Soweto
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Auto Body Shop in Soweto |
If one were pressed for time, a tour of Johannesburg could be eliminated as it is just another large city, but the tour of Soweto should not be missed. I wanted to see the reality of a township whose name has become synonymous with political activity and violence. Opa, my local guide, could speak the nine African languages that are spoken in Soweto as well as English and Afrikaans. Four years ago, he explained, before the end of apartheid, it would have been inappropriate for me to sit in the front seat beside him. Only 2,500 tourists a year venture into Soweto, and most are foreigners like myself; very few white South Africans have been to Soweto. Having already seen many pictures of the matchbox houses these locals live in, I was not surprised to view the rudimentary conditions first-hand, but what shocked me was how large the township is: Soweto could more accurately be described as a city which consists of an upper, middle, and lower class. Three to four million blacks or colored live there, and the area is large enough to house forty-two high schools and several universities. |
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During the tour, Opa suggested that we get out of the car to walk around in the marketplace which made me feel uncomfortable--even fearful. Although some of the inhabitants looked at me with indifference, others glared or gave me the hate stare. Surrounded by millions of people in Soweto, only about ten of them were white. I felt extremely conscious of the color of my skin and very ill at ease; it was the first time in my life that I truly felt like a minority. Aware of the injustice that these people suffered and still do, I tried not to take it personally, but it was difficult. Fortunately, the mood was lightened by a trip to the most famous shebeen (local restaurant) in Soweto: Wandie's. There I was greeted warmly by Wandie, the owner, and Opa and I enjoyed a feast of African delights while I drank a frothy, local beer made of sugarcane. After lunch, Opa and I visited another smaller, local shebeen. The very pleasant woman who ran the eating establishment simply altered her tiny, four room house to accommodate guests: There was a small dining room, a living room, a tiny kitchen, and a bedroom--the only room closed to patrons. The small, enclosed lawn area in the front, she explained, was popular with guests and within close proximity to the outhouse in the rear of the house. |
School in Soweto |
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Barber Shop in Soweto |
We concluded the tour by visiting Nelson Mandela's old home and drove by his new, well-guarded abode. Then we stood in Freedom March Square, the site of a violent massacre in the seventies, and visited the site where a twelve-year-old student was killed in 1976 during the student protests. Looking at the award-winning photographs that documented the event was upsetting; it reminded me of the film Sarafina which chronicles the event. Despite the violence of the past and the less than ideal conditions of the present, I left South Africa the next morning with a positive impression. Based on the very lengthy conversation that I had with Opa and several white South Africans, I felt that both sides wished to put the past behind them and were hopeful that they could live harmoniously together. Perhaps the words spoken by both were only propaganda, but at least each spoke respectfully of the other.
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