Soweto

Soweto - Johannesburgs township attraction

Johannesburg’s twin city populated exclusively by black people is Soweto (an acronym for South-Western Townships). Soweto is the largest black township in South Africa consisting of 26 townships, each of which was designed to be independent. The township of Soweto as a whole could be called multiracial, in the sense that its residents are from all the tribes in South Africa.

The type of housing ranges from shacks to large mansions and there is one street where you can find the houses of two Nobel Peace Prize winners; Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Also located in Soweto is the Baragwanath Hospital, thought to be the largest hospital in the southern hemisphere but despite this, almost 85% of the local residents still consult traditional healers who concoct medicines in their age old tradition.

It was in Soweto that much of the struggle against apartheid was fought. On 16 June 1976 the riots, which spread through the country, started here with black children protesting against Afrikaans being used as a joint instruction medium with English in African schools. As the demonstration increased in size, the police threw a teargas canister into the crowd. This led to a wave of panic, stone-throwing and shooting into the crowd. A newspaper photographer, Sam Nzima, captured the moment when a fatally wounded 13 year old, Hector Petersen, was carried out of the crowd. This photograph came to symbolise the tragedy of that day and each year the 16 June is remembered with a national holiday called Youth Day.

Accommodation in and around Soweto