A room with a view.

The LRC Library is on the 16th floor of the Bram Fischer building. My desk is tucked in beside a window. As a result I have a spectacular city view. I also have amazing views of incoming storms as well. The sky goes from bright blue to grey with terrifying lightning patterns, monsoon rains, and hail in just minutes. 

I went up on the 17th floor to take some photographs because it was such a gorgeous day; or at least until 3:45 in the afternoon. As you can see, Jo'burg sprawls out. The city's official population is around 4.4 million. It is likely higher due to the homeless and all the illegal housing in abandoned buildings. 

Candle burns for Mandela

   

The hills in the distance are actually mine dumps which are causing many environmental issues.

These last two photographs are for my father, and the handful of other cigarette smokers I know. This is the building's 17th floor smoking lounge. Not to shabby, I might consider taking up smoking if I had this idyllic spot. 

Smoking Lounge: sit, smoke, and take in the views!

Chance Encounters

Murder is the result of chance encounters involving transportation in Alfred Hitchcock's world. Fortunately the same is not true in my world!

Just a little over a month ago I boarded a Delta Airlines flight leaving Atlanta, Georgia for Johannesburg, South Africa. As a member of the last group to be called for boarding and having witnessed the amount of carry-on luggage that preceded my walk down the gangway, I immediately started scouting overhead storage space once I got onboard. It is my experience that most air travelers treat the overhead space the same way lots of homeowners treat trash pick-up. That it, once its on the curb, it is someone else's problem. Similarly air passengers simply strive to get their bag stored; in most cases without regard to efficiency or economy. This, despite the constant reminders by the flight attendants to put wheeled bags in wheels first. I would eventually score a space for my bag across the aisle from my seat after a significant amount of shifting and juggling of another passenger's luggage.

After finally dropping into my seat, admittedly a bit cranky from reaching and tugging luggage, a woman across the aisle smiled, said "Have a sweetie," and handed me a lovely caramel candy. We chatted for the remainder of the boarding process. I learned during our conversation that Rona, a Johannesburg resident, had just spent six weeks visiting her only child, a daughter, doing post-doctoral work in South Bend, Indiana. I laughed and told her that South Bend was a mere two and half hours from my home in Zionsville, Indiana. I shared that I  too had just left my only child, also a daughter, at university in New York City, and that I was going to South Africa to work with the Legal Resources Centre. Rona was quite concerned that I knew no one in Johannesburg. At the end of the flight, we scrambled to find paper and pen so she could give me her phone number. She urged me to call her if I needed anything or wanted to get together.

As I traveler, I never turn down a chance encounter. Last summer my family struck up a conversation with a gentlemen on a bus in Dublin. He got off at our stop, escorted us through a lovely city park. All the time we walked through the park he explained the various statutes and sculptures and shared stories with us. Eventually he would leave us on the doorstep of the not-so-famous off-the-beaten track museum we were trying to locate and continue on his way to his office. My traveler motto is "Adventure is just one conversation away!"

So last week I called Rona to inquire if she would like to meet for lunch or drinks. In the end, Rona and her husband, Alan, invited me to their home for a late lunch. We met at a filing station near the Gold Reef Casino so I wouldn't have to work out how to find their home in Chrisville, a modest suburb on the southwest side of Johannesburg. I spent a long afternoon with them. We sat on the front veranda enjoying the sun, the breeze, and the distant view of the city centre. They told me the names of the plants in their garden, showed me pictures of their daughter and her academic awards, told me family stories, and introduced me to their cats, Fred and KitKat (previously feral, now rescued and loved).

When we moved into the kitchen for lunch, the conversation wound this way and that as we talked about South Africa, its history, and their thoughts on its future. Rona and Alan are of modest means; both were retrenched (laid off) in recent years due to company closures. Despite being near or at retirement age, they retain their entrepreneurial spirit and work ethic as they continue to investigate employment options.

As the day started to fade, I was hugged and walked to my car. I was also reminded to lock the car doors, keep the windows up, avoid hitchhikers, and to call when I got home. On the drive home, I marveled at the fragility of life's experiences. If Rona hadn't offered a candy to a frustrated fellow traveler and if I hadn't accepted the offer I would have missed out on a wonderful experience.  I'll see them again in the coming months as I've offered to carry holiday packages to their daughter when I go home for the Christmas and New Year holidays. The opportunity to spend time with Rona and Alan enriched my understanding of South Africa in a way that no amount of news or reading ever could and I look forward to our next meeting.

Travel provides us with so many venues to meet new people. Yet today's airports, Amtrak stations, bus terminals, and even the planes, trains, and busses, themselves, are filled with people looking at a screen instead of looking outward. What would happen If we disconnected from our devices and opened ourselves up to possibilities of human interaction more often? My guess is that if we take the time to talk and connect with someone we would soon learn that the world is a small shared space waiting to be discovered just beyond the screen in our hand.

