from getting into more detail later with specifics.

Case in point, this particular blog entry about the Voortrekker Monument. I remember learning about this a long time ago, back in the days of apartheid rule in South Africa. This monument actually predates official apartheid, however. 

This monument struck me from the first time that I first read about and saw images of it. back in the 1980's. Back then, apartheid was still the law of the land. This monument still held a strong nationalist appeal to the Afrikaners, who remained in control of the country, at least politically. Many viewed this monument as symbolic of their stubborn refusal to let go.

Of course, times have changed. The National Party, which once embodied the will to rule and resistance to let go, finally came to the negotiating table after FW DeKlerk replaced PW Botha. He announced that the policy of racial segregation known as apartheid had failed, and then released political prisoners. The most famous of these was Nelson Mandela. The negotiations offered a road to the "new" South Africa, although it certainly was bumpy and took all sorts of twists and turns. Eventually, however, the "rainbow nation" was born.

It is certainly not a perfect country. No country is, of course. But South Africa still has some glaring problems. The AIDS crisis hit particularly hard here. Crime rates, as I understand it, skyrocketed. Officially racist policies were scrapped, but economic inequality between the races remain, and are in fact glaringly obvious throughout South Africa. Also, corruption at the very top levels of government also seem like they are particularly prevalent, often with screaming headlines.

Still, nobody wants a return to the days of apartheid and forceful white minority rule. Whatever the problems that South Africa has and faces, racial tensions and a troubled history always seem right there, lurking as a backdrop, never far from the surface. It feels like these tensions are a powder keg, and that they could potentially explode at any time.

Which is part of the reason why this monument also seems strange to me. The Voortrekker Monument feels almost like a relic of the past, yet still stands tall and seemingly proudly atop a hill, overlooking the executive capital of the "new" South Africa. It was built to honor the memory of the Boers who went on the "Great Trek," escaping British rule in the Cape and spreading out across much of the interior of the southern part of the continent. Just a little less than one century ago, Afrikaners were still striving to gain control over South Africa, which they ultimately would do with the election of 1948, when D.F. Malan and the Nationalist Party, who then ushered in apartheid. Not long before that time, this monument was built, not just to honor the past, but also as a sort of promise for the future. A future which Afrikaners seemed certain would mean them controlling their own political fate in this corner of the world.

While South Africa itself has seen a lot of political change, some things have not changed nearly as much. As mentioned earlier, economic inequality between the races is evident almost everywhere. In the little time that I spent in the country, you could see poverty stricken shanty towns within view, and sometimes even right next to, affluent neighborhoods which are still mostly populated by the white population. Arundhati Roy once described the "new" South Africa as basically still having apartheid, but now having a clear conscience about it. 

That may indeed be true. The government continues to work in their goals of creating greater equality, which often means at least addressing the most glaringly obvious excesses of inequality. But the work is slow, and inequality between the races remains real and evident. It is clear that South Africa seems to have very different realities for the different groups living there. For the most part, whites generally remain the most prosperous group, enjoying a high standard of living. Also for the most part, blacks still live with and have to make do with significantly less, in terms of living standards.

All of that is why this particular monument still seems strange to me. It is an attractive monument (at least to my eyes), and almost an architectural wonder. Yet, you cannot escape that troubling legacy, and what this monument was designed to represent by those who designed and built it. Yes, things have changed in South Africa, but the past remains in evidence almost everywhere. And perhaps nowhere is that troubled past more glaringly obvious than on this hill, both a part of yet overlooking Pretoria. That city itself has evidently seen a version of white flight, yet it historically was the pride of the Boers/Afrikaners. There are still some Afrikaners who live there, but it no longer seems like Pretoria is their city. My guide explained how some Afrikaners resent the loss of this symbolic city. 

So things have changed in Pretoria, as in South Africa more generally. Still, some signs of the oppressive past remain. It is hard to imagine anything symbolizing both this troubled past and the socio-economic realities in a more glaringly obvious way than this seemingly proud monument, a true relic of a racist past, with a bulwark of a monument literally surrounded by a figurative tight and defensive circle of wagons, perched atop a hill and overlooking the grimmer realities of a largely impoverishing Pretoria down below.

The Voortrekker Monument was always a source of fascination to me. This has remained the case through the years, even decades now. 

Much like South Africa itself, it feels like this monument is a paradox. It is supposed to represent a triumph, yet for many it also clearly has a tragic legacy, as it came to be symbolic of the most extremist mindsets among the Afrikaner people. This was where Afrikaners congregated to celebrate their legacy, and to reinforce the notion that they had a covenant, that their destiny was to rule over this land (South Africa). So to say that it has a troubling legacy is rather an understatement.

Yet, it is an attractive and impressive monument. Handsome atop a hilltop, a bulwark that appears not to have any windows, yet which is actually rather well-lit inside with natural daylight. It is also a bit of an architectural wonder, as the designers made it so that certain words would be illuminated at noon on one specific day of the year: December 16th, which of course used to be known as the "Day of the Covenant."

These are the words inscribed on a tomb like structure at the base of the monument, which gets illuminated by the sun specifically at noon (local time) every December 16th:

ONS VIR JOU SUID AFRIKA

That translates to "We are with you, South Africa."

Except it feels like it was for a certain segment of the population of South Africa for which this sentiment was meant for. Namely, the Afrikaners. 

This building has the feel of something like a church, by which I mean it has a somber feel, meant to reflect and remain respectful. Yet, it can be criticized (and is by some, including by my guide) as a literal monument to vanity and arrogance, since it was built by Afrikaners in honor of Afrikanerdom. That means that the legacy of this monument is troubled and troubling, polarizing and really designed to be divisive in that sense. After all, Afrikanerdom is and always has been, statistically speaking, a tiny fraction of the total population of South Africa. 

Still, it is a beautiful spot, perched atop a hill that gives out a wonderful view, from which you can see the city of Pretoria, the executive capital of South Africa. It is surrounded by a mixture of preserved wilderness (the first actual wildlife, if you can call them that, which I saw during this trip was on the grounds, which the guide said was wildebeest, but which looked to me more like the springboks, which are the national animal, the very symbol of South Africa). 

In some respects, it's difficult to imagine such a monument being in any other country than South Africa. At once, both impressive as an architectural wonder and beautiful place, yet with an obviously troubling legacy and symbolism.