Soweto

~Whitney Cyr~ One of the more resonant experiences I had in South Africa was visiting the township of Soweto. It was our first experience interacting with some of the South African people. Instead of touring museums with tour guides, we were right there in one of the poorest communities in Johannesburg, which still serves as residence for over a million people in South Africa. The site was also significant historically, as Soweto was where mass protests broke out in 1976 (Soweto Tour website) when the Apartheid government had mandated teachings of the Afrikaans language instead of English in the schools. The first person to die in the Soweto Uprising was twelve-year-old Hector Pietersen when police opened fire on a group of students. The Soweto Uprising was a catalyst for more violent forms of resistance across the country as well as Photo of the infamous photograph further, more aggressive and repressive sanctions by the of Hector Pietersen at his state. memorial in Soweto. (Courtesy So not only did this area have historical significance Photo / Whitney Cyr). for us, as we had read a lot about it, but we were able to finally talk to some of the people whose lives had been affected by apartheid. We could see how the hangover effect from Apartheid manifested in the lives of these people, some who are living in what could only be described as tin shacks, though not all residents of Soweto, now a bustling city, are poverty-stricken. Our guide around Soweto was the wonderfully spirited Solomon, who joked he liked to be called King Solomon and practiced the accepted Sowetan handshake with our entire group. With Sol, we got both a historic background of Soweto and an introduction to some of the people. As soon as we stepped out of the van, people began to smile at us, greet us, and come up to us to talk. Ive never ever experienced people who were so welcoming and kind without even knowing me. We first went into an orphanage and got to interact with the children, who were fascinated by our cameras and the photos of themselves that we took. We saw some of the homes in Soweto as well, and it was amazing to see that these people, with three or four children, were all living in the same one or two room home. We visited several other sites in Soweto, including a TV station that broadcasted throughout the whole township. The broadcast station serves as the peoples voice of Soweto, an important symbol connecting the people of Soweto. Through this broadcasting station, average people, not trained professionals are in front of the camera talking about issues that define the lives of the people of Soweto.
An image from a street in Soweto. (Courtesy photo / Whitney Cyr.)

At first, I felt like there was a spotlight on us as we walked through the streets of Soweto, and we stood out for good reason, being white students with our expensive cameras taking pictures. I would have expected these people to not be very welcomingto even be resentful towards us, seeing how much we had compared to how much they didnt. That was why it was astonishing that people actually wanted to talk to us, children wanted to hold our hands. It was particularly evident when we went into a shack where a group of the elders gathered to talk and would pass around beer, all shared from the same bowl. We entered the shack and immediately, one woman opened her arms and called me sister. They were thrilled I greeted them with sonnibonni, and that we had tried to learn a few words in their language. We could have easily been seen as intruders, but the people wanted to talk to us and get to know us, if only for a few minutes. We shared our own bowl of the beer, so we experienced one of their cultural traditions. One of the images burned in my brain is the image of a child walking home from school, in a nice uniform, but what he was walking through was some brush and an enormous amount of trash. It was that juxtaposition that stood out to me immenselythere was a constant dichotomy between the past and the present and the rich and the poor. The Soweto we experienced stood in stark contrast to the other, richer parts of Johannesburg. Despite the apartheid laws being over, these people were still suffering the effects from it because a house in Soweto was all they could afford A boy walking home from school works his way through some trash strewn on the ground. (Courtesy as they struggled to make a living. The photo / Whitney Cyr) streets were filled with trash, children would walk barefoot down the streets, and people might be walking around in dirty, ragged clothes. One thing that remained with me, however, was the sense of community these people had and how they worked to support each other. It would be all too easy for these people to resent their lot in life, but they were some of the happiest, joyous people I had ever met. This was above all, one of the things that have remained with me since our return from South Africatheir love of life, despite the hard living and suffering these South African people had endured.

Sources Soweto. Soweto Tour. 11 June 2011. Web. 20 August 2011. http://www.soweto-tour.co.za/