Since before my arrival in Johannesburg I have heard of the Xenaphobic attacks but I just couldn't picture them happening in any of the places I had visited in the city. Today we visited Alexandra, the township where they occured. We only drove through, as we approached Patrick hit the auto lock button on the doors giving the experience a kind of safari like feel. The place leaves an impression. It's like no place in the states.
After a full day of site seeing, we went to the zoo and an African flee market (it was more of a tourist trap, but I got some interesting things) Patrick picked us up to drive us home. Patrick can't resist showing us the city so we took several detours on our way. The first was through Sandton, a newly developed area of the city built for Johannesburg elite. Most of the buildings are named after renaissance masters, Michelangelo Tower, Hotel Raphel, I can imagine that all the turtles are represented. The apartments at the top of Michealangelo Towers go for 50million Rand (7.6 Rand to a Dollar), these prices rival Manhattan. Patrick told us that he heard most of the apartments were owned by foreign investors. The streets were lined with upscale department store windows and restaurants. We left Sandton and continued away from the city center.
Our next destination, about 10 kilometers out was Alexandra. This township started as an industrial area. It attracted residents because of the proximity to work. Alexandra is as far away from the opulence of Sandton as anything could possibly be.
Street Vendor
Alexandra is packed with "informal settlements." This is the first stop for many people emigrating to South Africa. Patricks Grandmother started out here when she first arrived. The streets in this part of the city are amazing. All along the side walks vendors have stalls and tables lined up, some selling vegetables, some selling nuts and fruits, some candy and small toys, we even saw a few people cutting hair, one place was giving hair extensions. The stalls where constructed from whatever could be found lying around. This was true for the dwellings as well. Here and there you'd see "Hostels" which are like proper low income housing. But it was clear that formal housing was in short supply.
Hostle Apartments
The blocks were packed with shanty towns. The blocks and neighborhoods are in a constant state of transition. Small shacks where constructed out of found material, people where living in extremely close quarters in extremely poor conditions. In a matter of months a block could change completely, it looked like chaos. Patrick told us that police don't dare set foot in Alexandra. People living in the shacks wait for room to open up in formal housing. In the months before the Xenophobic attacks foreigners were getting housing while locals were not. It is clear why violence had broken out here. The kindling was everywhere, all that was needed was a spark.
Informal Settlements
The infrastructure here is interesting. Though this area was the poorest of Johannesburg, far poorer than anything in the US, they had some of the most basic of comforts. Short utility poles stuck out from between the shacks providing direct access to electricity. Corners had porto johns providing some kind of sanitation. These amenities where by no means comfortable, but they were present. Even the poorest areas in the US don't compare to the poverty in Alexandra. I tried to get as many pictures as possible. Unfortunately it was getting dark and because this was such a poor area I did not want to flaunt my camera so most of my pictures came out blurry or underexposed, photoshop helped.
We left Alexandra and swung through Yoeville on our way home. During the Apartheid Yoeville was predominantly an upper class Jewish neighborhood. Currently it has a reputation for crime, this seems to be a running trend. The neighborhood seemed really lively, a stark contrast to downtown. It was already dark but the markets were open and the streets were crowded with people.
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