Joburg aka “The City of Gold” aka Johannesburg

Just like its many names, Johannesburg has many different faces.  

It’s a short flight from Kruger National Park to the largest city in South Africa.  Our introduction focused on the reason for its birth.  It’s not the capital and there isn’t any geographic reason for it to exist.   It exists because gold was discovered here in 1886.  The 250 mile stretch of land holds 40% of the world’s gold reserves and has produced 2 billion ounces to date, 50% of all gold ever mined.  It also contains 70% of the known platinum deposits and accounts for 54% of global production.  And then there is the diamonds.  You may have heard of the company De Beers.  

All those facts would make you say, this is a very wealthy country.  And yes, the suburb of Sandton is known as the “Wealthiest Square Mile in Africa.”  We are staying in a gated community in what was prior to 1997 an estate consisting of several acres of lush gardens.

Fairlawns Boutique Hotel & Spa

 On the other hand, it has incredible unemployment of 33%.  Despite these harsh numbers more people from the rural areas arrive each day in the cities looking for a better life.  They will line up in the morning at commonly known intersections and hope someone will hire them for a day's labor.  

People do not expect the police to protect them because of perceived rampant corruption.  Those with even modest money live behind walls and hire private security.  An insurance company hires people to direct traffic as “Load Shedding” shuts off electricity to neighborhoods and thus the traffic lights.   We don’t walk anywhere without our guide.  

Johannesburg is a city of migrants.  Consisting of many ethnic groups including the original Sans people, the Black African’s who immigrated from Central Africa, the Malaysian slaves, the Dutch, the British and the labor they brought in from China and India.  The former Apartheid government divided these people into 4 groups that they kept apart and treated differently.

We visited the Apartheid Museum to learn about Nelson Mandela and how a raciest government came to power after Britain granted South Africa its independence.  It was incredibly cruel to the non-white population.  We heard firsthand from the women who is the 16-year-old girl pictured below next to her dead 12-year-old brother.   This photo picked up by newspapers around the world, attracted the attention of students, corporations and governments and led to dis-investment and sanctions.  It’s an amazing story of how change came, and they narrowly avoided a bloody civil war.  I am not saying it was an easy transition, but those seeking revenge did not rule the day.  

Off to lunch at a Mexican influenced Spanish Restaurant.  While it lightens the mood, you can’t help but observe the private security guard standing out front of what looks like a nice neighborhood.

Our final visit is to their Supreme Court Building.  We first learned how this building reflects both the hopes of the initial judges and reflects how the court serves the people.  We were able to sit in the gallery like any citizen can do when court is in session and learn how someone becomes a Supreme Court Judge and their jurisdiction.  

One last unrelated thing I forgot to mention in a prior post.

Africa is very big!

The map shows the relative size of Africa as compared to a slew of major countries.   South Africa is big too.  Our flight from Cape Town to Kruger National Park took ~ 2 1/2 hours and covered over 1 thousand miles.