Saturday, 10 March 2012

Saturday Snapshot (5): Sartre in South Africa


Everything in South Africa is a little upside down, in reverse and the other way round. Summer falls in winter; the sun runs counter-clockwise and at noon stands on the northern horizon; driving is on the left; and you really can’t escape the feeling that you’re walking upside down.

 And if today’s snapshot may be believed: liberty is actually bondage.




I took this picture some years ago on a trip to Natal. It is the billboard that hangs over the gate of the prison in the town called Vrijheid. Vrijheid was founded by the Boers and the name means Freedom in the Dutch language. Is it mere irony at the end of the earth? Or is it Sartre in South Africa? Better not ponder that question too long, I guess…


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