So we crossed the third big water, the Indian Ocean and landed in Johannesburg. During the long flight, I watched two movies: the beautiful scenes of ‘Australia’ (a good-bye the vast, dry, red continent), and inspiring ‘Invictus’ (hello South Africa, and World Cup, and apartheid).
Yes, apartheid. Although Nelson Mandela did a great job, and although officially there is no apartheid since 1994 or so, our first impressions in Johannesburg (Jo’burg) were clear: Whites and Blacks are NOT mixed and NOT equal. They behave like different species that simply don’t go well together. Actually, Jo’burg is a black-and-white patchwork. Or, more precisely, a set of rich white islands on a poor black background.
The white islands of Jo’burg function just like any other western city, with comfortable infrastructures, beautiful housing (we couchsurfed in one white residential area), vast shopping malls, elegant restaurants and people driving expensive cars. The thing is that all these places are occupied almost exclusively by Whites. Of course, the Blacks have the right to enter too, but usually their position is limited to a servant, cleaner, chauffer etc. These white islands are in fact white gettos often surrounded by 5-meter-high fences stuffed with electrified barbwires. ‘Trespassers will be shot, survivors will be shot again’ or ‘24/7 armed response’ many of the signs on the walls read.
In contrast, the black background is usually poor, sometimes very poor. And dense. The famous township of Soweto, a district where Blacks were relocated during apartheid. (As were the aliens in the first 10 minutes in the recent movie ‘District 9’ filmed in Jo’burg. Although the opening of the movie nicely refers to apartheid history, later on the plot turns into a banal pulp of alien vs human shooter.) Soweto counts somewhere between 2.5 and 5 million people. Soweto consists of thousands of identical brick single-storey houses, and millions of tint barracks built so close that almost touching one another in a regular grid. All this barely rises from the dusty orange ground forming as if a pastel patchwork of different materials and rubbish.
Surprisingly, Blacks also dominate in the very center, CBD, which was abandoned by Whites some time ago. As a result, many of CBD’s beautiful skyscrapers, like the most elegant complex of ‘Clatron Centre’ by famous New York SOM office, laid in ruin, were drastically modified and finally became illegally occupied by Nigerian gangs and rented out as squatter apartments for the poor.
Generally, the black Afrikaners are very friendly, helpful and welcoming for us. But, they say, it might also get dangerous, especially at night. Armed robberies, kidnapping, rapes happen on daily bases. People say that most of the crime is generated by illegal immigrants, who, in their search for the ‘South African Dream’, flow in continuously, despite that some of them are regularly eaten by lions when crossing the green border.
The white islands on the black background composition of Jo’burg has some interesting consequences. Consider the transportation. In all normal cities in the world you can catch a taxi just in the middle of a street. Not in Jo’burg! Indeed, why would a white person, i.e., a person that can afford a taxi, find himself in a middle of a street, far away from white islands? This simply never happens. Whites travel exclusively between the white islands, work to home, school to friends, fitness to restaurant, etc. Jo’burg island hopping, one could say.
What about public transportation then? According to many Whites that we asked, there is virtually no public transport in the city, and one must take a cab or have a car. Well, the truth is that there is an extensive and efficient network of public minibuses, but used by Blacks only. We spent several hours in such buses (a pleasant experience, no problems at all), and we never saw a single White man. The same in hundreds of minibuses that we passed by.
Anyway, now the city should be booming and getting ready for the big event – the World Cup starting just in 2 days. We’ve just came back from the Soccer City Stadium. Although it’s too late to arrange the permit to enter the stadium, I hope that inside is better prepared to host the great opening ceremony and games then the outside of the stadium might suggest. Well, the surrounding of the Soccer City is still undergoing some major construction, such as laying down the pavement, planting tons of grass carpets which should nicely flourish in 2 days before being crushed by the crowds of hurling fans. Waste-baskets and toilets are still VERY scarce. All streets around are now fenced because the road lines are being painted, probably for the first time ever. The brand new train line airport-city-stadium is still undergoing some major tests… by the way Poland will face similar challenge just in two years from now, when hosting the Euro 2012.
PS. What strikes at first sight when landing in Jo’burg, is that this city is well developed, at least in comparison to what I’ve seen so far in Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso. If it wasn’t for its red earth and vast bushy planes, South Africa just wouldn’t match the rest of the continent. The thing that comes to mind, but I shouldn’t say it loudly, is the FACT that the only developed country of Africa is the one where white person ruled during a longer period of time. Mh…
PS2. Just some minutes ago the opening match between Mexico and SA has finished with score 1:1. We hurried to join the locals watching it in the first random city just outside the Kruger National Park. Big emotions, lots of beer and cheering, now a big party in the town. However the Whites don’t seem to participate in the event even in their homes… Is it because the whole South African team is composed of Blacks?
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