Here are some general observations about South Africans. First, I was surprised upon arrival to hear everyone (regardless of their color) speaking English with an Afrikaans accent. I shouldn’t have been surprised by this, but my experience in Zambia has been that the white Zambians (many of whom have ancestors from South Africa) speak with an Afrikaans accent, whereas the black Zambians speak English with accents that seem to have a strong British influence (due to their colonial rule) mixed with various tribal accents. My observation in South Africa is just a reminder of how long the Afrikaners have been here and how much influence they have had.
Second, I have observed that there isn’t much trust between the different race and cultural groups in South Africa. While on the train I met whites who didn’t want to share a compartment with coloreds, coloreds who thought Arab Muslims were going to take over South Africa, and whites and coloreds who were afraid of being mugged by blacks. Colored is the term used (not derogatorily) for the group of mixed race individuals who have typically lived together in townships. I was reminded when visiting the (very good) Apartheid museum in Johannesburg just how brief the post-Apartheid era has been thus far. The first open elections didn’t happen until 1994. Given such a recent history of segregation, it’s no wonder that a lot of trust hasn’t developed yet. In addition, some of the lack of trust comes from the fact that there is quite a lot of crime in South Africa, particularly in parts of Johannesburg. This can be blamed on still high unemployment combined with people who have traveled here from other parts of Southern Africa because the unemployment rate in neighboring countries is even higher. Most South Africans I spoke with believe that the majority of the crimes are perpetrated not by South Africans but by immigrants from worse off African countries such as Zimbabwe, Angola, and the DRC. While staying at the backpacker’s hostel in Johannesburg, two days in a row the manager warned two different tourists not to walk in the downtown area. Both decided to risk it and both were mugged!
Third, in South Africa there are areas of great wealth and areas of great poverty. This is true in Zambia as well, but because Cape Town and Johannesburg showed so many signs of development and wealth, the contrast was more striking for me. The separate townships that were set aside for blacks and coloreds during Apartheid still exist and have very large populations and few economic opportunities. The government has been making a significant effort to build permanent housing for those living in shacks, but it is a daunting task. In addition, the population of low/no income people in the areas around Cape Town and Johannesburg continue to grow as people come in from distant villages and other countries looking for work. In a large black township outside of Cape Town, there are over a million people living!
The photo here is of a Bed and Breakfast set up by a township resident so that visitors to South Africa can have a true township experience. It’s an example of the kind of creative thinking that is going to improve life in Southern Africa!
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