Soweto

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Full day in Soweto township today. Although we knew what to expect, the reality of the poverty is still an eye opener. Saw equal in Peru and Laos but not as crowded as here. 4-6 living in single room tin shack in small yard with maybe another 4-6 shacks. That is 20-30 living in about half a tennis court! And no electricity. Communal standpipes. Toilet hut shared by 30-50. Most unemployed but eek out living collecting garbage for recycling for about £3 day. No police or ambulance will enter compounds but they have a communal moral code and look after each other. And as in previously visited areas, the kids are all happy and friendly, even without screens or bought toys. Even happier in my opinion. We never felt in the slightest threatened, but felt very guilty to be in our privileged position merely by an accident of birth. A later visit to the home of the Mandelas and the Apartheid Museum once again reminded us of the greed cruelty, and arrogance of the human condition. In this case the whites, but in other cases just neighbours who want more land, resources, or to impose their ‘civilisation’ or concept of deity on others.
But here in South Africa at least, things are improving and the locals are optimistic for their future.
Tomorrow we head for the Kruger and will hope to witness more civilised behaviour from the other animal species who call that their home. We hope they will respect us as much as we respect them. We won’t eat them if they promise not to eat us. I’m told that you don’t have to run fast. Just faster than the slowest of our group! Fingers crossed ??

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Photos

Mandela’s memorial
In his garden in Soweto

Street performers
Soweto

6 Happy Soweto Children.
And Mum doing the family laundry. Their single room hut behind them

Delivery
Not Amazon. That was the previous trip.

Comments

[Kelly]

Glad you arrived safe. Looks hot. Its currently raining here.