I knew a man who lived in fear It was huge, it was angry, it was drawing near Behind his house, a secret place Was the shadow of the demon he could never face He built a wall of steel and flame And men with guns, to keep it tame Then standing back, he made it plain That the nightmare would never ever rise again But the fear and the fire and the guns remain

It doesn’t matter now It’s over anyhow He tells the world that it’s sleeping But as the night came round I heard its lonely sound It wasn’t roaring, it was weeping

And then one day the neighbors came They were curious to know about the smoke and flame They stood around outside the wall But of course there was nothing to be heard at all

"My friends," he said, "We’ve reached our goal The threat is under firm control As long as peace and order reign I’ll be damned if I can see a reason to explain Why the fear and the fire and the guns remain"

"The man" referred to in the Weeping lyrics is the late P. W. Botha, one of the last white leaders of South Africa before the end of the Apartheid regime; The "demon he could never face" in the Weeping lyrics refers to the aspirations of the oppressed majority, while the Weeping lyrics also refer to the "neighbors", literally the journalists from other countries who were monitoring the situation in South Africa. WEEPING Written by Dan Heymann © Bright Blue

What would you do if you had to live by these laws?

Home, Family, Residence 1. (A Citizen) who was born in a town and lived there continuously for 50 years, but then left to reside elsewhere for any period, even two weeks, is not entitled as of right to return to the town where he was born and to remain there for more than 72 hours, unless he has obtained a permit. If he does remain without a permit, he is guilty of a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to R201 or, in default imprisonment for up to two months. 7. Even if (A Citizen) was born in a town, has lived there continuously for up to 14 years and has worked continuously for the same employer for 9 years, his wife commits a criminal offence by living with him for more than 72 hours, if she has not received a permit to do so.

13. (Any boy), aged 16, who has left school and lives at home with and is maintained by his parents but does not work, may, at any time, be arrested without warrant by a policeman who “has reason to believe that he is an idle person”. 16. (A Citizen) convicted of being in a city unlawfully for more than 72 hours may be removed, together with his dependants, by a policeman, acting under warrant issued by the court convicting him, to any place in a Bantu area where he has not lived before, and where he has no relatives or friends and no employment. The cost of such removal may be met from money found in his possession or “otherwise belonging to him”.

Marriage, Assembly and Association 104. (A citizen) who has lived continuously for 50 years in the town in which he was born is not entitled as of right to have (any) friend visit and remain with him for more than 72 hours It is unlawful for a white person and a black person to drink a cup of tea together in a café anywhere in South Africa unless they have obtained a special permit to do so. (The laws were taken from a booklet by the same name produced in 1976 by the Department of Public Information at the United Nations and distributed by their Centre Against Apartheid. It is a UN Publication: OPI/553)

Apartheid in South Africa Apartheid = separateness 317 laws denying 25 million blacks

Apartheid was a system of legalized racial segregation enforced by the National Party (NP) South African government between 1948 and It arose from a history of settler rule and Dutch and British colonialism, which became policies of separation after South Africa gained self-governance as a dominion within the British Empire and were expanded and formalized into a system of legitimized racism and white nationalism after 1948.racial segregationNational Party South AfricancolonialismBritish Empire

Apartheid consisted of numerous laws that allowed the ruling white minority in South Africa to segregate, exploit and terrorize the vast majority of Africans Denied basic human & political rights Dictated where they lived, worked and died

A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982.

A Black South African shows his passbook issued by the Government. Blacks were required to carry passes that determined where they could live and work.

The Passport

Houses in Soweto, a black township.

A House in the WHITE Part of the country.

What does your kitchen look like? A housewife in her kitchen in Cross Roads, South Africa, 1978

Look around you… Young school children in a classroom in the squatter camp of Cross Roads, South Africa, in 1979.

Newspaper headline on a Johannesburg street refers to a government plan in 1982 to cede territory and people to Swaziland. The people in question were not consulted in the matter. How would you react?

Segregated public facilities in Johannesburg, Does this look familiar? Have you ever experienced public segregation?

Mourners at a funeral ceremony for those killed by South African police on 1985's International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, at Langa Township in Uitenhage

South African police at Alexandra Township in 1985.

Umbulwana, Natal in Umbulwana was called "a black spot" because it is in a "white" area. It was eventually demolished and the inhabitants forced to move to identically numbered houses in "resettlement" villages in their designated "homelands." Millions of black South Africans were forcibly "resettled" in this way.

Victory came in 1994…South Africa hosted it’s first EVER one person, one vote election!!!!

A voter casts her ballot in a polling station in Edendale Township in Pietermaritz, in April 1994.

Remember this face…..

Does your vote really count?... Nelson Mandela, President of the African National Congress (ANC), casting the ballot in his country's first all-race elections, in April 1994 at Ohlange High School near Durban, South Africa.

From 27 years in prison to President Standing Up For What He Believed In Newly-elected President Nelson Mandela addressing the crowd from a balcony of the Town Hall in Pretoria, South Africa on May 10, 1994.