Page 1: NELSON MANDELA will state:-

The first lesson you learn while working in South Africa is "to never put off until tomorrow what you can do today." Underlying this advice is a recognition of a fragile, and often failing, infrastructure. For example, traffic lights rarely work two days in a row, city buses may or may not complete the entire scheduled route, ATMs may have cash, postal workers may deliver the mail, and so on. 

Thursday the LRC offices were without phone service; and today we worked without either phone service or internet access. Ironically, the office atmosphere was almost festive. To accomplish any work you had to walk down the hallway to an office and have an actual face-to-face conversation about a matter. As a result, there was much talking and movement that enlivened the halls. 

Instead of planned software trials, LRC's law librarian and I continued our sorting and organizing of the law library's collection. At one point, she opened her locked desk drawer and handed me this document to look at.  

It was a legal size document about 3/4 inch in depth, covered with a light blue cover and held together with three tarnishing staples. I noted the name George Bizos in the upper right corner. I thought she was showing it to me because I had enjoyed my Thursday lunch in the office "tea room" while in conversation with George Bizos about everything from US politics to growing avocados.

George Bizos

George Bizos is Nelson Mandela's attorney and an internationally renowned and respected human rights lawyer. On Monday the Marikana miners won legal funding for their case (a major legal matter in which he is involved) and on Wednesday he was named one of the 21 Icons of South Africa. Lunch conversation with a few office colleagues in the "tea room" on Thursday was just what he needed to round out his week. But I digress.

I gently opened the document. My first glance took in what looked to be the work of a manual typewriter on slightly graying bond style typewriter paper. Anyone over the age of 50 will remember that slightly slick paper on which we typed our college papers. The first words would stun me with their historical significance.

Just last night I had read these same words in Nelson Mandela's book, Long Walk to Freedom. I came to realize that I was looking at a typewritten draft of his statement to the court. He was the first defense witness at the 1964 "treason" trial. As I cautiously turned the pages, I noted Nelson Mandela's handwritten comments and marveled at his eloquence and passion. Less than two months later, at the age of 46, he would be sentenced to life in prison.

I had read these words the night before and been touched. Yet the ability to touch and marvel at this historical document made it so much more real.This draft of the statement is 60 pages long and includes original signatures. The statement concludes with this iconic passage. George Bizos is credited with adding the phrase "if need be." As noted in the 21 Icons of South Africa  photo caption, many believe it is these three words that resulted in the imposition of life sentences rather than the death penalty.

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. 

This document and many other of LRC's historical documents have been digitized and preserved in the archives at the University of Witwatersrand (WITS) in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. 

Sleeping with the Ghosts of Automobiles

Each work day I see this scaffolding sculpture in my rear view mirror as I back into my parking space on the roof of my office building.  

Chrysler House

Built in 1936-1939, the Chrysler House, at 16 floors, was the fourth tallest building in Johannesburg. Occupying an entire city block, this pre-World War II skyscraper was a fanciful place filled with stainless-steel Bauhaus-style chairs and ashtray stands. The ground-floor showcased the newest US automobiles while state-of-the-art car lifts moved the cars to the upper floors for servicing (from Blue Plaques of South Africa). 

Unfortunately time took a toll on this elegant lady and she remained boarded up and unoccupied (at least by legal occupants).

The lack of affordable housing is a major issue here. Government solutions extend from building new settlements to simply ignoring illegal occupants in empty buildings. The efforts by property developers appear to be more successful in providing the desperately needed affordable safe housing in the city. Chrysler House is such an example. The property was purchased by Affordable Housing Company (Afhco) and is now being rescued and converted into 1000 apartments. Approximately 500 of the units will targeted toward individuals with income levels of less than R 4500 monthly (US $450).  

A first read of the post-renovation description of the units will likely challenge most Americans. However spend a few minutes on the streets of Johannesburg or in the Legal Resources Centre's case files that deal with the eviction of occupiers in abandoned buildings and you will quickly come to understand why someone would choose to live and pay rent in a building that features small apartments that include communal kitchens and bathrooms. Sleeping with the ghosts of automobiles is much safer than illegally occupying a building or sleeping on the streets.

The property is scheduled to open this fall. I can't wait to see the results; especially since the developer has saved the original inlaid marble floors on the ground floor and other architectural details. 

I look out over this scene while I'm waiting for the water to boil in the "tea room" at work. This building is another example of a reclaimed office building that has been converted into residential housing. The colorful laundry on lines on the rooftop brought back lots of childhood memories. 

J'burg Reclaimed Office to Residence Building

This residential apartment building stands next to the shell of a historic army barracks that suffered a fire over ten years ago. The 12-storey high Jozi banner hangs just two blocks from the burnt out barracks. 

All three, the apartment residence, burnt out barracks, and the sign are all easily framed in one photograph. The juxtaposition of all three in one photograph is an accurate portrayal of life here in J'burg.

