|
History
Infused with the history of the struggle against apartheid and abuzz with the energy of the city of gold, Soweto is a must-see for tourists who are looking for more than sun, sea and the big five.
Soweto may sound like an African name, but the word was originally an acronym for "South Western Townships". A cluster of townships sprawling across a vast area 20 kilometers south-west of Johannesburg, Soweto was, from the start, a product of segregationist planning. It was back in 1904 that Klipspruit, the oldest of a cluster of townships that constitute present day Soweto, was established.
The township was created to house mainly black labourers, who worked in mines and other industries in the city, away from the city centre. The inner city was later to be reserved for white occupation as the policy of segregation took root.
In the 1950s, more black people were relocated there from "black spots" in inner city Johannesburg - black neighbourhoods which the apartheid government then reserved for whites. It was not until 1963 that the acronym "Soweto" was adopted, following a four-year public competition on an appropriate name for the sprawling township.
Soweto's growth was phenomenal - but unplanned. Despite government attempts to curb the influx of black workers to the cities, waves of migrant workers moved from the countryside and neighbouring countries to look for employment in the fast-growing city of gold. The perennial problems of Soweto have, since its inception, included poor housing, overcrowding, high unemployment and poor infrastructure. This has seen settlements of shacks made of corrugated iron sheets becoming part of the Soweto landscape.
Apartheid planning did not provide much in terms of infrastructure, and it is only in recent years that the democratic government has spearheaded moves to plant trees, develop parks, and provide electricity and running water to the township.
Soweto is a melting pot of South African cultures and has developed its own sub-cultures - especially for the young. Afro-American influence runs deep, but is adapted to local conditions. In their speech, dress and gait, Sowetans exude a sense of cosmopolitan sophistication.
Rich political history
Soweto's rich political history has guaranteed it a place on the world map. Those who know very little else about South Africa are often familiar with the word "Soweto" and the township's significance in the struggle against apartheid. Since it came into being, Soweto was at the centre of campaigns to overthrow the apartheid state. The 1976 student uprising, also known as the Soweto Uprisings, began in Soweto and spread from there to the rest of the country. Other politically charged campaigns to have germinated in Soweto include the squatter movement of the 1940s and the defiance campaigns of the mid to late 1980s. The area has also spawned many political, sporting and social luminaries, including Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu - two Nobel peace price laureates, who once lived in the now famous Vilakazi Street in Orlando West. Other prominent figures to have come from Soweto include boxing legend, Baby Jake Matlala, singing diva Yvonne Chaka Chaka and soccer maestro Jomo Sono. Others include mathematician Prof Thamsanqa Kambule, medical doctor Nthato Motlana and prominent journalist Aggrey Klaaste.
The township has also produced the highest number of professional soccer teams in the country. Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and Moroka Swallows all emerged from the township, and remain among the biggest soccer teams in the Premier Soccer League.
There are plenty of politically significant landmarks, including the houses of some world-famous anti-apartheid activists. Just a few kilometers drive from Diepkloof is Orlando, home to Nelson Mandela's first house, not surprisingly a popular tourist attraction. Mandela stayed here with his then wife, Winnie, before he was imprisoned in 1961 and jailed for 27 years. The house is now a museum, run by Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, and contains memorabilia from the short time they lived there together before Mandela went into hiding. Mandela now lives in Houghton, a suburb several kilometers north of Johannesburg's city centre, with his third wife, Graca, widow of the late Mozambican president Samora Machel. One can also glimpse the high-security mansion belonging to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in an affluent part of Orlando West. Archbishop Desmond Tutu's house, the residence of ANC stalwarts Walter and Albertina Sisula, and the Hector Pieterson memorial museum are in the same neighbourhood. The recently renovated museum offers a detailed account of the events of 1976, including visuals and eye-witness accounts.
Hector Pieterson, who was shot dead by police during the student uprisings which spread around the country and changed the course of history for South Africa, and the famous picture of his lifeless body being carried by mourning youths, have come to symbolise the 1976 Uprisings. In Kliptown, you can visit Freedom Square, a place where the Freedom Charter was adopted as the guiding document of the Congress Alliance – a broad alliance of various political and cultural formations to map a way forward in the repressive climate of the 1950s. The charter was the guiding document of the African National Congress and envisaged an alternative non-racial dispensation in which "all shall be equal before the law."
