The Johannesburg Public Transport System
Public transport works in most settings, or so it seems. People probably have a few complaints here and there about the schedule, the cleanliness, or the personal hygiene of those on board. However, after having lived in South Africa, American and European complaints seem, more or less, petty.
Abed Nego, a local “bus driver” of South Africa, has given a detailed account of his taxi driving experience and what he does now. First, he wanted to explain how the system works. He says that people will stand on the side of the road and wave. There are different waves for the different areas of Johannesburg that you wish to go. A taxi/bus will see you and pull over if you’re going where they’re going. Upon getting on, you would pay around 5R, but the prices are not enforced. You would then get off around the area in which you wish to go, and probably do the same thing the next day.
He explained that these are the simple logistics, but there’s more to being a taxi driver. They call themselves taxi drivers because the bus is the equivalent size to what a big taxi would be in America, but it is boarded and dropped off like a bus. The most general accepted term in South Africa is taxi, but for reference, it is important to state so there’s no cultural divide.
Nego then went on to explain that most peole have a lot to say when it comes to this public transport system, but what they need to understand is that from the right perspective, it is efficient.
“For the locals, it is extremely important to get to work on time. The unemployment rate is too high already, and there is little tolerance for people who do their work poorly or do not take it seriously,” Nego said. “The taxis have a job to get people there on time.”
He went on to explain that although their driving methods are unorthodox, and causes multiple accidents, they get the job done, and get paid at the end of the day which is important.
On any given block on William Nicol (the main road running in Johannesburg), there will be around 10 to 15 taxis at one time. With all driving insanely fast and stopping and going at their own leisure, there are fatal accidents every single day. In March 2012 alone, statistically, 1187 people died. That is 38 people a day.
“Taxi’s are mostly supported by the police. They understand we have work to do, and although we break laws, we usually get by since the majority of them use our service to get home. We have a clear understanding that violence is not allowed.”
Abed Nego said that he had to leave his job abruptly due to fines. He owed over R500,000 (roughly $470,000), and had no way to pay the government. He left his “taxi” literally on the side of the road, and the government hasn’t bothered him yet.
“They get it, at the end of the day we all have jobs to do. People may not agree with that, but they also don’t go home to almost no food, and no money to pay for anything. You do what you do to survive.”
Today, Abed has a job working as a bus driver for the American International School of Johannesburg and earns more than he ever did working as a taxi driver.
It is important to not only have the perspective of someone who works for the taxi service, but someone who observed it every day. Ella Blohm, who moved to South Africa for 3 years, was on the roads on a daily basis to get to and from school. She encountered roughly one close-to-death accident a week.
“Driving in South Africa will always be a risk. Being on the roads next to people who are just driving and turning without blinking, stopping to pick people up or drop them off, or generally just going over the speed limit and then hitting the breaks is always scary. I’ve nearly slammed into a car in front of me, been rear-ended, and had to turn out of a lane quickly to make room for them. I’m not surprised the death rate by taxi is what it is.”
Ella went on to talk about individual instances she has been in, and having to contact the police. Right now in South Africa there is a huge issue with taxi violence. People who report any crime committed by taxis have statistically shown up dead within a few weeks, or have dropped any cases they made about the violence.
Public transport systems in any country are inevitably going to have errors in its functioning, but in South Africa it seems like too much to handle. The death rate by taxi is far too high, and nothing seems to be done to stop it. Raising awareness of this issue and bringing attention to it is hopefully going to be a temporary solution that will lead to bigger movements in stopping the violence and death rates caused by taxis.
Sources:
Abed Nego
Ella Blohm
http://www.thecorneroffice.co/2010/10/after-dark-taxi-service/
South Africa – A Misconception
Is living segregated to the locals really necessary for safety? After interviewing different sources, it would seem that segregation, although stereotypical, is also extremely influential in the feeling of safety, along with security guards, and electrical fences.
“I live in Dainfern, a country club in Johannesburg with a gate to enter the premises. I have to say, the difference you feel just standing a few meters away from the gate versus how you feel walking down the street inside the gates is extremely significant. I’ve always heard if you get attacked, there’s very little you can do to save yourself. Knowing there are people protecting me at all times helps so much, even if it’s not necessary.” says Matteo Aloi, a former South African resident who now attends university in Toronto, Canada.
Although there have been multiple cases where both the fences and the security have failed them, they do insure that people can have a safe night of sleep without any disturbance. However, it is unclear if in these neighborhoods, there is even any threat of danger.
