Lenasia Slums Wait: Johannesburg Indians Now Turn to Prayer

SECOND CLASSIFIED SMALLS SECTION MÍh e ADVERTISEMENTS begin on page 45 JOHANNESBURG TUESDAY OCTOBER 25 1966 Page 41

HE main street of T Lenasia, -the Indian township 22 miles from Lenasia slums wait: Johannesburg, is lined with fine homes. Yet a few yards away are slums in which families live in shocking conditions. It is here that the Johannesburg Indians Johannesburg Indian communities are to be moved, many of them from their comfortable homes in Fordsburg, New town and other areas. now turn to prayer Many have become re signed to the fact of hav This bridge overlooks Fordsburg and Newtown of which nearly all the population is Indian. Soon the Indians will have to move. ing to travel 22 miles to /Í S A COLD SUN RISES over the Golden City, the chanting of a muezzin still echoes through their business and other the quiet streets of hordsburg and Newtown—the last two bastions of Johannesburg’s Indians. facilities, such as the Perched high on the towering mosque. minaret he calla his fellow of the Indian section of our Their pleadings have Indians to prayer. And they will population should be carefully come to nothing and most come — each day more of them BY GUY DICKSON examined. of the 20,000 Indians can will come. who spent the past few weeks speaking to The Indians were accepted as not understand why they In a city in which they feel a permanent part of our popula have to go from areas they have been forgotten, their Johannesburg Indians about their future tion in 1961. pleadings, their petitions and where they have spent ...... 1 ready been proclaimed White, contributing to the growth of The Coloured people have five their attempts at compromise; havft at some time or other visi. townships — all within the Jo their lives to a desolate, Johannesburg for more than 70 place where health, hous have all gone astray and now i ted Lenasia years, he should be abandoned by hannesburg municipal boundary they will turn to prayer. Every ing and recreation facili the City Council and left “to the — Bosmont, Coronationville, Ri- day they flock in increasing Loath to move mercy” of the Peri-Urban board, voli, Newclare and Western ties are so poor. hundreds to their community- who have not — up till now — Coloured Township. Most of them are bitter, built R200,000 mosque. done much for him. All these townships are about too, about the excellent There will be another day to They are loath to leave their seven miles from Johannesburg homes and flats — most of them He cannot understand why, if facilities in the Coloured face. For the hawker, the tailor, and the Coloured people have an people's townships com the waiter and the businessman comfortable and in many cases he does ultimately have to move excellent transport system. Re it will probably be another day a^ ached to their shops and busi- to Lenasia, health services, trans turn transport to the city, by bus pared with Lenasia. Why of desperate speculation — “Will I nt s.sf s 77 an^ I?10ve toi an area port, housing, recreation and so or by train, costs no more than are not similar facilities my home be the next to be expro- they feel, will be an al- many other facilities should be 15 cents a day. provided for them, they priated?” “Will my family be ™ st total slum Wlthln a C0UPle so poor ask. of years. An Indian social welfare the next to start on the dreaded But most of all he compares worker described the Coloureds’ 22-mile trek to Lenasia?” The Indian just cannot under his township with the five avail recreation facilities and ameni able to the Coloured people. Almost every one of the nearly stand it all. He cannot under ties as “easily up to the standard have several thousand Indian 20,000 Indians living in Fords- stand why he should be moved as The Group Areas Act, passed of the Europeans.” They have j inhabitants. There are Indian burg and Newtown and those still much as 22 miles from the city; in 1954, has come to be accepted their own schools, training! scattered in areas which have al- families scattered in. New.lanfbL. he cannot understand why, after — but the obvious unhappiness college, hospital, clinics, swim Pageview, Martindale, Turffon- ming pools, tennis courts, bowl tein, Overton, Bertrams, Jeppe ing greens, a huge stadium, seve- Í and La Rochelle, but these areas ral sports fields, lawn parks, a have all been proclaimed White beautiful communal hall and and the Indians’ days there are libraries — all within easy dis numbered. tance of their homes. This attractive home of an Indian family in Gillies Street, Fordsburg, could be expropriated at any time. It is in Newtown and Fords Bosmont, which has been In burg, however, that the Indian existence for only about four feel they have a true home. Th years, compared with Lenasia’s 11, has beautiful flats and City two areas are central, they hav far better houses (and flats Council-built houses and is only a few minutes' walk from the re than Lenasia, transport is cheap they have night clubs an creational facilities. bioscopes and instead bf bein Some Coloureds are also living able to see their families only a in Fordsburg, Newtown and Page-1 week-ends — as many workin view — the three areas which I men who live in Lenasia must do are predominantly Indian at the, — they are close to thei moment. families. The last two fortresses of the [ Indians, Fordsburg and Newtown, i (Continued r next page) Cross-Your-Heart

These former army buildings are "transit homes ” in which many Indian families live in Lenasia. ______There are no ceilings or bathrooms and the peo pie use communal taps and toilets. ■ v'>

