Soweto is South Africa’s most populous black residential area. Now it is home to a small group of whites, who have chosen to make this spring-off of apartheid home. I walked the streets to find out why.

John Nelmes

He walks up the main street of Zone 6, Pimville. Behind him is open veld littered with cooldrink cans, burnt fragments and torn paper. He looks ahead to the cars passing by and the neat small houses with their lush gardens. John Nelmes introduces himself.

His pale complexion amidst the dark brown skin is a rarity. Thin, medium height and slightly bent, he smiles. His eyes are hidden behind a pair of large aviators that he casually takes off as he opens his arms to offer a hug.

‘Soweto rocks,’ he laughs. John has lived in the township for over ten years, having moved to South Africa from the United Kingdom after he fell in love and married a local woman. When his marriage ended in 1995, he chose to stay on.

Whites Living in Soweto a Reality

The sight of the white man standing next to a black woman brings no curious stares. Life continues on a hot Saturday in the township. The boys sitting at the street corner continue to listen to the jazz playing from an open car. The little girl in a pink and white striped t-shirt smiles and makes her way down the corner.

White people living in Soweto is a reality. The numbers are small, but their assimilation into the community is significant. Just over a hundred years ago this was against the law. In 1904 black people were forcibly moved to the council’s vacant land from Johannesburg in a bid for racial separatism.

They were set up in minute rambles of wood and tin, which, hurriedly, had to be made a home. Entire lives had to be filled in a shoebox – their sparing excesses and redundant inferiorities painted on zinc walls, filled in makeshift closets and cupboard space.

A Microcosm of the Past

Soweto is the microcosm of South Africa’s hate-filled past. Its numerous streets, turning into each other, lay under the feet of thousands who marched in 1976. Matchbox houses, a prominent feature of the township, still stand.

They are home to many who fled the teargas from the ‘hippos’ as they made their way into the township on Old Potch road in the 80’s. Resistance music was created here. Stories were told here. Families were held and broken apart here. For black people life began and ended here.

The Most Popular Guy in Pimville

Today a white man sits in the home he shares with the Motsei family, unapologetic for staying in Soweto. ‘I’ve got my own little part to play and I play it to the full.’ His part includes being a member of the St Peter Claver Church, offering emotional and mental support and guidance to those who approach him.

‘John is arguably the most popular guy in Pimville,’ explains Junior Motsei earnestly. Not everyone understands him. Not everyone will like him. However, with his wit and a smile that says he knows all your secrets one cannot help but be captivated by him.

Martin Jonkers

Another white man sits in the room of an extended house saying, ‘South Africa is a beautiful country.’ Martin Jonkers has been living in Soweto since 2002. Originally from Holland he came to South Africa seeking a change after his second divorce. He has found it in his wife, Busi, their son, Fana, and the work he does in the community.

He enjoys the thrill of interacting with people, tasting culture and brewing individual and communal magic. It can only be found in Soweto he argues.

‘I wouldn’t want to live in the suburbs.’ 

Orlando West is where he has made his home with his family, attending Grace Bible Church in Pimville, and occasionally going next door to Kedibone’s Tavern for a drink with his neighbours. 

Sharp

He is unafraid of Soweto’s streets, loving the energy that permeates the air. The township’s wizardry has found its home in Martin’s soul where he fills his sentences with ‘sharp’, ‘woza’ or ‘yo!’

His wife says his white skin and blue eyes gives him favour among Sowetans, but generally he is one of them. He is known by name and moves easily on Lembede Street, sharing greetings and playing with his son.

Werner Nago

Brenda Setisho wanted her son to be raised in a home with a backyard where he could play. Taking her husband Werner Nago, they have made Pimville home. A white South African, Werner cannot see himself living anywhere else besides Soweto. Since moving to the township in March 2005 with his family he has found camaraderie and the livelihood of ubuntu.

Soweto, like any neighbourhood in South Africa has its bad spots, but Werner argues, ‘It is very peaceful here.’

The Melting Pot of Culture

The question remains though, why Soweto. In a progressive world, Soweto is a step backward or so it would seem. However, for John, Martin, and Werner, the place is a melting pot of rich culture, languages, life, expression.

Maria Westlund, a Soweto resident for two years sums it up perfectly when she talks of her first impression of the township, ‘I just loved it. The people welcomed me. There is just something in the vibe of the place.’

The language barrier is challenging. Nonetheless, ‘hola’ or ‘heita’ is the key to new friendships. For many, the use of English makes things easier. Yet, when peppered with ‘sawubona’ or ‘ngiyabonga’ intrigue is born, smiles are shared and life is even better.

Slow Racial Integration

With the advent of democracy came the cheers for the rainbow nation. Many watched with excitement for change to occur. The reality is racial integration has been slow. It is ironic, then, that in the one place that was created to enforce segregation, integration has happened and continues to be forthcoming.

It is not the number of white people that counts as much as the warmth they exude and in turn receive. That is the thing with staying in Soweto – one cannot live there alone. You live with your neighbour, you live with the family of six in the house ‘back opposite’, you live with the mother raising her sons all alone, you live with umakhelwane who is at your house at night when he needs help.

Confronting the Past

When asked why more white South Africans have not chosen to live in Soweto, let alone visit it, Martin explains that it is because they would have to face their past if they did.

‘Do you want to be confronted by the things you did wrong?’ he asks.

Soweto is Human

It is more than that though. Soweto is African. Yet, before its Africanness, Soweto is human. It makes room for inconsistencies. It makes room for those things that cannot be put into a box. It allows individuality, beauty and dreams.

It is now dark. Evening settles over Soweto. The sounds of cars passing and people chatting fills the air. Werner walks to the gate, trailed by his young son, Temuso. Brenda stands next to him. Werner’s brother and his other son, Edward, look on as goodbyes are said.

In a few minutes Werner will walk to the supermarket. A blonde man with pale skin.