A previous post talked about how people in foreign countries see South Africa, and what it would be like to live there. It showed that Africa is very misconceived to foreign countries. They are not the only ones to be blamed. After speaking to different people who live or have lived in the three most common forms of housing in South Africa, it shows that South Africa is misconceived by them too.
The biggest source of crime in South Africa is not street crime, it is crime within the townships. The most common township known to most South Africans is Diepsloot. Cynthia, a lady who works for a family inside of Dainfern, but who lives in Diepsloot, the township, somewhat agrees with the fact that although there is some safety in living with guards, there is still nothing that can be done to stop crime.
“I left work and got on the bus to go back home, and I was only a few minutes from the gates of Dainfern when six men attacked me and my friend. They looked like they were on their way to Dainfern. My friend was killed, and to me *edited out due to sensitivity*. I’ve lived in Diepsloot most of my life, and I see crime daily, but it has never happened to me. I can say Diepsloot is definitely a more dangerous place to live, but for me personally, it’s my home. Coming and leaving Dainfern is more dangerous, because of the people waiting outside to get in. There is a trouble with gates, and it’s that it shows one place where everyone lives that has money.”
Lastly, Jessica Young was interviewed. Jessica now lives and studies in England, but during her years in South Africa, she lived in Sandton. She lived on a street with gates and security fences to each individual house, and a security guard that patrols the street.
“There was an incident when someone followed us with their car. We drove past the security, and he stopped the man. He had a gun, and was planning to rob us. For me personally, the security makes me feel extremely safe, probably jus as much as living in Dainfern would.”
For a pictorial reference of the different ways to live in South Africa, here is three examples. Dainfern (the gated community in which Matteo Aloi resides), and Diepsloot (the township where Cynthia resides).
Sources:
– Matteo Aloi
– Jessica Young
– Cynthia (For anonymity purposes, Cynthia wishes to leave her surname out of this interview)
– Image of Dainfern (BBC)
– Image of Diepsloot (Google Images)
Car Hijack on William Nicol Main Road in South Africa
A family was hijacked with a knife, and their whereabouts or condition is still unknown, however this was not the news that was headlined in South Africa on Saturday, March 1st. The news that had been circling for nearly a month now was that Eminem was coming. Chris Schutte, a South African local, was one of the thousands who went to see the show. As the show finished around midnight, Chris was sure his night had ended.
“I got into my friends car, and we started driving home. There were about six of us in the car as we left Ellis Park” – the venue where the concert was held.
“We started nearing William Nicol, the main road leading to the estate where I live. The traffic lights were messed up, and we ended up stopping at every single one, which was annoying, but naturally I didn’t think anything of it. We pulled up to the red light at a four-way crossing, and there was a group of men standing on the sidewalk. This is really common in South Africa, as there are beggars at every light. They started nearing the car in front of us, and we just thought they would ask for money or food. There was nothing strange about the event, I even looked away.”
There was only one vehicle in front of Chris’ car, and the roads weren’t busy at all since it was the middle of the night. They were only a few red lights away from Chris’ turn to his house.
“One of my friends in the front seat gasped, and the car started reversing. I looked in front of us and saw a woman lying on the road. I quickly gathered what was happening. The men on the road had taken out a knife, and kicked the family out of the car.”
Hijacks are extremely common in South Africa, depending on which car you drive. Statistically, it is usually done with guns, but in this specific case a knife was used. Chris’ car reversed as fast as they could, and drove up onto the pavement to get away, and to avoid the rest of the men coming to their car in attempt to hijack it. As they were driving away, Chris turned around.
“It was one of the most shocking things I have seen in my entire life. As we drove past, we saw one of men holding a knife to the drivers neck. I couldn’t look anymore, and we were speeding to get away. It’s been nearly a week, and I’m still horrified. My family and friends keep saying how lucky I am that it wasn’t me. That doesn’t satisfy me at all. Fair enough, it wasn’t me. But it was someone. I’m traumatized having seen it, yet they had to actually experience it.”
Chris checked the news for the next few days, attempting to see anything about the event, he was mostly concerned with finding out if the family survived.
“The worst part is that this happens so much that the news doesn’t even think to cover it. I’m traumatized having seen it, they must be even worse of having experienced it, and to think that this has happened thousands of more times is probably the worst part.”
There is still no news of if the family survived, or what happened next. The news has been left unreported, and there were some follow up questions for Chris if he had found any news yet, which he had not.
What is Africa?
Africa is a continent, yes, but to the rest of the world, what is it?
