The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
What Does It Mean to be Black and Middle Class in South Africa? You might be surprised by the answers provided in this documentary, "Phakathi Soweto's Middling Class", which follows the work of sociologist Mosa Phadi, a researcher at the University of Johannesburg who conducted a perception study in Soweto, South Africa's most famous township, where she quizzed respondents about what it means to be middle class.
A surprising 66% of Sowetans consider...
Failed by society in general and by our economic and education systems in particular, dispossessed and disregarded youth from Soweto risk the ultimate sacrifice while surfing on moving trains in an elusive search for affirmation. Surfing Soweto is a documentary that follows the lives of three of the most notorious train surfers in Soweto: Bitch Nigga, Lefa and Mzembe.
The original documentary, available for viewing on You Tube, has recently been updated and turned into an 82 minute feature....
Ebrahim-Khalil Hassen -
Every so often, while on the way to the office, I would stop at the department of education’s district office, which covers Lenasia, Soweto and surrounds to ask the assembled workers why they were protesting. I would quiz the workers about their demands. To be clear, there are times when ‘wild cat’ strikes are needed and obviously there were deeper issues under the surface that needed to be addressed. However, I always left with a deep sense of disappointment that...
An Al Jazeera feature that follows 24 hours on a weekend shift in the trauma unit of Soweto's Baragwanath hospital, one of the biggest trauma units in the world. This clip (part two) shows the night half of the shift. One doctor and a handful of interns with faulty equipment and limited nursing support swim against a tide of patients. To watch part one of "Saving Soweto," please click here.
