Khayelitsha, a Township in Cape Town. 2 million people live here…
Preparing for the World Cup Games, South Africa is doing it’s best to put on a good face.
But it still remains the ultimate weird place.
First, television did not even come to South Africa until 1976.
The National Party, the same folks who brought us Apartheid, believed that the presence of television would undermine the very foundations of South Africa (not that that would have been such a bad thing, and they were probably right). Then Prime Minister Hendrik Voerwerk compared TV to atom bombs and poison gas. Dr. Albert Herzog, Minister for Posts and Telecommunications argued that TV would show inter-racial films and “make (non-white) Africans dissatisfied with their lot.”
Well, they certainly had a lot to be dissatisfied with.
Still do.
I suppose that perhaps it is true that airing a few seasons of Cosby could have brought down the whole rotten structure of Apartheid.
It that is the case, and I think there might be something to it, perhaps it is time to start broadcasting Fresh Prince of Belair here on SABC.
While in Cape Town, we stayed at the 5-Star Cape Grace Hotel, which is right on the harbor (or harbour).
One day, we decided we wanted to see the famous South African Wine Country, so we got a car from the hotel (a BMW 7) and a driver (in uniform) and headed north to the vineyards.
Cape Town is a lovely city, with a population of 3.5 million people.
On the drive north to the wine country, however, we passed seemingly endless miles of slums, chock-a-block against the highway and going on for miles.
I asked the driver what that was, and he said, “Khyaletsha”.
This is a ‘township’.
That is, the place that the blacks were supposed to live during Apartheid.
We got to the wine country and it was deeply disappointing. Extremely touristy…. and the food was not even so good.
So we dumped out and instead, asked the driver to take us to Khyalitsha.
This made him very nervous indeed.
It was one of those classic conflicts. He is supposed to make the guests of the 5-star hotel happy, but there are lines he does not want to cross.
“Everyone loves Spear (the wine tourist trap)”, he said. “You are the first to say you don’t like it”.
Also the first to ask to take the car into Khyalitsha.
The place is shocking.
Shocking.
And I have seen my share of Third World poverty.
The thing goes on for kilometer after kilometer, but there is only one road in and one road out. The township was designed this way for ‘security’. So it’s a bit like a visit to Ikea. One you go in you are committed to the whole experience.
Good.
2 million people live here, out of a population of 3.5 million.
And the way they live is simply unbelievable.
I have been to the favelas of Rio. This is worse.
The houses – and it is often a stretch to call them that, were either made out of bits of discarded lumber, aluminum siding and old doors, or they were metal containers that had been cut up and sealed off. Perhaps 3 houses to a container. No running water of course, and open sewers.
There was, however, electricity.
But the driver took pains to tell me that people here were ‘stealing’ the electricity.
Charming.
My guess is that this is a part of South Africa that the world is not going to see during the World Cup. I would guess it’s a part of South Africa that guests at the Cape Grace Hotel and our companions on Crystal Cruises don’t see either.
Well, I suppose were I running South Africa I would bury this also.
Apartheid is still very much alive here, only it’s economic and not solely based on color (or colour).
Just my 2 cents, but I think that what the country really needs is an investment in industry and factories that can give these people jobs – not new football stadiums.
But what do I know.
10 Comments
Peter Jones April 18, 2010
A few comments refer to South Africa as being weird. I suppose this relates to the many contradictions that you find in South Africa (having visited there from the United Kingdom), but this may also be due to a lack of understanding of the issues. The symptoms that you refer to as weird are in fact common in all capitalist countries, but are far more severe in developing countries. In South Africa the differences between wealthy and poor areas are even more pronounced due to the legacy of apartheid.
In this post you compare a 5 star hotel in Cape Town to Khyaletsha. But on the same lines you could compare Buckingham Palace in London, to Khyaletsha. There is no difference. The issue between poor and wealthy is an international problem which current economic policy is unlikely to solve. In fact the gap between the poorest people in the world and the wealthiest is growing. The point I am making is that this is a global issue, to look at South Africa from the outside and cast judgement is not correct. People don’t realise that the decisions that are made in some of the wealthiest countries in the world can have significant effect in developing countries, actions by one person can have consequences for someone living many thousands of kilometres away.
Like other developing countries South Africa walks a tight rope every day. On the one hand trying desperately to retain skilled workers and attract foreign investment from overseas. This investment comes at a cost to the poor. The government cannot simply nationalise all land and buildings redistribute the wealth from the wealthy to the poor. The skilled people (the wealthier middle and upper classes) will leave the country, foreign investment will stop. On the other hand you have the majority of the population in poverty, putting pressure on the government to solve the problem. The idea behind this capitalist system is that more investment and industry will create more jobs, thus reducing poverty. But in reality it doesn’t always work like this – the wealthy tend to get wealthier and the poor poorer.
On top of this balancing act, a country like South Africa has other significant issues. AIDS is endemic in South Africa. “An estimated 5.2 million people were living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa in 2008, more than in any other country… The impact of the AIDS epidemic is reflected in the dramatic change in South Africa’s mortality rates. The overall number of annual deaths increased sharply from 1997, when 316,559 people died, to 2006 when 607,184 people died. This rise is not necessarily due solely to HIV and AIDS but it is young adults, the age group most affected by AIDS, who are particularly shouldering the burden of the increasing mortality rate. In 2006, 41% of deaths were attributed to 25-49 year olds, up from 29% in 1997.5 This is a strong indicator that AIDS is a major, if not the principal, factor in the overall rising number of deaths†(http://www.avert.org/aidssouthafrica.htm).
