Soweto and Safari

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Well, I’m certainly experiencing the contrasts and contradictions of Africa. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever encountered so many in one week! On Saturday I was taken on a tour of Soweto, the residential district formed from the South West Townships where much of the city’s black population was compelled to live (under curfew) during the years of apartheid.

It might seem voyeuristic and intrusive to ‘tour’ a residential district which is home to several million people, many of whom live in desperate poverty. But tourism has helped to create jobs and income for local people and Ebrahim, my guide, assured me that I’d be given a friendly welcome and that the residents are proud to share Soweto’s life and history with newcomers.

Even Soweto itself is a place of contrasts. The vibrant community life and shared history means that people choose to stay settled there, even if they make it big, so the tour began with a drive past the homes of some of its millionaires. One, the home of a highly successful engineer, was built in the shape of an engine - and here the ‘Armed Response’ warnings and razor-wired perimeter walls are just as prominent as in the suburbs. To Ebrahim these are as much a mark of status as anything else - and as he pointed out, the security companies profit handsomely from preying on people’s fears.

Across the road from this affluent district, a very different view stretched out: rows as far as I could see of tiny grey single-storey barrack-like buildings which were built to house the thousands of men who came from the surrounding countryside to work in Joburg’s goldmines. Designed for around 2000 men, the district I was looking at is now home to some 7000 people, living without electricity or running water and sharing a handful of portaloos. Each family is assigned a day when they can do their laundry at one of the standpipes, and the local ‘mall’ consists of a few shacks and a phone booth.

The devastating spread of HIV/AIDS may be partly attributed to life in these districts: guys who leave their families and come looking for work find themselves forced to live here for much of the year, take a local girlfriend or two, return to their wives for a visit - and so it continues. The infection rate amongst South Africans is high; and with a government that has been reluctant to promote the use of condoms and pharmaceutical giants reluctant to relax patents and allow the production of cheap, unbranded anti-retrovirals, there is a real danger that the country will continue to lose young, fit adults (parents and the workforce) to AIDS.

The tour also takes in Nelson Mandela’s former home, sites of the 1976 Soweto Uprising and the Hector Pieterson memorial which commemorates the death of the 12-year-old boy, shot in the back by police. Perhaps the most memorable and unsettling part of the day though was the visit into Motsoaledi, one of Soweto’s shanty towns. Here Eric, an entrepreneurial local resident, took me down a dusty main street, pointing out the standpipe, the local pre-school, the gardens and of course the homes. Although these look temporary, being made of pieces of corrugated metal and patched against the heavy rains, the carefully-cultivated gardens, the school and the fact that street lighting and in some cases electricity have been installed tells a different story.

I was invited in to one family’s home - six people live in one room, which contains the kitchen, a bed and all their worldly possessions. Although I’m not ignorant of the fact that people live like this (and in far worse conditions) in many parts of the world, I still feel haunted by the complex mixture of emotions (shame/guilt/gratitude/anger doesn’t really begin to capture it) about taking pictures of someone’s home with a camera that almost certainly cost more than their monthly income. I would strongly recommend the tour to anyone reading who plans to go to Joburg.

The following day took place in a different world. We were up early to visit Rosebank’s rooftop market to browse the African (and European) crafts on sale. Then it was off to the beautiful and secluded Mount Grace country club, up in the Magaliesberg mountains, for a long and decadent lunch, followed by a drive up into the Pilanesberg game reserve.

After a fantastic night in a thatched lodge, with grazing buck and scuttling guinea fowl for company, we were up early for a quick walk (during which I spotted my first giraffe in the distance!) and a huge breakfast. We spent the day in the game reserve, which was a magical experience. It was exciting enough to be driving though open savannah and dense bush, but to round a corner and find zebra, giraffe, bucks, rhino and elephant quietly wandering, grazing and eyeing us mildly - that was something else. I think the pictures probably tell a better story than words can.

The contrasts may be unsettling and I have been constantly reminded of how incredibly privileged I am, but South Africa’s beauty is undeniable. I’ve also been struck by how friendly and warm people are here (I’m slowly learning to let down a bit of my English reserve!). My last few days will be spent in Cape Town, which promises another world again, before I fly on to Entebbe, Uganda, for the next adventures.

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Comments

[susie]

giraffes
I've always thought they look like they move in slow motion. And Justin is right about the light. There is indeed something unique about the light in africa. The photos tell that story.