Trip to Joburg

toward the end of september, billy and i had an interesting 5 day trip up to johannesburg to visit a friend of ours, mohammed, who is teaching at a new school called the african leadership academy. curious as usual to explore different parts of joburg, we ventured into downtown, which has basically been abandoned by white south africans since the transition from apartheid, so predictably, we stuck out as the only white people in square miles. and, while neither of us was naive or uninformed about the risks of being mugged in joburg, on account of some unusual circumstances i had some valuables in my purse that i normally wouldn't have ever taken into joburg with me, including my ipod. thus, after being mugged within 20 minutes of arriving downtown (but not before commenting to each other what a vibrant atmosphere the city has, and what a shame it is that all folks talk about is how violent joburg is and so forth), i am now sans passport, credit cards, ipod, house keys, and a comb (at least i can attribute my tangly hair to something other than split ends, right?). it was a bit of a disappointment to be really striving to let joburg show us its best side, giving it a chance, and to end up being targets of organised crime (as well as injurious to my pride, as i'd just given my mom a lecture the night before about how exaggerated the claims of danger are as regards cape town -- i still feel that way about cape town, which has is a relatively much safer space and has lots of public security measures).


johannesburg is well known for being one of the strongest epicenters of organized crime in the world. south african middle & upper class neighborhoods are characterized by intense 'keep out' strategies, ranging from the relatively mild tall wall/fence approach, to the just as common major spikes and barbed/razor wire and electric fencing. above is a triple-threat!

water privatisation is a major human rights issue facing not only south african communities, but also others around the world. this great wall mural in soweto that we drove past celebrates a community victory in the Constitutional Court over a privatisation scheme. the court ruling upheld the constitution, which declares that no party may obstruct access to another's right to basic needs when the access was already there. in this case, previously public-access water sources were being removed and pre-paid water meters installed for families by Johannesburg Water. unfortunately, the struggle against water privatisation is far from over... you can read more here if interested: Coalition Against Water Privatisation.



mohamed was his classic, charming self when we went out for dinner. it got quite cold in the open-air restaurant, and he didn't have a hat, so decided his servillete would have to suffice...

these cooling towers in soweto are much more beautiful than the plain grey concrete ones in pinelands (cape town)...