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My Memoirs - Citizen of the World

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Africans were forced to live, after being evicted from <strong>the</strong> rest <strong>of</strong><br />

<strong>the</strong> city by <strong>the</strong> white supremacy rulers. The black South Africans<br />

were required to have a pass to come to <strong>the</strong> city to work.<br />

The highlight <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> trip was to travel through <strong>the</strong> spectacular<br />

Drakensburg Mountain Range en route to Kruger National Park,<br />

where we spent <strong>the</strong> night in a tent. The next morning, we were<br />

taken in an open vehicle for a safari drive in search <strong>of</strong> big animals,<br />

elephants, buffalos, lions, leopards, and rhinos as well as many<br />

o<strong>the</strong>r kinds <strong>of</strong> beautiful animals.<br />

After our safari, we flew to Durban, a beautiful city on <strong>the</strong><br />

sou<strong>the</strong>ast coast <strong>of</strong> South Africa. We stayed at a nice hotel on <strong>the</strong><br />

beach facing <strong>the</strong> Indian Ocean. For a moment I thought I was in<br />

South Beach, Miami. On my own, I explored <strong>the</strong> city to find <strong>the</strong><br />

monument dedicated to Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese navigator<br />

who passed through Durban, during Christmas on his way to India,<br />

which gave <strong>the</strong> name <strong>of</strong> Natal to <strong>the</strong> entire Province (Natal means<br />

Christmas in Portuguese).<br />

In South Africa, in those days, <strong>the</strong>re were 3 types <strong>of</strong> groups.<br />

During <strong>the</strong> 50’s, when I was in school in Alabama, I had been<br />

shocked to see 2 water fountains. In Durban, <strong>the</strong>re were 3 different<br />

water fountains, one for whites, one for Asians, which was <strong>the</strong><br />

second largest ethnic group, and one for Blacks. Thank God and<br />

Nelson Mandela that segregation does not exist anymore in South<br />

Africa.<br />

When I travelled to South Africa, I brought a banner from <strong>the</strong><br />

Bristol Rotary Club to present to <strong>the</strong> Rotary President in exchange<br />

for one from Durban to be displayed at our Bristol Rotary.<br />

Luckily, during <strong>the</strong> Club lunch meeting I sat with a Rotarian from<br />

South Africa, who invited me and my friend Batista for dinner that<br />

evening. He lived in a beautiful mansion up on <strong>the</strong> mountain. He<br />

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