Jack

It is very important to have a driver in Johannesburg. As beautiful as the area is, we have been warned that it can be dangerous for the unwary traveler. Jack has escorted us tirelessly everyday that we have been in the country - driving us over 100 miles daily as we both cover our stories and do a little sightseeing along the way. Petrol is about 6.53 South African rand a liter - roughly 4 dollars a gallon. Very expensive for the many people who can't even afford indoor plumbing.



Jack is a tall, slim, dark-skinned soft-spoken South African. He speaks several languages - English, Zulu, Sotho, Tswana. He's 52 and the father of two boys and a girl. He's very quiet and, for the most part, talks only when you ask him a question.



When asked about his life, the words come easily. He and his family live in a 3-room shack made of tin. He is saving up to build a house that he says will cost him about 52-thousand rand or about eight thousand dollars. After passing a medical facility, I ask him if he has health insurance and he tells me "no". When he and his family need medical care, they go the government hospital and pay 35 rand for services which is a little over 5-dollars. He says the care is not good. I ask, what if someone has a heart attack or cancer. He says, they will probably die.



"A Second Heaven"


That's how Jack describes the end of apartheid. He tells me about the areas where blacks were not allowed to go unless they had a permit. If a black person were found in the white suburbs after a certain time without a permit, the police would arrest them and lock them up - maybe two weeks, maybe a month. Detention without trial.


It was 1974. Jack's nephew was a member of the African National Congress' Youth League - kids fighting against apartheid. He and some friends were coming back across the border of Botswana and South Africa. They never made it back home. He was just 19-years-old. Another teen who was meeting them at the time said that they were shot by police - their bodies never recovered. After Nelson Mandela was released from prison, Jack and his family took his nephew's name to the government to try to find some answers. For years, they just waited and waited. Now, some 33 years later, comes a break. Just one month ago, remains were found at the border and Jack believes they are that of his brother's son. His family has taken another nephew in for DNA testing to try to determine a match.


In six weeks, Jack will know if his nephew can rest in peace.