1/26/2019 0 Comments YEBO! Soweto Bike TourIn preparation for my time in South Africa, I read a number of books: Long Walk to Freedom, Cry, Our Beloved Country, and My Traitor’s Heart. In each book and movie, Soweto (Southwestern Township, outside of Johannesburg) plays an important role. It is, after all, where Nelson and Winnie called home (8115 Vilakazi St) and where student uprisings created leaders and martyrs alike. With over 1 million residents, Soweto is now the representation of the new South Africa, a teeming township that still bears the scars of apartheid.
Our bicycle tour of Soweto started easily enough (for everyone except for Kelly, who earned her South African nickname “Gear 7”) on a narrow incline. After crossing a major thoroughfare, we cruised into the informal settlement area. We crisscrossed dirt roads, running sewer water, barefoot kids and groups of men hanging out in front of shoddy shacks. Our tour guide Laredo explained that newer nearby apartment buildings remained empty because only 500 units were built while 10,000 families still shared 4 bathroom/water facilities. This first part of the tour left me with a pit in the bottom of my stomach. Next we were shown where Hector Pieterson was gunned down by South African riot police. By the time we reached Mandela’s home (or as the tour guide explained the only street in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize winners lived), I was still overwhelmed with the sights, smells and sounds of our initial foray into the informal parts of Soweto. This was made worse by the tour guide’s explanation that the ANC held out development because voters in that area did not support the part. Not a wicked problem after all.
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CPDoctoral Student - Leadership Studies at University of San Diego Archives
January 2019
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