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E C 381/2 PaSe 42 THE STAR JOHANNESBURG TUESDAY OCTOBER 25 1966 ^ ITHEIR HOUSES AND FLATS WILL ALLHAVE TO GO (Cont. from preceding page) toilet to a party of visitors. The But what have the Indians am, however, pleased to state However, these two areas — houses have no worries. The toilet (one of those that is done to try to better their condi that this matter is now receiving though not yet proclaimed White j poorer Indian thinks: “These connected to the water-borne tions at Lenasia? The most re urgent attention at the highest — are termed Control Areas, (rich people (fewer than five per sewerage system) had been out liable answer to the question can level and a considerable conces which means basically that any j cent.) are not worried — why of order for several weeks. be obtained from the files of the sion is expected in the near thing can happen to them at any | should they be? — they have Johannesburg Indian Social Wel future time. beautiful homes, cars and busi- Little money fare Association. The fares have now risen from ! nesses — they are selling our 36 cents to 50 cents. Important to the Indian too. is community to the public.” his worship. The mosque in ‘T have complained almost 50 cents The query of a hospital for the Fordsburg is considered the best One need only look beyond every day to the offices of the Indians received a reply from in the Southern Hemisphere. these houses to see the filth and Community Development Board, The Indian must pay 50 cents the same department, reading: QUALITY CLOTHES According to Moslem custom, a degradation of the slum areas of but nothing has been done. I for a return fare to Johannes . at this stage I can only place of worship may not be torn "Happy Valley” and Tomsville to don’t know what to do. We have burg. This would obviously hit say that good progress is being down and moved. It will remain get the true impression of little money and there is nothing the pockets of many Whites let made in this respect. . .” The with the mark of even if worshippers have to Lenasia. here for us. We were much alone the poorer Indians. Transvaal Provincial Administra tion’s answer to the same travel 22 miles every day to it. happier before we were moved In 1963, when the Indians Juvenile delinquency is be- out of Kliptown,” she sobbed. question, read: | coming serious, sanitation is j were paying only 36 cents for a the world's best The Indians are considering A doctor who lives in Lenasia what they are gong to do when bordering on unhealthiness, the ' daily return fare, the welfare they move to Lenasia. They fear people are miserable and are un said he has seen the bad sanitary association wrote to the regional Years elapsed conditons among the houses, a knock at their door may mean able to better their lot. rep-osentative of the Department transit camps (old militarv bar of Indian Affairs, asking that the “It has been decided ‘in an official with an expropriation Recreation facilities include principle’ to build a hospital. . notice. racks) and slums. He had not yet South African Railways be asked one small hall (with holes in the installed water - borne sewerage Several years have elapsed and floor), a couple of school tennis to reduce the fares, as many of Expropriation has become the (it costs about R180). the Indians were finding them there are still no signs of im breakfast table topic of even the courts and a barren stretch of He said up till now there had above their economic means. provements in these spheres, and ground which, with a fair most illiterate Indian. been no serious outbreak of The answer received read: , indeed in all spheres which Lenasia was started in 1955 — amount of imagination, could be diseases from the poor sanitary "The question of the high train I (Continued on next page) used as a soccer field. A privately with the building of a high conditions. “But I am certain fares which the people, especially j school. Soon afterwards 50 fami owned bioscope is being built. that a lot of the common illnes the workers, have to pay was,1 lies moved into the first houses. An old Indian woman broke ses with which I have dealt at and still is, a matter of great con In the same year the Indian down in tears as she showed her the clinic are caused by them.” cern to this department . . . I high school at Booysens was closed down and all its pupils had mm to travel the 44 miles daily if they wished to further their education. hay fever Struggle failed 9 There was at that time one other Indian high school, but this was closed in 1963 after a struggle by the Indian commu if it lasted nity failed to keep it in opera tion. Education not being com only pulsory, many parents are now not allowing their children — 3 or 4 hours and especially their daughters — to attend the two high schools at you wouldn’t Lenasia, as they feel the distance and dangers are too great. need The closing down of the high schools in Johannesburg was an ! obvious move to induce more CON TAG» amilies to settle in Lenasia and o a certain extent it has worked. But there are parents not pre pared to move. As one enters Lenasia one is faced with a main road flanked 1 with beautiful houses — the : it doesn’t, louses of the rich. These are the township houses and were built so you do by the Indian occupants them selves. But the entrance to Lenasia is from this. . . Orient and Hadie House in central Johannesburg and a luxury house of an Indian family in Mint Road, Fords burg. These and other homes will be expropriated and the occupants will hare to move to Lenasia. But even for the wealthier Indians who can afford to build their own homes in the township, there are the disadvantages of poor recrea tional facilities (a small hall with holes in the floor), in adequate sporting facilities (a couple of school tennis courts and a soccer field without trass), and a danger of disease because of poor sanitary con ditions. Á hospital has been oromised for the area, but so ♦awarded the exclusive far there is none. international Woolmark that appears only on Over 600 tiny “time pills" in each Contac 600* capsule work fast quality-tested products to relieve, sniffles, sneezes, nasal made of the world's best stuffiness and watery eyes—for up 12 full hours. Take one Contac pure new wool cloth 600 in the morning, another at .. night, andyou get round-the-clock ♦tailored to make you stand .to relief. You can work, play—and sleep -— in comfort. Contac is out in a crowd America's and South Africa's largest selling oral cold and hay * styled for modern men who fever medication. always look well dressed this The communal toilets in Lenasia’s slum area. They are in former army huts and there is no privacy. Many Indians will have to give up comfort you get the good looks in able homes for such poor TUX facilities. BUY ALL YOUR HEALTH NEEDS AT YOUR PHARM ACY *Rc.cd. PURE NEW WOOL

