UMlungu in a Township – Ignoring advice from his white friends, Steven Otter, a Johannesburg-born journalist living in Cape Town, threw caution in the wind and went to live in Khayelitsha, a black, informal settlement just outside Cape Town, from 2002 to 2005.
His books recalls with unusual perspective and insight, his experiences in the uneven spread of shacks which more than 1 million people call home.
Steven comes to understand his identity as a South African and the true meaning of community and ubuntu (brotherhood) and that the feared Tsotsis are not what they seem and that humour still thrives alongside poverty and crime.
As a white South African, I have always wondered what life must be like in a township – this book has put alot of preconceived notions of culture and race which we can’t possibly understand into perspective. One really gets the feeling of Ubuntu.
A culturally educating read. A must for anyone who is a curious as I was. Students, this book is an easy-reader, I recommend it. It’s available from Amazon.com, iBookstores,Kobo, Indigo and Half.com and costs roughly R150.00.
Enjoy!
Nicoletta
DOS