Another issue: mass immigration. Estimates of the number of immigrants in South Africa: 5 – 8 million (about 12 – 20 percent of the population). Compare this to a similar sized country in terms of population – the United Kingdom has between 310,000 and 570,000 illegal immigrants in the UK.
The list of challenges facing South Africa goes. So housing is an issue in South Africa amongst all the other challenges facing the country.
Some housing statistics from this article:
Number of low cost homes built every year: 250 000
Number of houses built since 1994: 2.3 million.
Current backlog of housing: 2.4 million (the government hopes to reduce or do away with the shortfall by 2014) http://lowcosthousing.blogspot.com/2008/06/sa-reels-under-housing-backlog-mail.html.
You are correct in saying South Africa needs investment in industry and factories. But keep in mind that building football stadiums also creates jobs, hopefully the World Cup will bring in investment from tourism etc. by raising South Africa’s profile as a tourist destination. Of course this is no guarantee, and those 5 star hotels and wine farms… all create vital employment. I think the question is not whether S. Africa should rather invest in factories, but should the international community rather invest their billions in illegal wars or in developing poorer nations, and try and sort out the imbalances of current economic policies.
Thanks for the interesting post, and interesting discussion – this is just my 2 pence worth.
david dunkley gyimah February 18, 2010
Yes, quite. I was a freelance radio journalist for the BBC World Service between 92-94 reporting from among others Soweto, Katlehong and Khayelitsha, before AP’ing later for ABC News.
Recently went back to SA, Joburg, for the first time in 16 years to Yeoville, where I used to live . Had about half an hour and put together this short film on viewmagazine.tv. What a place it was, what a place it is now.
Hoping to be back in SA for the footie.
Re: Vaughn Smith, he’s one of the pioneering video journalist, alongside Sue Lloyd Roberts et al, though probably didn’t call himself a VJ during the Afghan days of Najibullah and the Soviet’s campaign. Did a lot of stuff, as I recall for Newsnight and C4 News.
He does a Sunday brunch gathering at his Frontline, which I have been to. Truly nice humble guy. Film makers never leave the stage.
david
fosca February 13, 2010
hahaha, michael, very subtle retort, hahaha. same faith from two different warmongering countries made that possible i guess. i would not be allowed to dare…i am very tempted so.
Neil Silberman February 14, 2010
Fosca, which warmongering country are you from?
Neil Silberman February 13, 2010
Excuse me for interrupting the conversation about killer sharks and Baywatch dolphins as great TV, but why didn’t you just take a guided tour of the townships (like http://www.daytrippers.co.za/day-township-tour.php), instead of making your uniformed chauffeur uncomfortable. It would have saved you the bad food out at the wineries and had about the same social effect.
Michael Rosenblum February 13, 2010
I didn’t want the package tour. It’s like the ‘tours’ of Gaza that the UJA used to run. All I wanted to do was get out of the car and wander around. The thing is I didn’t even know that these places existed until we drove past them. Weird place, SA.
Vanessa February 12, 2010
Wow – I have been there and it was “weird” I felt somehow in today’s time warp mixed with yesteryear. The contradictions abound and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Of all the places I have been – South Africa was just a place I could not explain. Yet, the pictures were spectacular. It truly is a beautiful country (again, in some places – not all). Weird is a fitting word.
fosca February 12, 2010
there is this story i have been told a couple of times of dolphins that come to the rescue of men attacked by sharks. i don´t know if it has any value but you might want to mention the tale. besides i reckon that any story produced about `killer-sharks´ should be handled carefully. you don´t want to be associated with the kill-sharks-for-their-fins mafia, do you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vog3z1NsMYU&feature=related
Michael Rosenblum February 12, 2010
Hi Jonathan
Just arrived in Port Elizabeth.
Well, let’s get the Killer Shark series up and running and we’ll be spending lots more time in Cape Town!.
jonathan berman February 12, 2010
Its fitting that Michael has written this blog on the 20 anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release, basically symbolising the end of South Africa’s “Dark Age” as an Apartheid state.
Censorship was the Apartheids government primary tactic in limiting the amount of information reaching the outside world, whether it was TV, radio or print. I still remember seeing the daily, The Star, with a front page printed white, due to its main story being censored….
We have beautiful new stadiums for the 2010 World Cup, while a large part of the urbanized population still live in squaller and poverty as Michael witnessed in Khayelitsha.
We have the national energy provider raising tariffs by 31.3%, while people steal the copper cable that supplies the electricity to sell on the “black market”.
We have people serving our international visitors in chic restaurants and hotels who do not have running water at home to wash.
We have shark attacks, and daily encounters with wildlife.
We have “Brazilification” where top corporate are earning in the millions, while others collect tin cans for a basic wage.
We have a leader who has just had his 2Oth child not with one of his five wives, while we have an HIV epidemic……..
South Africa is a weird place, many say “It is not for sissies!” and I would agree. I watch my back everyday, I am concerned I will not be able to pay for school fees to give my kids an good education, I think the taxes we pay to the state are squandered.
South Africa is also a place where you can also enjoy a braai and live the experience. Next time for a really good meal you and Lisa must come over, forget Spier and Mojo…