africanj

For me, culture is what you have learned through life in your community. It is how your community has fashioned you over many years.

I enjoy going to the townships because I have freinds there. I support some of the businesses there as i would for any person who asks me.
I do not agree with endandering other peoples lives on a township tour.
If a person decides to take a township tour then do it with a reputable operator who is involved with the community and who has the neccesary policies, permits and insurances in place in the event of a bad experience. There is no such thing as an authntic Township Tour that can be done in one visit. Thats just nonsence.

Re: NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
There are now probably close to 50 millionaires living in the Soweto Township. By the number of Shebeens and shopping centres you can see that it is a relatively healthy, growing community.
Then there are the informal settlements that are being passed off as Townships. Now there is lots of poverty and desperate people. Expect that there will be crime. There will be no hijackings etc. there because there is very little to hijack. It can guessed that perhaps people who do crime in the cities come from these kind of situations. Not because they are black but because they are desperate.
Unless Fred can produce names I think he is just making noise.

juuules

Hi there,

as I am writing my thesis about "townshiptourism as a moral tightrope walk", I am looking for people who would like to share their experiences on townshiptours with me. If one would like to, please contact me through my email address!
Many thanks in advance!!

jackssid

Hi have to ask why anyone would want to do a township tour?
Earlier someone said they got to see the "real life". What real life? Anywhere in the world you get poverty and can go and see it. It boggles my mind why anyone would pay large sums of money to go on holiday and go see a sad dreary smelly place? So much else to do. Safari, Table Mountain, won't go into a list. Most of the time everyone you meet in the township will just try and make you feel sorry for them. To show the kids always works wonders on wannabe "saviours of Africa".

All I am saying is it is unfortunate but poverty is everywhere on earth (different percentages obviously) so why dampen the mood of a nice holiday when you can do it probably in your own city.


One last thing....please do not tell me that 90% of the time it is the pure "feel sorry for me so I can milk you" thing. Rather then go on a township visit, go give your money to some guy that is selling a newspaper at a traffic light (not begging!) and trying to make a living.

RBCal

I took a township tour since it was the only way I could get tickets to Robben Island (a combination tour from Hylton Ross).

Initially I was apprehensive but I found the township tour to be very well done and informative. The guide was from one of the townships and still lives there.

They stop at a community center which is aimed at providing training and helping individuals escape poverty. They also stopped at a day care center. If I had only seen rich neighborhoods in Cape Town and not how the vast majority of the populace lives I think I would have had a distorted view of life there.

Gritty

jackssid, you sound just like some of my friends and relatives when I tell them that I'm travelling to ANY "non-Western" country, including South Africa.

I've been to Cape Town, but haven't (yet)done a township tour/visit. I am ambivalent about it. I'm glad Selwyn started this thread and the linked article, as the topic is thought-provoking--so much so that someone is writing a thesis on the topic!

Personally, I'm just curious about the poor areas of the world. Their lives are vastly different from mine. How do they get by? How would I get by if I was in their situation? These are just some of the questions I ask myself when I see these people and the areas where they live. My personal curiosity, therefore, draws me to these places, but they're generally not always safe places for a person like myself to wander around alone. That's where a good guide, who knows more about the culture, is helpful.

I can understand why people may not want to visit poorer areas while on holiday, and that's fine. However, there are others out there who are curious about the lives of those with almost no resources for which to live on.

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Hello all,

Just to mention that the original website posting of Fred Khumalo's article has changed and can now be found at:

http://blogs.thetimes.co.za/khumalo/...oweto/#more-41

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

Ozarksbill

Reflecting on this, and having read Khumalo's thoughts, nevertheless I would say that a visit to Soweto is important to get a glimpse of township life but also for a must-see visit to the Mandela house, the Hector Pieterson Museum, Regina Mundi church.

This is to get closer to a chapter of South African history along with the apartheid museum, Kruger Park, Shangaan village, Blyde R. Canyon, Maropeng museum & cave, Cape Town with Castle, Kirstenbosch Gardens, Tsitsikammon Pk, Knysna Elephant Farm, Whale watching launch, Plettenberg Bay (where we stayed at www.castleonthecliff.com)

So much to see in this emerging democratic nation which we toured in October. Son was teaching at Un. of Wits.
ozarksbill