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History of Soweto
For the majority of Jo'burg inhabitants, home continues to
be black townships surrounding the city, and most likely it's
Soweto, the 21 South Western Townships. Soweto was
created in the 1930s and many blacks were relocated there
from Jo'burg during the apartheid regime when people were
segregated into communities based on their skin color, with
the blacks and Muslims at the bottom of the chain with no
rights to vote, little state education and bleak prospects.
Throughout the 70s and 80s the townships, home of political
campaigners like Nelson Mandela's ANC party, played
a crucial role in the struggle against apartheid.
Who are the Sowetans?
The two million Sowetans are streetwise de-tribalised urbanites
who have their own style and lingo. Native Sowetans look down
at the new rural immigrants, calling them moegoes. 'Influx
control' theoretically prevents people from coming to Soweto,
'the city of Gold', in search of work, and many new arrivals
end up in squat camps which have few amenities and are horribly
dangerous and unhygienic.
Neighborhoods
But even within Soweto there is much segregation. Diepkloof,
with its four room "matchbox houses", contrasts
with the opulent Diepkloof Extension of the emerging
black middle classes. In Orlando you can see the exterior
of the modest former home of Nelson Mandela, whereas
across the neighborhood you can see his ex-wife Winnie
Mandela's flashy pad, along with Archbishop Desmond
Tutu's house. Here, the Ubuntu Kraal Park has one
of South Africa's only statues of Mandela and the Hector
Pieterson Memorial Museum in this township tells the history
of the 1976 Soweto uprising. The Regina Mundi church
on the Old Potchefstroom Road holds tales of political
residence as it was the base for many anti-apartheid groups.
In Freedom Square, Kliptown, the Freedom Charter was
signed as the guiding document of Mandela's ANC party who
went on to govern South Africa after the collapse of apartheid.
Township Tour
If you want to visit Soweto you should join a tour, ideally
given by locals. There are numerous operators; three hour
day tours or four hour night tours are popular. Some specialize
in jazz, drinking, visiting artists, local churches, or home-stays
with local families. Be prepared to stand out, and see some
pretty extreme levels of poverty in the shanty towns and shebeens
(drinking joints) where you're often encouraged to give money
or buy local craftwork. Despite the living conditions, the
nightlife in Soweto is fantastic with lots of clubs - the
most popular with tourists is the restaurant-come-lounge bar
Wandie's Place. |
