Vosloorus - a South African township
The Black Townships in South Africa were formed in the early 60’s by the National Party who conceived of Apartheid as their grand scheme of social engineering, whereby they could still have cheap Black labour at hand to work in the nearby mines and factories in the designated White areas.
| Though Apartheid has now been dismantled under the new democratic government, and there are no more areas designated for any specific racial group, South African culture has been shaped and history still shows…
The photographs on the following pages were taken in Vosloorus, a black township near Johannesburg.They are meant to show general everyday scenes on the street. My intention was not to prettify things nor to show hard photo-journalistic pictures - just a portrayal of everyday scenes. This is what YOU would see if you were to walk down the streets. The photographs were taken in October 1996. photos : Neil van Niekerk |
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These kids are playing with these old tyres, rolling them around the neighbourhood. Like the majority of kids in the impoverished townships, they most likely don’t own expensive shop-bought toys - so they play with makeshift toys, in this case old tyres.
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This general scene shows people going about their daily life. The kids are carrying cases of beer bought at someone’s house. The surgery sign points to doctor’s consulting rooms down the road.
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These kids are in front of a Spaza shop, which is a small shop run from someone’s house. Here anyone can buy food, sweets, cold drinks, beer and small grocery items.
‘Spaza’ literally means ‘dummy’ and is affectionately used, like you’d use the word ’silly’ sometimes to speak to a loved one.
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Another general street scene, with people on their way somewhere and kids in the background playing soccer in the street - moving momentarily out of the way of any cars that should pass. The girl in the foreground is pushing a shopping trolley which she is using to go buy stock for a Spaza shop.
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These kids are carrying a crate of beer home on a Saturday afternoon. Beer is commonly (but illegally and openly) sold from people’s homes.
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The Zama Zama tuck shop. Made out of tin sheets like so many other structures in the townships, this shop selling small household items and some groceries, also doubles as a home.
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The slogan painted on the side of this typical shop reads:
The People have unbanned the ANC. The slogan dates from the early 90’s when political power was transferred from the Apartheid regime to a democracy, with the ANC (African National Congress) being the dominant political party in the anti-Apartheid struggle.
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Though there are some shopping centres with food stalls, more often vegetables & fruit and other food items are sold at roadside stalls like these.
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A more recent way of keeping a small shop or business is in a bulk shipping container. It makes the business transportable and fairly secure. Here a public phone service is housed in a container. Currently (’96/’97) the majority of houses are without a telephone, so this service is often used. Many residences in townships still lack electric supply or even sanitation.
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A private home where the income is supplemented by charging for use of the private phone and by selling firewood. This kind of small-scale entrepreneurship is prevalent in any township.
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A typical residential house, built with breeze-blocks - large hollow cement bricks. Most houses were built to this format, a basic rectangular shape with small rooms inside.
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One of the many hostels which were originally designed as dormitory-style living quarters to house migrant workers for the nearby mines and factories. The hostels were barren simple living quarters, and amenities and recreational facilities were minimal. The hostels pictured here however, have since been revamped and upgraded to allow for family units.
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Women and children in front of their home. These squatter houses are built out of bricks from a hostel that was torn down in riots in ‘91 - ‘92. The riots came when tension welled because of the difference in cultural backgrounds between the urban families in the residential area of the township, and the hostel-dwellers who were mostly single men from the rural areas.
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In ‘93 however, a truce was called and peace was agreed upon between the community leaders on both sides. After the elections in ‘94, the hostels were revamped from barren single quarters to units that could house families. Squatters then moved into the open area and started rebuilding rooms for themselves from the same bricks that were once torn from the old hostel buildings.
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The poverty that far too many people here find themselves in, is readily apparent. Utilities and services to the public are gradually being upgraded, but it is a slow process made even slower by South Africa’s economy which was stagnating at the time.