Photographs in an Antique Store

I've been tasked with reorganizing and modernizing the LRC library. Before I can do such work, I have to find the library under all the random (one indoor tennis table) and other miscellaneous materials that have come to rest in the library. In addition, hundreds of case files from the closure of one LRC office, the relocation of the LRC National Office last year, and the normal offloading whenever an attorney leaves the practice group have ended up in the library. I don't ask "why." I simply suggest that this material is too important to be haphazardly shelved on any available empty library shelf and attack the problem. Since we can't reorganize the library without getting the case files boxed and sent to storage, I spent the last few days organizing case files.

Although a quick read is all that is necessary to dispose of duplicate materials and confirm the file contents are where they should be, it is impossible to remain unaffected. These case files are unlike any that I ever encountered in my law practice. Reading the case files gave me a glimpse into the lives of just a few of the victims of apartheid and its residual effects.

In the last few days, I have read the stories of farm workers who have worked the land and grazed cattle for decades only to be evicted at the whim of the current or new owner; the stories of those who have suffered from acts of violence simply because of their race; and the stories of those who waited years for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission amnesty hearing to learn the fate of a loved one.

Personal affidavits of illegally displaced and evicted farm workers are powerful stories that detail their historical and generational ties to the land in order to establish a right to continue to stay on the land.Truth and Reconciliation Commission files include transcripts of the painful and horrific confessions of the aggressors and the relieved, pragmatic, and often soulful forgiving statements of the aggrieved. Some files reflect the frustration of the LRC attorney who is unable to obtain justice for his or her client. In the end, all the files contain ghosts of one kind or another.

Finally, the stories are encapsulated into organized files that are closed, stacked and waiting to be bundled into boxes.

Organized, closed, awaiting bundling.

Last they are bundled into boxes, labeled, and moved to a storage room filed with hundreds of identical boxes.

 

In one of these boxes is the story of a young black university lecturer who was brutally shot and killed by the police in 1995. The LRC represented his family in its quest to discover what really happened. In 2001, the family was finally informed that the Magistrate had ruled that the police were not liable and that there was no wrong doing. In the same file you will find an expression of frustration by the LRC attorney to the family for his inability to obtain justice for them.

There is a danger when stories move into folders and into boxes in a storage room. In boxes, the stories lose the ability to evoke emotions and inspire others to continue the fight for justice. They become those bins of black and white photographs in antique stores that we fingertip through but walk away from easily. Unfortunately, South Africa is in deep need of the inspiration and motivation of these stories. The Constitution of South Africa is less than 20 years old and everyone here admits there is still a very long way to go. Unfortunately, the current leadership seems more interested in building palatial mansions and engaging in other scandals, than in moving the country forward.

Many South Africans appear to have forgotten Nelson Mandela's words:

I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried 
not to falter; I have made missteps along the way.
But I have discovered the secret that 

after climbing a great hill, one only finds 
that there are many more hills to climb.
I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view

of the glorious vista that surrounds me, 
to look back on the distance that I have come. 
But I can rest only for a moment, 
for with freedom come responsibilities, 
and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.

'Hey mister, can you spare a dumpster?'

My work here with the LRC reminds me each day how much we take for granted in the United States. The LRC is located in a sixteen-floor office building in downtown Johannesburg. The entire building is serviced by 6 rolling dumpsters that are randomly emptied by the vendor. There is no building-wide recycling of paper and other materials.

Dumpster #12

All week we have been playing dumpster roulette with the building's dumpster vendor. That is Meryl Federl, LRC's law librarian, and I have been taking turns trekking down to the parking garage to see if any dumpsters have been emptied. If yes, we nab them and fill them with library discards. If dumpsters had been available, we could have filled twice the even dozen that we did fill this week!

All our efforts to expedite the process with the service vendor have failed. Neither of us finds palatable what appears to be the only other available option--to hire one of the street car guards to use a dolly to move the paper stacks a few city blocks to a larger dumpster. I guess we could go the Jonathan Swift route and use the whole process as a library fundraiser -- buy a chance to guess how many trips it will take to get all the discards to the big dumpster. In the meantime I'll keep trekking to the parking garage. It is becoming a matter of honor -- how many dumpsters can I score each day!

So Meryl and I continue to stack the discards and occasionally use them as furniture. Its good to have a partner in the process that has a good sense of humor!

Alternative Use for South Africa's Gazettes

The stacks keep growing!

I started weeding the library's collection of US legal materials. The first pass weeded out-of-date case books and secondary materials from the 80's and 90's. Not sure why the collection included case books--especially the ones that came complete with yellow highlighting and extensive margin notes. Reminds me the library needs a gift/donation policy! 

The library could use a current constitutional, environmental, and human rights horn book or treatise. Let me know If you have a current edition you can spare and would like to donate. We can figure out how best to get them here.