Today I went again to the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg. On 23rd December, we did not expect it to be busy. We were wrong – there were hundreds of visitors – many from overseas and also many South Africans, of all shades and hues.
Visiting the Apartheid Museum is a moving experience – whatever your prior knowledge or experience of apartheid. It is difficult not to be moved when reading the official execution notice of Andrew Sibusiso Zondo (hung in 1986), or to read the words of Solomon Mahlangu before his execution in 1979 - "My blood will nourish the tree that will bear the fruits of freedom. Tell my people that I love them. They must continue the fight."
I was there with Gary Friedman. Gary is a puppeteer who lives now in Australia but whose heart is still in South Africa. Gary was the creator and master puppeteer with Puppets Against Apartheid in the 1980s, Puppets Against AIDS in the 1990s and Corporate Creatures (now). The Puppets Against Apartheid included caricatures of former President PW Botha (Pee Wee), Konstabel Kaaskop, Bishop Desmond Tutu, the green alien ‘CT’ who was unable to find a place where green people could live in South Africa, and various other memorable characters.
Working with puppets is an amazing way to communicate with people about very real issues in a medium that enables messages to be transmitted and taboos to be explored - whilst allowing us to laugh at ourselves at the same time. This was the power of Gary’s work, and was especially effective in addressing issues related to HIV and AIDS. The work that Gary and others did in prisons was incredibly valuable – giving prisoners the opportunity to become empowered in exploring what goes on in prisons in the context of HIV.
Gary still has many of the original puppets, and is now exploring a new home for them – we hope that the Apartheid Museum may be the right place!
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