Township – The South African Poverty Area
Two months ago, during my honeymoon in South Africa, while my husband and
I were travelling through beautiful views, green hills, and endless roads, we
noticed a fascinating phenomenon.
In the middle of nowhere, between forests and towns, spread huge neighborhoods
of rickety shacks. Each time we went through it, I sped or asked my husband to
drive faster. I was scared, but much more than that, curious. Through the voyage,
we were staying in houses of local people. Each house and its different people
and colorful opinions. When we asked our landlord, a nice lady, who had the
passing years written on her face, of these sorts of "slums", she
told us that these were called "Townships". The Townships are the
residence place of the poorest South African blacks, remaining from the days of
the Apartheid. "Apartheid"
means "separation" in Afrikaans, the local language.
During these days, the blacks were separated from the whites, and were
allowed to live only in certain areas, where they remained uneducated and
underdeveloped, highly discriminated in comparison with the white population. Another landlord has explained us that ever since,
the descendants of these people reside in the townships, in poverty and
shortage.
Me and my husband became even more curious, and for quite some time,
have been looking for a guided tour to one of the townships.
And we eventually found one, in the place we expected it the least, the
touristic city of Knysna.
We contacted a local guide, and set up a tour for the next morning.
The tour was interesting, and very eye-opening. I found out that things are not always as
they seem, and that not everything is "black and white".
What did I find about the Townships? Are these people really the total
victims of the past or is there more to it?
Wait to my next blog to find out!
Written by: Natali silbiger
