Soweto, the SOuth WEstern TOwnship

From the big red bus of delusion, we hopped onto a smaller bus headed for Soweto, the very famous township in which Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, amongst others, lived.

The tour was fascinating, our guide was awesome, we learnt much more than what a single post could convey...

Soweto started as an area designated for black people only, and then merged with other local townships for Asians, for coloured, for Indians, etc.
Interestingly, each township is subdivided in classes, because wealthy black people still couldn't live anywhere else than in black neighborhoods...

Nowadays, the segregation is over, and people can move freely.
Also, the post-apartheid government keeps on building thousands of tiny houses to host as many people as possible, following Mandela's dream of "one house for everyone", so Soweto keeps growing. It is massive, check on a map, it is a vast city of its own, with supermarkets, the largest hospital in Africa, a university, etc...
But with the massive influx of African immigrants, shantitowns of corrugated metal and cardboard still pop up and grow in the empty areas.

It is a confusing gradient from middle class to poor to extremely poor.

But the locals are very proud of it and organise their own infrastructure, their own security patrols, and create bubbles of safety around the carefully planned visits of the tourists.

This fascinating melting pot is rich in history as well, as it is where the political struggle for equality took roots and grew. And so there are many little museums and famous houses to see and visit.

It isn't somewhere a tourist should explore on their own, but I am glad to have experienced a little of this side of South Africa.

Also another one of Avron's sphere view at Hector square in Orlando West, Soweto: https://photos.app.goo.gl/kk1K1Ui9WVgve4mr8Weiterlesen