Soweto & Johannesburg

Two weekends ago we had a departure from our nature-style of weekend and headed to Johannesburg for two nights. We stayed in one of the townships outside the city centre called Soweto. This is short for south west township and played a vital role in the end of apartheid in South Africa. I have to admit, we were a little nervous about Johannesburg in general as we had heard many different stories from a personal safety standpoint. On top of that, we were not sure what to expect from Soweto, especially since we would be participating in a bicycle tour through some of the poorer areas.

Maybe we are still a bit naive about the whole thing, but looking back at the weekend, I cannot think of a time I was worried about being safe. The bus station in Johannesburg was overwhelming at first, but I’m not sure it was any different a feeling that that of an unfamiliar bus station in any other large city. Once we arrived in Soweto, the main thing we noticed was how welcoming the people were. It honestly felt like everyone there was happy to see us and happy that we were wanting to explore Soweto and learn more about the people and culture. (This is not to say that all parts of Johannesburg and South Africa are safe, just that where we were for weekend felt welcoming and comfortable.)

The bicycle tour was not strenuous from a physical standpoint, but it definitely generated a lot of mental thought. It was unbelievable to see the contrast in living conditions in the different parts of the township with some people living in what look like five star bed and breakfasts to those living with ten other people in a shack without any electricity or running water. I know we only saw the people for a short snapshot in time, but everyone seemed to have a smile on their face regardless of the living conditions.

We also had time to visit some of museums in Soweto and Johannesburg:

Hector Pieterson Museum – This museum is located in Soweto and provides excellent information about the events leading up to the protests in Soweto which led to numerous children being killed by police during what was supposed to be a peaceful protest against introducing Afrikaans in the schools. Hector Pieterson was a 13 year old boy who was killed that day in 1976.

Apartheid Museum – A great look at life before, during and after apartheid in South Africa. When tickets are purchased to the museum, it is randomly printed as “whites” or “non-whites”. Based on your ticket, there are different doors to enter the museum and you are separated from the others as you walk through the first exhibit. Even during that exercise, it led to a sense of either feeling exclusive or excluded as you were constantly left to question what you were missing on the other side. Again, just a small glimpse of day to day life during apartheid.

Constitution Hill – Aside from begin able to step inside the South African Constitutional Court, this is also the previous site of prisons in Johannesburg. Exhibits are setup to highlight the differences faced by white and coloured prisoners. The conditions were once again shocking with up to sixty coloured people sharing a cell at times.

Overall, the weekend provided a great way to experience Soweto and Johannesburg as well as learn something about the not so distant past. After all, it was just seventeen years ago that apartheid ended.

The pictures from the weekend are here.

Amanda’s post from the weekend is here.