Soweto Speaks PDF
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A /, - ' nson^ffdPete ana SOWETO SPEAKS Crime, marxism, advertising, big business, shebeens, abandoned babies, blindness, teaching, politics, Black Consciousness, theatre, art, writing; all these are facets of life in Soweto, Johannesburg's black dormitory city, home of over one million people. In Soweto Speaks individual Sowetans speak frankly to Jill Johnson, giving vivid accounts of their day-to-day lives and the issues which affect them, from the political views of leaders such as Dr Motlana to the attitudes and activities of ordinary people from different walks of life: doctor, housewife, actor, domestic worker- even tsotsi. Jill Johnson links together these interviews, giving a brief review of the history of the township, setting the scene and providing background information. Peter Magubane's magnificent photographs, often poignant, sometimes brutal, always sensitive, highlight the characters and situations described by the many voices brought together in this book. The total effect is to give non-Sowetans a unique glimpse of a vibrating, pulsating, complex world where violence, poverty, injustice, crime and despair co-exist with the laughter of children, companionship, compassion and a determination to get on with the business of living, and to work for a better future. Jill Johnson was born in Wales, lived briefly in Germany, and then for some years in Canada before moving with her family to Zambia. She has spent twenty-two years in Africa, attended a Rhodesian boarding school and completed her BA at the University of Cape Town. She returned to Canada to do a B. Ed. degree at the University of British Columbia. In Vancouver she began writing for magazines on a freelance basis. Her articles and short stories have been published both in South Africa and abroad. She has also worked as a television production assistant and scriptwriter. Herfirst bookwas TransvaalEpic, on which she worked as co-author, and she also did the research for Anatomy ofa Rebel, a biography of Ian Smith by Peter Joyce. She is currently working on another biography and a novel. She is married with one son and lives in Johannesburg. Peter Magubane was born in Johannesburg in 1932 and began his career as a photographer on Drum Magazine. His first assignment of real consequence was the Sharpville massacre of 1960. Since 1965 he has been a staff photographeratthe Rand Dally Mail, who have kindly allowed him to work simultaneously on this book. His pictures frequently appear in Time magazine. In 1977 he won the Stellenbosch Farm- ers' Winery Award for his exhaustive coverage of the 1976 riots in Soweto. Magubane's dogged determination to be on the spot often at great personal risk has made him the high calibre photojournalist he is today. mm W&M A £?v ;, f>- SOWETO SPEAKS by Johnson Jill photographs by Peter Magubane DONKER/PUBLISHER AD. AD. DONKER (PTY) LTD Hyde Park Corner, Jan Smuts Avenue Hyde Park2196, Johannesburg © Text byJill Johnson, 1979 © Photographs by Peter Magubane, 1979 All rights reserved. No partof this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, ortransmitted in anyform or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from the publisher. First published 1979 Reprinted in paperback 1981 ISBN 949937 88 6 Typeset in VIP Helvetica by DieterZimmermann (Pty) Ltd., Johannesburg Reproduction by Unifoto (Pty) Ltd., Cape Town. Printed and bound by Creda Press (Pty) Ltd., Cape Town. CONTENTS Foreword 7 War baby 9 Moles in the darkness 14 Tsotsi 19 His father 23 Friday night at Bara 25 Tickey at the gate 27 Odokotela 32 Where is your pass? 35 Lucky 38 Non-blacks only 40 Impohlo, the man without a woman 43 The homelands 46 The poisonous spoon 49 Martha 54 Black Consciousness 56 The riots 61 Mother 65 Drop-out 67 From the ashes 68 New Afrikaner thinking: an Afrikaner viewpoint 71 A stake in the land 75 Zuko 79 Toy telephone 81 The leaders 86 Dr Ntatho Motlana and the Committee of Ten 87 Chief Gatsha Buthelezi and Inkatha 90 Marxism 94 Ad man 97 The beat of life 101 Impumputhe, the blind man 107 Tradition 109 Sangoma 115 Bishop Tutu: the living dead 118 Shebeens 123 Cooksie 128 Stokvel 130 Danny, the good time guy 132 Tso Modise: kicking the skin 135 The women 140 Mrs Nyembezi 145 Sophie 147 Bottleneck 151 Diary of a black actor 155 Gibson Kente: the musical man 157 Blowing 161 Peck on a paper 165 Sipho Sepamla: something on my own 169 Bread and butter line 172 Nothing coming my way 175 Appendix 176 Map 178 Epilogue 180
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