Mansions and 'match-box' houses
Soweto is a place of contrasts: rows of tin shanties abut luxurious mansions; piles of garbage and pitted roads offset green fields and rustic streams. Soweto has the same vibrant, racy feel of Johannesburg, of which it is an integral part. Despite the high unemployment rate there is a cheerful energy, a bustle of activity, with informal traders plying their wares on every corner. From the footbridge of the world-renowned Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, one has a panoramic view of Soweto. In the immediate vicinity of the bridge many people mill around - hawkers peddling a variety of goods, shoppers looking for bargains, and of course the ever-present commuters hurrying to board taxis.
Further a-field, the barrenness that comprises much of the old Soweto comes into view - the small brown houses of Old Diepkloof and Orlando townships, in stark contrast to the colourful shades and tree-lined streets of the newer parts like Diepkloof Extension, home to the relatively affluent. In Diepkloof the grey, four-roomed dwellings, cynically called "matchbox houses" by locals, abound. These are the original dwellings constructed to accommodate the first black migrants to the city. Although they are small, locals take pride in their houses, and put much effort into making them habitable and cosy. In contrast to these symbols of poverty, there are the various "extensions" that have been established to accommodate the relatively affluent. One example is Pimville Extension, home to the emerging black middle class. The suburb boasts beautiful houses, the roads are good, playgrounds and schools are in mint condition.
Migrant hostels, squatter camps
These workers were used as cheap labour, and their stay in the city was considered temporary; historically, they always lived on the fringes of Soweto communities. The new government is busy converting the hostels into family units, but they remain unbending in their ugliness. Then there are the squatter camp communities, euphemistically called "informal settlements", where poverty is palpable. These camps are home to many of the unemployed, who use corrugated iron sheets to build shelters. Despite their poverty, these shack dwellers have managed to build a strong sense of community. They remain in Johannesburg in search of the elusive "gold".
A place to party
Recent years have seen Soweto become a site of massive development projects and a major tourist attraction in the country. For those looking for a night out in the ghetto, Soweto offers some popular joints for relaxation. There are plenty of venues that offer a relaxed atmosphere, pleasant music (both dance and ballads) and a jolly good time. Perhaps the most popular of these joints is Wandie's Place in Dube. It is a cosy restaurant-bar-lounge popular with tourists and it offers great service. Other taverns in the area are Pallazo Distella in Dube, Club 707, a restaurant and bar or Ubuntu Kraal, both in Orlando West. You may prefer to visit one of the popular shebeens of the township. Shebeens are local drinking joints. They have survived the attempts of the authorities to shut them down and the condemnation from the pulpits of local churches to become thriving informal social centre's patronized by local socialites. Some of the better known shebeens are: Tyson's in Pimville, Vardos in Mapetla, The Rock in Rockville, Boyce in Diepkloof, and Cornish in White City.
OUT TOURS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING PLACES OF INTEREST IN SOWETO:
Freedom Square (Kliptown)
The site of the signing of the historic Freedom Charter by anti-apartheid organizations in 1955, is to be the center of a massive upgrade project to revive the Kliptown area. The square will be renamed Walter Sisulu Square in honor of the 90-year-old former ANC leader.
Baragwanath Taxi Rank
Baragwanath taxi rank, the biggest and busiest bus and taxi rank in Soweto, is set to get a major facelift, thanks to a whopping R60-million government funding over a three-year period.
Hector Pieterson Museum
Hector Pieterson (1964 - 16 June 1976) became the iconic image of the 1976 Soweto Uprising, where school children protested over the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in township schools, when a news photograph by Sam Mzima of the dying Hector being carried by a fellow student, was published around the world. He was killed at the age of 12 when the police opened fire on protesting students. By the end of the fateful day 556 children were dead.
For years, 16 June stood as a symbol of resistance to the brutality of the apartheid government. Today, it's known as National Youth Day - a day on which South Africans honour young people and bring attention to their needs.
Pitso or Petersen or Pieterson?
Since June 1976, Hector's surname has been spelt "Petersen". Now the family insists that the correct spelling is "Pieterson". That's not the full story.
The Pieterson family was originally the Pitso family. The Family decided to adopt the Pieterson name to try to pass as "coloured", a minority grouping that had slightly better privileges, like marginally higher wages.
Antoinette Sithole, Hector's sister, says that before she married she had always been "Pieterson", but that she and her siblings had always considered it a joke.
Regina Mundi Church
No trip to Soweto in Johannesburg is complete without a visit to Regina Mundi, the largest Catholic Church in the most populous black urban residential area in the country.
