Jen's uncle, Phil, has been in town with us and has been great company. For our first weekend together in town, he thought we should experience more of the 'real' Joburg. Therefore, we ventured into the CBD for dinner (it's not recomended to travel into the CBD, especially at night) and to Soweto on Saturday.
Apartheid ended in 1991 after around 43 years of existence. The CBD was effectively evacuated by many white businesses in the mid-1990’s leaving the district empty and open to crime. Many of the office blocks still remain vacant, if not overtaken by squatters. The businesses mostly moved to the ‘new’ business district of Sandton in the Northern suburbs. The northern suburbs is a mix of opulent housing, office blocks, endless tuscan themed shopping malls & strips. All houses have barbed wire &/or electric fencing around the perimeter. In contrast, the black communities south of the CBD and east of the city live in poverty. The government is slowly rebuilding brick houses for the blacks so that they can escape the tin housing and dirt floors (many with no electricity or water supply).
We had dinner at Moyo's- an African restaurant. Food was delicious. An entertainer appeared at our table during dinner and asked what entertainment we would like for the evening. We chose rhythm. Therefore she taught us to clap and drum the table in a specific tune, meanwhile she told us a story which is used by the Zulus as a kind of fable to teach children about life.
On Saturday we visited Soweto (acronym for SOuth WEst TOwnship). I did feel quite nervous as we were driving through the district, ensuring that all doors were definately locked
& windows up. Nevertheless, we were fine and after a while I felt comfortable being there. A lot of people only visit Soweto when on an organised tour, however as Phil proved, important to experience all aspects of a city and not get too caught up on crime & statistics and let it run your life.Large sections of the township still displays povery with slum housing; whilst other sections indicate the new moneyed class of blacks with small brick houses. It is estimated that around 2.3m to 4m people live in Soweto! We visited the Hector Pieterson Museum. Hector (13 year old boy) was one of the black students shot dead by police during the Soweto uprising in 1976. The students organised a peaceful protest against the introduction of Africaans as the language of instruction in schools. They obviously would not be able to obtain their education because they would not be able to understand the lessons. Fascinating museum set in the middle of Soweto.