Sweet Home Soweto

Many things come to people’s minds when they think about Soweto, some probably true and some perhaps not so much. For me it was always a place of mystery. The extent of my knowledge mainly comes from learning about the 1976 Soweto uprising in one class or another and searching the Web for photos and information that might have given me a glimpse of the place I would be staying prior to my departure. I will admit to being a little nervous when I was informed that my placement for this year was to be in Soweto. When I told people where I was going, people often met the announcement with a look of concern and perhaps even confusion. I did my best to assure people that I would be safe and that Soweto was not as dangerous as it was prior to the fall of apartheid and immediately after. Even people I met in other parts of South Africa upon our arrival would ask me worriedly, “You’re going to Soweto? Aren’t you scared?” Despite my seemingly confident proclamation that I was not, I myself did not actually know what this historical area was really like. My only assurance was my faith in the program to not put me somewhere unsafe and my faith in God that this was really where I was meant to serve. With that said, I am attempting to give everyone a brief history and a small glimpse into the world of Soweto.

 Many people, including myself, first hear the name “Soweto” and think it must be from one of the ancient African languages that Westerners only wish they could speak. However, the name comes from the first two letters of three English words. It stands for the SOuth WEstern TOwnships of Johannesburg, or Soweto. The area began as a camp for migrant workers who migrated to the region after the discovery of gold in the 1800s. Later, after the establishment of the apartheid government, the townships were created as a part of the planned segregation implemented by the oppressive state. Today, Soweto consists of 87 different neighborhoods (or townships as they were once called) providing homes to approximately 4 million people, the vast majority black Africans. The neighborhood in which I stay is called Central Western Jabavu.

 Soweto holds a great deal of historical significance in the struggle against apartheid. Nelson Mandela spent many years living in the Orlando neighborhood as well as many other Freedom Fighters. Desmond Tutu also lived in Orlando, oddly enough on the same street as Mandela. The street is now a historical attraction. Although many important events occurred here, perhaps none are as well known as the Soweto uprising of 1976. On June 16 of that year, thousands of students left the Morris Isaacson and Naledi High Schools in a protest march that would take them to Orlando. The main reason for the protest was because of the government decree requiring teachers to conduct half the classes in Afrikaans and the other half in English. Afrikaans was the language of the oppressive government, so the students took to the streets in an attempt to make their thousands of voices heard. Upon arrival in Orlando, the students were met by 1,500 heavily armed police officers and South African military personnel. After the indiscriminant firing of automatic weapons into the crowd of students, more than 500 lay dead and thousands wounded. Among the dead was 12 year-old Hector Pieterson, the image of a man carrying his limp body with his weeping sister running alongside becoming an icon of the senseless racism and discrimination that was happening not so long ago. Many of us have heard the story and many of us have been angered by the atrocities carried out by people that look a lot like we do. Now, being here in Soweto only 33 years after that bloody day and only 15 years after the fall of apartheid, the story seems a bit more real. I was not there, nor was I alive when it happened, so I cannot really know what it was like, but Morris Isaacson High School is only a block from where I sit now…

 I could go on for a long time about Soweto’s history and not do it justice due to my insufficient education on the subject. I only mention the previous events and background to put things into context. I urge everyone to read more about the history of Soweto and South Africa in general. I strongly recommend Nelson Mandela’s autobiography A Long Walk to Freedom. It is a book that everyone alive should read.

 I am sure the question on everyone’s mind is, “So that was Soweto then, but what is it like now?” I have only been here for two months, so I am still far from being a Sowetan, but I will share a few of my experiences.

 I will say that Soweto has quite a few modern luxuries mixed in with the remnants of the apartheid years. There are new and spacious shopping malls, paved roads and sidewalks, grand soccer stadiums, and newly constructed museums and city parks. The residents here seem to be proud of how far the area has come since the country held its first democratic election in 1994. My close friend and lifelong Soweto local said to me early on, “You see all these paved roads? There was nothing like this before Mandela became the president.” On another occasion he told me as we were walking through the neighborhood, “A few years ago, we never would have been able to do this. In fact, it’s possible that you’d be killed just for being here.” He meant that it would have been completely unacceptable for a black person and a white person to be walking together down in that neighborhood, and that it was once so dangerous then that my life could be in jeopardy just for being a white person in a black township. That was the life, and although it may be hard to believe for many of us, those things were happening in our lifetimes, in MY lifetime. However, what is beautiful is that I get a sense of hope for the future instead of dwelling on the past. The people here acknowledge apartheid, but they do no use it as an excuse for the continued disparities between peoples with different colored skin. Soweto is a dynamically changing place, and it has often been said that as Soweto goes, so South Africa follows.

 In the midst of all the hope and positive changes here, there are still the clusters of metal shacks of informal settlements, the sight of which is all too familiar to those traveling around South Africa. The majority of the permanent houses are small and modest, often housing large families in a small space. The streets are littered with plastic bags and broken glass. There are still plenty of people without enough to eat. The HIV/AIDS prevalence is alarming, and crime is still a major issue. There is still much to be done here, but at least I think that things are heading in the right direction.

 To me, the thing that stands out most about Soweto is the sense of life and community in the streets. The sheer number of people out on any given day is simply amazing. Everyone knows their neighbor here, and everyone else on their street for that matter. There is the constant laughter of children playing games in the street, mostly games that they invented that day, the rules of which often get lost on this Westerner. As I walk down the street with my friend, he can hardly take two steps without greeting someone or someone greeting him, usually asking, “Hey Mabero, who’s your white friend?” I have been greeted and welcomed warmly by most, and because I look different that pretty much everyone else here, I have become fairly well known in the neighborhood. It is a wonderful feeling to be walking down the sidewalk and be greeted by several people I know by name. In this distant and often strange part of the world, the little things like that make me feel more at home. Yes, I do at times get tired of the constant stares I get when I am out and about, but it is also a great opportunity to represent myself, my family, my church, my country, and, whether I like it or not, my entire race. I am defined by the color of my skin when I am here. That cannot be avoided, so my goal is to represent in the best possible way. When my friend and I are asked how we know each other, our favorite response is, “Can’t you tell? We’re brothers.”

 I do not even feel like I scratched the surface in describing this place I am calling home until July. It is like no place I have ever experienced but at the same time it is not all that different from home. The people here are warm and friendly and eager for me to experience the Soweto life. In the midst of poverty and health issues there is a sense of hope for the future. There is a great pride in what has happened since South Africa became a free country to all those within its borders, and there is a sense of life in the streets that no economic hardships could ever extinguish. Soweto is one of those storied places that often remains a mystery, but now that I am living in one of those storied places, the world seems a bit smaller to me.