Today is our last day in South Africa, but before we leave we decided to do one last site visit to Constitution Hill which is located downtown Johannesburg. The last time, I was in South Africa, I did not visit this place due to time, but I am glad I had a chance this time around. What I discovered on this guided tour, that this is nothing but Robben Island right in the heart of downtown Johannesburg. Constitution Hill is now the home of the constitutional court where your basic rights and freedom is protected. Yes, it is the highest court in the land. It has a very diverse set of judges on the bench today, with one even with HIV/ AID's residing on the bench. They were in their last session when we arrived. Before today, it was the site of Johannesburg's notorious Old Fort Prison Complex commonly known as Number Four, where thousands of ordinary people were brutally punished before the dawn of democracy in 1994. Many of South Africa's leading political activists, including Mahatma Gandhi, Albertina Sisulu, Winnie Madikizel-Mandela and Nelson Mandela, were detained here. This prison was for men and women and the conditions were horrible as you can imagine. Overcrowding was a common theme here. Examples of imprisonment, is if you did not have a pass to be in a certain part of town, you were sent to prison for an average of 3 months. Yes, a pass to travel from town to town. Walking around freely was not an option. If you ever get a chance to visit South Africa you should visit this site, it is a great experience, for that matter all of South Africa is a great experience. The culture and people are some of the nicest people on the planet. It is an experience and feeling, I wish all could experience.
Heading Back to the US Now.
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