June 2007, I visited Johannesburg, South Africa to present a paper on culture and medical education at Wits University. I was “culturally shocked” and found the lingering and persistent effect of Apartheid pulsing throughout the city and its character.
We didn’t stay exactly in Jo’burg, as the citizens call the city, we were in one of the “upscale” suburbs, Melrose, at a boutique hotel. The hotel was nice and the staff were friendly and helpful, but it did seem to attract a somewhat pretentious crowd, especially for an event the hotel was holding; however, that is a tangent.
Since we arrived to Jo’burg late, it was not until the next morning that we realized how wired the city is … wired in the sense of barbed wired and security. One of the things that we like to do is take a walk after dinner … not advisable here. I don’t even know if the hotel staff would have allowed us. So, the next day as we are out with our driver … yes, the hotel has a contract with a driver to transport guest around, because it is too unsafe to walk. We did not see any buildings that did not have barbed wire or jagged glass atop their gates and barriers. We passed large beautiful homes that were enclosed like prisons and secured with barbed wire.
Then, there are personal security firms that provide escorts and security officers. Our first inkling of the security concerns was our hotel with was gated and manned with a private security officer. I thought, “I thought I got a nice hotel in a good part of town, why do they need this type of protection.” One night, we went out for dinner via our driver and noticed that many of the whites walking and dining had black escorts, while the blacks did not. I thought, how interesting.
Last word, despite the vast disparity between the wealthy and the poor in the suburbs, they both are prisoners trapped in the status quo. The whites, typically the wealthy cannot or will not leave and threaten their lifestyle, so they leave in fortresses, prisoners to safety issues. The blacks who seem to make up the majority of the poor do not really have anywhere else to go either and many consider Jo’burg home, as do the whites. These two cultures are like binary stars, circling each other with one feeding off the other.
