South Africa

i was amazed at the size of the townships when we were bussing it though south africa. i knew they were there but was not prepared for what i saw.

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SHE SMIILES AT THE FUTURE, LIVES LIFE MAGNIFICENTLY, EXECUTES JUSTICE ON THE EARTH, AND PLACES VALUE UPON HUMANITY -BOBBIE HOUSTON

Hoe gaan dit Almal !

I'm also from South Africa. I live in Johannesburg

the townships is a thing of the past in South Africa. Practically all areas now are mixed... except if you go to places like Soweto, Kyalitcha (don't know how to spell it properly), Langa, Transkei, etc.

And 5fm does rock, yeah! I listen to it almost everyday online

its good that the segregation is a thing of the past.. the towns hips we went past my husband called them "shanty towns"

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SHE SMIILES AT THE FUTURE, LIVES LIFE MAGNIFICENTLY, EXECUTES JUSTICE ON THE EARTH, AND PLACES VALUE UPON HUMANITY -BOBBIE HOUSTON

Any fans of Madam and Eve?

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SARAH!! Please don't shoot Rudolph!

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I do not feel compelled to believe that the same God who endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect intended us to forgo their use. -- Galileo

Townships are predominantly black, but I know of the odd other race that live in them - including whites. There is no legislation forcing people to stay in them now. It is just a legacy issue now, and the new government has done a lot to bring better facilities and resources into these areas.

The squatter camps (shanty towns, shacks cities, informal settlements etc. - whatever you call them) are more an indication of poverty and the draw of urban centres for people looking for work - moving from rural (farming, subsistence areas) into the cities. I think this is a common problem throughout the developing world - even New York (and other US cities) have the homeless and those looking for a better life (on a different scale admittedly). A lot of work is going on at a macro level to address these - over 2 million houses have been built in the past 11 years for lower income groups!

As far as crime goes - it is a reality in the country (as in the rest of the world) - but the vast majority of South Africans (I'd say 99.99%) are peace loving, friendly, beautiful people - it is the minority that give the country its reputation. A lot of the "crime" was also politically motivated and no longer occurs.

Come stay - you will LOVE it!

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Sorry - forgot to answer your other question. Crime in the smaller areas is really a lot less than in the major centres. I guess that's a fact in most places around the globe.
So Worcester is definitely better than Cape Town for crime.

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Love it. There's now a TV series on once a week - into it's second series now!

Great stuff.

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Whoa! Seriously? A Madam and Eve TV series? I'd LOVE to see it! I've been reading M&E for years--first the books, now also online.

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SARAH!! Please don't shoot Rudolph!

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I do not feel compelled to believe that the same God who endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect intended us to forgo their use. -- Galileo

It's on the local station - not satelite. It's unlikely to be seen out the country I guess. Should try get some tapes and send them off?

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