Parliament

Through a member of Meredith’s church we toured Parliament. Unfortunately, Meredith was getting her leg put in a cast for an unfortunate injury, but Chris, Tony (Meredith’s supervisor), and I joined the member of church and two German young ladies for the tour.

Each stop was fascinating, and the tour guide was quite knowledgeable. He is standing next to the seat where Voerword sat during Parliamentary sessions, and where he was killed by a government employee delivering a parcel to him. He was not the first head of state during Apartheid, but it nicknamed the crocodile for his role in the planning and his vicious execution of all things Apartheid.


I couldn't resist pointing out the British influence: unicorns. True, the Parliament itself is very British, but this unicorn is undoubtedly the most significant contribution.


Here is the current National Parliament (the original is used for party meetings and events like the Youth Conference). The downstage center seat, similar to where the President addresses Congress in the U.S., is where F.W. de Klerk announced the end of Apartheid, repealed the ban of political parties, and pardoned Nelson Mandela. It is where Nelson Mandela served as the first democratically elected President of the new South Africa, and where Thabo Mbeki has, with assistance from his party, made a blunder of politics for the last two terms.