One legacy of South Africa's apartheid era are the vast, sprawling townships on the outskirts of most South African towns. Due to the Group Areas Act, people of different races were not allowed to live together. This resulted in black people having to live adjacent to the towns they worked in, in areas that were chararcterised by a lack of resources. These townships have remained after the abolition of apartheid.
Some areas of the townships have become well off, and even in some cases a vibrant tourist attraction, especially in the case of Soweto. Largely, however, poverty and informal shacks form the living conditions of the majority of residents, who still do not have access to many of the resources we take for granted. Alexandra (or Alex) is a township that is situated near the upper class suburb of Johannesburg, Sandton, and is one of South Africa's poorer townships. Local residents refer to it as Gomorrah.
This article is inspired by a book of amazing photographs I found. A few years back I listed a copy of this same book on my auction site and was quite disappointed that it didn't sell. The photography is outstanding. I eventually sold it in the shop. A couple of months ago I chanced upon another copy of this book, and decided that some of the photos really needed to be shared! All credits are to the photographers and compilers, and I have included them at the end of this article.
Alexandra was created in 1912 by a white farmer, Mr Papenfus, and was named after his wife. He wanted to create a white settlement, but the location was to far away from Johannesburg at that time, so he created a black settlement and called it a native township. By 1916 Alexandra's population had already reached 30 000 people.
In the 1960's a government plan to demolish all the residences and create single-sex hostels in their place was the source of great upheaval, resistance and protests. This was not a well thought out plan. Eventually the high costs of the project and accompanying problems of what to do with the displaced population ended that scheme in 1979.
Since the 1980's various attempts have been made at urban renewal and development in the township, and these plans have achieved varying degrees of success. A recent blemish on the township history was a series of violent xenophobic attacks on foreigners, mostly Zimbabwean, who were accused of stealing local jobs.
A vibrant spirit seems to be the dominant characteristic of township life. Communities form their own distinctive lingo, music and varying sources of entertainment. Entrepeneurship is the life blood of the township. The photos is the book I have shared conveys this spirit beautifully. And the juxtaposing grinding poverty.
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