“Poverty, beggars and mud huts mostly, I know that sounds silly and superficial, but honestly, I don’t know that much about it” said Rachel Lokom, a 19 year old Boulder local, when she was asked. “Honestly, the media doesn’t cover a lot on Africa, and when they do it’s either crime, poverty, or adverts on how to feed starving children.” When shown a picture of industrialized Johannesburg located in South Africa, Rachel was shocked. “I honestly thought it was mud huts and stuff, not sky scrapers.”
Rachel is not the only one. Most people in the world have this perception on Africa. It is incorrect.
Africa is one of the last continents to industrialize, and it certainly is not thought of as a developed place. In tenth grade, my parents told me I was moving to South Africa. I was astounded. I had the same concept of Africa as most of the rest of the world. Lots of crime and lots of poverty. The second I stepped out of O.R. Tambo International airport I was met with cold, blistering winds and beggars at every red light, or as the locals call it, a “Robot”. At first I was confused at the beggars, and soon I began to realize I should get used to it. Having lived in England before, this was not something I was used to, and even after three years of living there, it still come as a surprise to me every day. Why is no one doing anything about it?
It is not unheard of that the government of Africa is corrupt. Rachel was wrong about one thing, and that was the coverage of crime in the media. Yes, here and there, the media will cover one or two rapes, and even a casual shooting, but it is not accurate. Rape statistics are “unusually high”, not to mention the other crimes such as murder, and violence. This does not include the numbers of the rapes that go unreported to the police, which statistics show is more than 75%.
The police, in themselves, are also known for their inability to fight crime. Numerous amounts of South African’s can recollect an incident when a police has pulled them over in the street and requested a bribe in exchange for silence of a crime they did not even commit. It is an extremely popular strategy to make money among the law enforcers. It happens more often than not. From personal experience, my brother and I were out driving at midnight one night, and we got stopped on the same stretch of road four times in twenty minutes due to our “nice car” (a silver Jeep Wrangler). This, I can guarantee, gets little to no news coverage in not just the global media, but the media of South Africa as well.
It would be a miracle to see Africa leaving the state of corruption so that they can finally move forward by improving education, reducing crime rates and having officials enforce laws, rather than break them.
Rachel Lokom: rachellokom@gmail.com
Phone: 303-889-9589
How has the death of Nelson Mandela really impacted Africa?
On December 5th of 2013 the whole world united to mourn the death of the 95-year-old hero Nelson Mandela. Many political figures, as well as general members of the public spoke up about favorite memories, quotes as well as much more in memory of Mandela. Most people remember Nelson Mandela as the man who spent 27 years in prison on Robben Island to fight for the freedom of his people.
Mandela clearly stirred up the entire nation with his “long walk to freedom,” but how has his death really impacted South Africa as a nation? South Africa is famous for its increasing murder, assault and rape rates, which is mostly because of the corruption of the political system and police force. The poor education rates, the poverty and the high unemployment rate are also major causes for crime. This has caused a lot of people to either leave, and refuse to visit South Africa. Nelson Mandela fought hard to prevent these issues and to solve them, and after his death and even a month later, a source says crime rates have dropped significantly.
Thomas Schutte was born in South Africa, and lived there 8 years throughout his life. He now attends the University of Colorado at Boulder, but visited his family in the December break from school. “When I went to South Africa I actually found that South Africa got better. It seems that crime – since his death – has plummeted by roughly half. I feel like out of respect, everyone is mourning his death and the nation is still in shock. However, I suspect that this may go back in the near future”
In Thomas’ opinion, he believes this is all temporary, and yes this is good for the country right now, but that the country has gone through too much, and there are too many factors for one death to really make a big change, regardless of his role in the history of South Africa.
Thomas also adds “the memorial was an open event, and thousands of people showed up, which just goes to show how much respect he had from everyone both rich and poor. Although personally he did not play a big role in my life, the nation is a much better place because of him and I am proud of that.”
Lastly, Thomas mentioned something his father once said to him. “I did not know my parents thought he was significant at all, but my parents lived in South Africa during the apartheid, and my dad and mum nearly had to leave South Africa due to the crime and violence at the time, but thanks to Nelson Mandela and his freedom fighting, the nation improved drastically, so he is extremely thankful.”
It’s interesting to see how one man can have such a big impact on everyones life, and even in death – although maybe temporary – people still mourn him nearly two months later and are grateful for everything he has done to improve the standard of life of South Africa today. He has left a legacy that will not soon be forgotten.
Alice Gustavsson 