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Newton mosque, built at a cost of more than R200,000. According to Moslem custom, a mosque cannot be destroyed and Indians will travel the 22 miles from Lenasia to worship there.

Above are flats built by the Community Development Board at Bosmont, a Coloured township, The Bree S treet Indian Primary School, Newtown, which the and below is a park provided for the area by the Johannesburg City Council. Bosmont has existed Indian community built at a cost of R70.000. It has an enrolment for four years. In the Indian township of Lenasia begun 11 years ago, most dwellings are of a poorer standard, and there are few places where children can play. of 900 children who will possibly have to attend school in One of the main causes of sleep a prefabricated building when they are moved with their lessness is nervous tension; sufferéb parents to Lenasia, toss and tum during the night add get up exhausted. Quite rightly, they are against the old-fashioned sleeping tablets, which cause 5 “thick head” feeling on awakening. Now science has provided sleeping Promises/ were tablets, called “Slumberets”, whioh relax nervous tension, promoting deep, natural sleep from which you awake refreshed and energetic. Harmless as aspirins, Slumberets not kept At the top is the Coronationville Hall in Coronationville Coloured township. This is contrasted can be used for nerves alone. with the Jasmine Hall for Indian people (above) in the Administrative Building in Lenasia. It is From all chemists. (Cont. from preceding page) _____ in poor condition and has holes in its floor. would make Lenasia the “brigh and modern township” that — in some circles — it is thought to be. The residents still have no hos pital of their own, although they have built for themselves an annex to the Johannesburg General Hospital — 22 miles from Lenasia. They have no swimming pools, parks, flats, sta Stallion steals the city scene with crisp performance, diums, bowling greens — after 11 years. The history of the Indians and of Lenasia is a sad one. total dependability and bright savings There is a crude brick factory at work in the township and as fast as the squat, shabby little m m ** m m houses can be turned out, so wil the homes in Fordsburg and New v , town be expropriated and fami lies moved to Lenasia. The Indians' businesses, their shops and their homes will suffer as Lenasia’s slum areas grow and as more of them give up the fight. Already their shouts have turned to whimpers — and they seem quite alone in their whimpers. Art thefts in Italy: State acts From Our Correspondent ROME, Tuesday. 'T H E Italian Government has threatened to transfer to State museums exhibits of high artistic or historical interest now- housed in privately owned mu seums, unless the directors of these museums take adequate steps to prevent their treasures being stolen or damaged. In a letter to all museums owned by private individuals, municipalities, foundations and other non-State bodies, the Ita lian Fine Arts Department says its superintendent will check safety measures and suggest im provements such as the installa tion of burglar alarms or the employment of additional guards. * IS H | # f & The department's order has followed a wave of thefts and vandalism in galleries and mu seums throughout Italy. In January, 1965, vandals de faced 25 priceless paintings in 1» the famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence. An alarm system was «I And that's just the beginning. Beneath Stallion's clean-lined look of II later installed in this State-owned II I* gallery. Two more Renaissance success is a powerful but penny-pinching engine and heavy-duty ll paintings were defaced in the transmission. Plus th< easy-swinging manoeuverability and ground TOYOTA II museum of Milan's Sforza Castle ■ i last November. Earlier, in an clearance you need for congested city streets and off-the-road deliveries. • • other Milan gallery someone Topped off by a confortable, wide 3-seater cab with long-leg room. slashed Raphael’s “ Betrothal of Want more ? Well, howabout this: Toyota Stallion saves you more than STALLION the Virgin.” \ Art thefts from churches, pri R350 over the lowest-iriced American pick-up, and gives you an extra 4 • vate homes and smaller galleries % ton on each trip. See vhat Stallion can do for you. Test drive it at your m,S75 o have spread at such an alarming rate that the Italian Government Toyota dealer* now - your nearby headquarters for the cargo •I has appealed, through Interpol, champion. Smooth, fast and flexible. for an international drive against _____ Champion of the L.D.V.'s the thieves. It has been estab lished that art crimes are care Stallion — at more than 200 Toyota sales and service dealers throughout the Republic and South West Africa. fully organized by masterminds in various countries where there is a huge demand, at record prices, for art objects.

Collection Number: A1132 Collection Name: Patrick LEWIS Papers, 1949-1987

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