Tales from the Deep South, Part 1 - Protea South, My 'Kasi'

   The Protea South suburb( 'kasi') is located next to that of Protea North. These two suburbs on the outskirts of Soweto are separated by a small river( a stream really). And like the north-south divide all over the world, Protea South( 'South' for our purposes) is not as well off as Protea North('North'). It is a poor cousin of North.

   We - as a family - used to stay in Protea North. But when we fell on hard times, North was unforgiving. Valiantly, we had tried to remain in this 'kasi'. In the end we had to read the writing on the wall. As some so called family friends kept saying( behind our backs): we could not afford to stay in upmarket North any longer. So we moved out. 

   The South on the hand, welcomed us with open arms. The peace of mind that came with moving into this suburb was unbelievable. The constant struggle to keep our heads above water while living in north had been tiring physically and emotionally. The South - relatively poor as it was - proved to be a breath of fresh air.

   To most outsiders Protea South appears to be a mekhukhuland( a place overrun by mekhukhu, which are corrugated iron dwellings/houses). A perception that - to be honest - is not totally unfounded. But there are other types of houses in the midst of these mekhukhu. We also have the RDPs( four-roomed government issued houses) and 'bonded'( bank-financed) houses. In addition, there are the 'madala'( big old previously white owned) houses. 

   The 'Deep South' in the heading above refers to the area of South where my family lives. This area is deep inside South. It is an area of 'bonded' houses( numbering 50 or so) that is completely surrounded by mekhukhu. To the left, right, back and front of us is mekhukhu. The tales in this series will come mainly from the relationship between residents living in 'bonded' houses and those living in the surrounding mekhukhu. This co-existence is challenging at times. Mostly, it is peaceful though.

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THANK YOU UNIVERSE. THANK YOU FOR OUR 'FEEL GOOD MOMENTS'.

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SO, SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD OUT THERE, WHAT MADE YOU FEEL

GOOD THIS WEEK?