A Visit to the Townships

We saw a side of South Africa today that tourists rarely see up close when we toured the townships near East London under the watchful eye of our local guide, Toto. The poorest of the poor live in the townships but it does not seem to be a dark and depressing area ... on the contrary it is full of life and colours, with kids chasing us to be included in photos (they seldom see how they look), clothes on lines flapping in the breeze, street soccer, music blaring and everywhere smiles. Maybe it is because there is such a strong life force and upbeat feeling despite the poverty that it instills a strong sense of sympathy for their plight .... most of these people are unemployed and subsist on government hand-outs. 

The harsh reality is that some 80.000 people live permanently in a horrific situation as 50% of the core city’s population is crammed onto just 2% of the land. There are 3,500 formal dwellings and 14,000 shacks, while densities exceed 2,500 people per hectare in some areas.

Although we felt conspicuous, at no time did we feel unsafe despite several stops, including a shabeen (bar) and the inside of a small, 3-room home of one of Toto's acquaintances.As much as we were curious about the people of the township, they had a strong curiosity about us ... and we certainly had the sense that very few white people, especially tourists, venture through the winding streets.

"Live the Life you want to Live"

At the edge of the township is a monument, topped by a statue of a Zulu warrior, as a tribute to the 23 people killed in the 1985 Duncan Village Massacre. In those days of apartheid the township had become the scene of a running battle between youth and police and after the funeral of a slain civil rights activist the violence turned even more deadly.. Our visit was relatively brief so it was not possible to really sense the depth of today's issues , but crime, HIV, and all the misery associated with over-crowded settlements of abject poverty can not be far below the surface. How ironic the brightly painted sign behind the children in the adjacent photo which reads "Live the Life You Want to Live" ... for all but a fortunate few they will never get that opportunity.

And yet, from what we could see the place has a vibrancy and pulses with life. It happened that we visited the township on a national holiday, Human Rights Day (the anniversary of the 1960 Sharpville Massacre) and just down the road an East London park was filled with hundreds of people in a holiday mood, music blaring and the air filled with the aroma of meat grilling over the all-day charcoal braai. The most touching memory of the township though, was that of the children who would come flocking to us in groups, laughing, posing, singing, dancing and running ... and their unbridled enthusiasm about being included in a photo and then seeing the image of themselves with their friends. Such excitement over what to us is such a simple thing ...