Not only has the vast church always been a spiritual haven for thousands of Sowetans, it has also played a pivotal role in the township's history of resistance against apartheid. As such it is a well-circled destination on the tourist map: every day the church opens its doors to streams of visitors keen to witness the scars it still bears from the Soweto uprisings, when police stormed through its doors, firing live ammunition at fleeing students.
But both before and after the dramas of the Soweto uprisings, Regina Mundi - whose name in Latin means Queen of the World - has quietly offered its protection to those struggling for liberation. When political meetings were banned, people sought the safety of Regina Mundi - if not Queen of the World, then surely Queen of Soweto - to form their political strategies.
Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital
The story of Bara starts soon after the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand.
A young Cornish lad, John Albert Baragwanath, arrived on the gold fields to make his fortune. The surname "Baragwanath" was derived from the Welsh word "Bara", which means bread, and "gwanath" meaning wheat. After trying a number of projects, John Albert started a refreshment post, Soon he had a small hostel, "The Wayside Inn". However, to the transport drivers, and stagecoach passengers, it was "Baragwanath's Place" or just Baragwanath.
Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital is the largest hospital in the world, occupying 173 acres (0.70 km2), with 3 200 beds and 6 760 staff members. The hospital is in the Soweto area of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is one of the 40 Gauteng provincial hospitals, and is financed and run by the Gauteng Provincial Health Authorities. It is a teaching hospital for the University of the Witwatersrand Medical School, along with the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, Helen Joseph Hospital and the Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital. Opened in 1941 by Prime Minister Smuts as the Royal Imperial Hospital, Baragwanath, the facility was known as Baragwanath Hospital from 1948. The name Chris Hani was added in 1997 to honour a slain African National Congress and South African Communist Party member.
More than two thousand patients check in to the hospital daily and nearly half of them are HIV positive.
Mandela House Museum
Nelson Mandela's humble little house in Orlando West, Soweto, now called the Mandela Family Museum ,is an interesting stopover for those keen to imbibe a slice of authentic history on the world's most famous former prisoner. The Mandela House attracts thousands of visitors each year. It has been returned to its former humble, three-roomed lay-out, with concrete floors and the corrugated roof visible from inside. A wall of display cabinets are filled with documents and certificates. A kitchen dresser rests against one wall, a painting of Madiba on another, while a large photograph of Madikizela-Mandela ironing is visible as one steps through the front door. An old cast-iron coal stove sits against the wall of what was the kitchen. Video and audio recordings run continuously.
The site now boasts a visitors' centre, with ablution facilities and a small museum. The yard is enclosed in a brick walling on one side and round steel fence poles, making it possible to look in on it and its small garden. Paving and low face-brick walling demarcate the garden, which contains several trees of significance to the family.
"Preserving our country's heritage and teaching young people about our history are critical elements of nation building. With this restoration we aim to make a contribution to this effort," said Tina Eboka, a trustee and a corporate affairs executive at Standard Bank.
The members of the Mandela family provided the trust with invaluable insight and support in the restoration of the house and the displays inside the visitors' centre, she said. "We are also grateful to the family for its help in unpacking and understanding the uniqueness of the site and what life was like during those years."
The house is largely bare of furniture, giving it a deceptively spacious feel, despite its smallness. The trust's Marius van Blerck said all the original furniture had been stored, and the displays in the house would be changed and added to, over time.
About 100 people milled around the site while the dignitaries toured the house. Sixty-four-year-old Mlungisi Nhlapo came from Mofolo to attend the opening. Of the significance of the house, he said: "It brings those good-bad memories back. This is where we used to hibernate, it was a safe haven."
First National Bank Stadium (FNB Stadium or Soccer City)
Located in Johannesburg next to the South African Football Association headquarters (SAFA House) where both the FIFA offices and the Local Organizing Committee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is housed. A football-specific stadium, the FNB Stadium currently seats 78,000 people in plastic bucket seats. The stadium has the third largest capacity in Africa. Most of the largest football events in South Africa are played at this stadium.
Soccer City
This stadium held the opening match, four first-round matches, one second-round match, one quarter-final, and the final.
The Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg underwent a major upgrade for the FIFA 2010 tournament, with a new design inspired by traditional African pottery. The upper tier was extended around the stadium to increase the capacity to 94,700 with an extra 99 Executive suites, an encircling roof was constructed, new changing room facilities was developed and new floodlights installed. The number of suites in this stadium was increased to 195. The R1.5 billion tender to upgrade the stadium was won by Grinaker-LTA.
|
