I arrived in Jo'burg, as it is commonly called (I think because no one is completely sure about the full name - how to pronounce, how they like it, etc.), on a Tuesday afternoon and Kelly picked me up at the airport. We hadn't seen each other in 12 years, so we caught up a bit and went back to her parents' place where she's staying now. They live in Atholhurst, a pretty nice suburb full of big walls, security gates, guards, and anything else to keep them safe.
Immediately, Jo'burg was quite different. I had heard about this, but never seen it. It's interesting, there is much more mixing between races and socioeconomic groups here, but it also seemed to me that there was just as much, if not more, racism. People are afraid. There is so much violent crime and even though there are security codes, alarms and armed guards, they are still attacked and robbed by desperate people, tsotsis, gangsters from all areas but especially the townships. There is a real fear of the "other" there, engendered by this huge crime rate and the apartheid legacy. Kelly told me about her friend's father who was recently robbed and beaten nearly to death while tied to a chair in his own home. Apparently, the criminals then had a party with his liquor before taking off. He died the next week.
Stories like that make people own guns and shoot at anything that moves, and with millions of people living unequal lives it's like a powder keg.
Kelly's family was very warm and inviting, and her dad was happy to talk to me about his experiences in the SADF during the 70s and 80s. It was interesting to hear how he looked back on his mindset at that time, how he saw it as "brainwashing," the way the government taught the soldiers that they were guarding their very way of life against an eminent "black revolution." He explained that this was the main reason a lot of the soldiers willingly took part in enforcing the laws of apartheid - they believed that they were regularly threatened.
Soweto
Soweto is probably the most famous township in South Africa. On June 16, 1976 it was the site of the largest student uprising of the apartheid era and the real beginning of the mass movement for change among the youth and, eventually, everyone. Students began protesting because the government instituted a policy of Afrikaans instruction in every "Bantu" school. Recognizing this for what it was, a systematic method for subjugating people to the ruling class, students began protesting and demanding English education, which was infinitely more valuable. The protests turned violent when police showed up and responded with deadly force. The situation was brutal - the police just drove around the township shooting people nearly at random trying to quell the uprising. One of the most famous images of this was the photo of Hector Peterson running with a young girl next to him and a small child dead in his arms. He was shot just after the photo was taken. Today, at Orlando West high school where the protest started, there is a monument and museum dedicated to his memory. On the tour we took we went to both. This is the monument in the exact location that he was killed:
The small coca-cola sign is the Orlando West High School and the small strip of grass leading to the wall there comes from the larger monument next to the museum commemorating the uprising:
The tour we took of Soweto was strange - it was all in a bus and I got the feeling that we were, as Thope explains, treating people as if they were in a zoo. I wouldn't recommend taking a bus tour of these places, but we did get to see a lot. Here are some of the more indelible images. First, Soweto is much more developed than other townships, and you find areas like this:
And as I've mentioned before, HIV/AIDS is a huge problem in the community, and raising awareness is a big part of that - some people still think unprotected sex is okay, and some people even think that traditional healers can cure it. Murals like this one try to educate:
Some areas are still extremely poor, and people live in informal settlements and dorms much like the townships I have seen before. This is one of those areas:
Huge industry in the townships? Shack building. This is an ad for a shack "pre-fab" builder - you pay by room and wall number.
Soweto is not short on history. This is the square where the Freedom Charter was debated and put together and signed. Today it's an open air market:
Avenue of the Laureates
On one street in Soweto live two Nobel Peace Prize laureates; Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. This is Mandela's front yard, the house was closed for renovations but that's okay - I like imagining him sitting here meeting with liberation leaders, student activists and MK soldiers:
Desmond Tutu still lives here, so his house is a bit bigger and more fortified. Some people, although very few, don't dig the whole reconciliation strategy:
The People
One thriving business in the townships everywhere is the collection of scrap metal, usually done in these horse-drawn carriages that actually move deceptively fast on main roads:
The Apartheid Museum
Definitely the best historical museum I have ever set foot in, the Apartheid Museum famously declares that it has put Apartheid where it belongs: in a museum. The whole story is here, and I highly recommend seeing it before you die. Unbelievable. Here are some images, write me a comment if you want to know about them!!!!!
Finally - Jo'burg was the home of the recent xenophobic attacks. Can you figure out this sign? I have no clue (what's up with the swastika?):
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