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Updated 27 minutes ago
July 18th marks the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, the late South African president who died in 2013.
Visitors can follow in the footsteps of Mandela in the villages where he was born raised, in the city of Soweto where he became an anti-apartheid leader, at Robben Island where he was imprisoned for years.
EASTERN CAPE
"When Mandela was only a child, he was traveling for miles on this road, moving from one village to the other," says the Velile Ndlumbini tourist guide while we were crossing the picturesque green hills of the East. Cap.
The farm where he was born can be seen in the small village of Mvezo. He lived here until the age of 2, when his father lost his village chief position in an argument with a magistrate.
The family then moved to the nearby town of Qunu, where Mandela lived until the age of 9, on the death of his father. He and his mother then moved 19 kilometers (12 miles) from Mqhekezweni.
Here he was adopted by the Acting Regent King and was treated for leadership.
Mandela wrote in his autobiography, "Long Walk to Freedom," that his interest in politics was first stoked by listening to former tribal people hold community meetings in Mqhekezweni. A shady place under a circle of gum trees, said Ndlumbini, is still used for this purpose.
It was Qunu where Mandela returned after 27 years in prison. He built a complex along the N2 highway for his family, where some still live, and he returned to Qunu himself after retiring from public life.
Dusty roads lead to his private grave in front of his family's burial place.
Qunu is also home to the Nelson Mandela Museum, which opened on February 11, 2000, the 10th anniversary of his release from prison. He takes visitors from his childhood through his involvement in politics to his triumphant election as president.
About 200 kilometers (125 miles) south is the Steve Biko Museum in King William Town.
Biko was an icon of anti-apartheid activism, an African nationalist, and a leader of the Black Consciousness Movement. He had a major influence on Mandela, and died in 1977 after being arrested and beaten.
In nearby Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth, a facility called Route 67 presents 67 works of art symbolizing Mandela's 67 years of service. Art, represented by locals, represents important moments from the journey of apartheid to democracy, from laser-cut steel forming a voting line to the country's first democratic elections in 1994 to a staircase that begins in the darkness and progresses in color and new beginnings.
SOWETO
Created in the 1930s by the white government to relocate the black population of Johannesburg, Soweto became the largest black city in South Africa. Poverty was rampant in the slums and civil strife was rampant during apartheid.
Mandela lived in Soweto from 1946 to 1962 and met with the activist of the African National Congress Walter Sisulu.
Mandela's house in Soweto has also been transformed into a museum. But the most exhaustive and heartbreaking site is the museum of apartheid.
The entrance is divided into "white / white" and "non-white / non-white", followed by a "laissez-pbader" display that the black population was to wear, limiting their movements . The museum details the history of white settlers in South Africa, the beginnings of apartheid, and the daily struggles of blacks, as well as the story of how Mandela transformed the African National Congress into one. a mbad political movement.
The Memorial and Museum Hector Pieterson tells the story of the Soweto riots in 1976. Hector was 12 when he was shot dead by police firing on student protesters.
A famous photo shows his soft body worn while his sister was running beside. Some accounts say that hundreds have died during the protests. The museum contains a moving and touching collection of oral testimonials, large-scale photographs, audiovisual exhibits and historical records of the uprising.
A road to the north takes you to Liliesleaf, in the suburbs of Rivonia. This farm became a museum, which once belonged to Arthur Goldreich, a member of the South African Communist Party, was used in the 1960s as a secret hiding place for Mandela and other activists fleeing the police.
The famous Rivonia trial is over with Mandela and his comrades sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island.
ROBBEN ISLAND
A 45-minute ferry ride from Cape Town, Robben Island is where Mandela spent 18 years of his 27 years in prison, starting in 1964, alongside other heroes of the movement like Sisulu and Govan Mbeki.
The most powerful part of the tour, led by a former prisoner, is a visit to Mandela's cell, a 7-by-9-foot room. Despite the humiliation and oppression of his years here, it is also there that he has honed his skills as a leader, negotiator and proselyte, which has put him on the road to the presidency in 1994.
MADIBA & S JOURNEY
A pilgrimage to places related to Mandela's life is both scary and edifying. While South Africa has come a long way, this young democracy still has a lot of work to do, including improving living conditions and resources for its majority black population.
A mobile app, Madiba's Journey, created by South African Tourism and the Nelson Mandela Foundation, can help you trace the footsteps of the man who has dedicated his life to freedom.
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