Tuesday, July 11, 2006


Apartment dwellers, Claim Street, Joubert Park, central Johannesburg


Apartments, Berea, north eastern Johannesburg


The Rosa Hotel, Berea: boarded up and abandoned, but broken into by squatters and now occupied.

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

Das sind Bilder, die einem das Herz brechen. Armes, einst wunderschönes Südafrika! Kommunismus mit Zerstörung und schwarzer Kriminalität Hand in Hand...

Anonymous said...

Certains endroits de la banlieue parisienne actuelle ressemblent à ces photographies, surtout dans les zones habitées par des noirs maliens et sénégalais.

La population change. La civilisation recule. La nature reprend ses droits.

Anonymous said...

This is long overdue to show the world what is going on here ,We are now living in a reverse apartheid , A white person live's dont mean anything in this countree !!!!

Anonymous said...

I've heard that the brand new Mandella bridge is being stripped from its decorations and aluminium parts, by hooligans. Maybe someone must go and take some pics while there's something left? Then we can compare what it's like a year from now! Just be careful, it's known as the highest smash-and-grab / hijacking spot in South Africa!

Anonymous said...

Surely world wide there are areas such as you are showing on this site ... as in the UK and USA. SA is not alone in having this kind of problem.

The Real Realist said...

Trace said...
Surely world wide there are areas such as you are showing on this site ... as in the UK and USA. SA is not alone in having this kind of problem.


Yes, and for the same reason.

Anonymous said...

ek hoop dat ons in suid afrika besef dat ons word net die nodigste vertel deur die media en polisie en dat dit 'n goeie ding is dat ons kan sien wat die werklikheid is veral die plaasmoorde wat maar net aangaan en niemand sal opstaan en iets daaraan doen nie ons is op ons self aangewese verdedig ons onsself is ons in so groot moeilikheid hoeveel slegter moet dit nog gaan voor dit beter sal word

Anonymous said...

It's high time that the truth regarding the slow death of South Africa be told to the world. It leaves one with a feeling of relief that our friends abroad can now experience what we have to live with daily. It is a vary rare occasion to open a newspaper in South Africa without multiple murders, rapes and robberies being reported. When law abiding citizens complain about it, the "Minister of Safety and Security" (surely a misnomer for that man) tells them to leave the country. It seems that the Government's priority is to rather spend millions on changing names of cities and airports, than spending it on fighting crime. I just had to get this off my chest.

Anonymous said...

The NEW SOUTH AFRICA say thanks to the wonderfull people of SWEDEN and NORWAY for the support and money you have given to the struggle. Hope you enjoy the product you paid for and the bloodshed that you support.

Anonymous said...

Our Minister of Foreign affairs said last night that it's fruitless stopping the influx of illegal immigrants accross our borders, unless the economic crises in those countries are resolved first. How the heck does she intend doing that - by silent diplomacy?

She said that we should rather look at the contribution these invaders can make to our economy. How idiotic! We're already seeing their contribution: Sanne Mashaba (a policeman) was killed yesterday by 3 Mozambiquans wanted for murder, attempted murder, house breaking and robberies! Illegal immigrants are part of most of these kind if incidents. Sanna was police #51 to die this year!

Anonymous said...

Yes, some other countries will have similar scenes as well. I have seen worse in Nigeria, Zaire, Kenya etc. But its no excuse - fact is our cities were previously under control, but not any longer. Same with crime, corruption etc. The question is, in which direction are we going ?

Anonymous said...

Pretoria is also well under way to follow in the steps of Jahannesburg. It is a well known fact that these people cannot maintain anything, not to mention a government!

Anonymous said...

How about the statement the m.e.c. of law and order made: the police may not remove beggars from the streets because some of them are blind and it will interfere with their human rights. I think allowing blind beggars to walk in the middle of the road in the traffic could affect more than their human rights, such as their health! Furthermore, these same beggars are occasionally also hijackers and muggers.

Anonymous said...

Hope you're happy about this FW...

Anonymous said...

a lot of you are critisising ...on some " the gov isnt doing anything, the country is going down and the world should be shown...yadi yadi yadi blah blah ......" but what's the point in critisising and then do nothing about it..if youre gona criticise , you better come up with a solution..if not, keep quiet. I agree with trace...every other country has areas like that ,,,,,the sad part is its the south africans themselves that ppoint fingers at each other......gosh, mense, lets stop pointing fingers and try and do something about the current situation,its happened we cannot change the past.. but we can better the situation for ourselves in the future. its time south africans start looking at each other as a group of south africans not as different races which make up south africans.

Anonymous said...

Gerhard what do you mean by our cities were under control b4...b4 what?please be clear!

Anonymous said...

anonymous said:
How about the statement the m.e.c. of law and order made: the police may not remove beggars from the streets because some of them are blind and it will interfere with their human rights. I think allowing blind beggars to walk in the middle of the road in the traffic could affect more than their human rights, such as their health! Furthermore, these same beggars are occasionally also hijackers and muggers.


Zee says....so what do you suggest we do about the beggars, any suggestions? i repeat..do not critisize and not come up with a solution...you might just come across as a blabber who knows jack.(thats my 10 cents worth)

Anonymous said...

zee, get serious, man! We'd like to do something about the crap going on, but we're kicked out of our jobs and we're refused entry back into the market, under the banner of 'AA'. You want a solution? OK, here it is: let black SA realise the white man with all his knowledge and experience is the goose laying the golden eggs! Not because he's white, but because of the culture & society he developed in over the last 500 years and which he brought with him to this beautiful country! To say "sorry, we've been disadvantaged, so we simply hi-jack your riches and live happily ever after" - man, that's wishfull thinking! There's only one result - the same one this blog is about!

Of course we'd like to help, but it's illegal to do so!

CTS

Anonymous said...

AH THE RACIST CARD!!!...WHAT A WONDEFUL THING IN THE WORLD OF THE LIBERAL!!!

Anonymous said...

Wake-up all of you. Where in Africa is a successful country?? The only difference with SA and all the northern countries is that they have a few years head-start.
Look at Mozambique,Zimbabwe,Angola, etc ( All of them) This is where SA is heading. Who knows? 10 Years,maybe 20 years, Anyone's guess, but it will happen. History ALWAYS repeats itself.

Anonymous said...

Realist, I commend you for this window to the truth. This back- slide into the degredation of darkest Africa has happened to the majority of rural towns in SA. The only dilemma in a rural town is that one has to face the cesspits of the town centers on a daily basis. There are no alternatives such as suburban shopping centres as are found in our cities. I will do my damnest to spread the existence of this blog as as far and wide as possible. The world needs to know just as the world needs to know about and read a book by Jean Raspail entitled THE CAMP OF THE SAINTS ! Beware, you the complacent and liberal European and Western white nations out there !! You are not to far removed for this dacay to decend on you as well !!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this web site. We left 7 years ago, use to visit many of the places in Hillbrow that you have in the photos. Such a shock to see the reality of everything. Especially Dawsons hotel where many of the Diplomats I worked with used as their after hours watering hole.

I cannot take it all in how everything has changed. There are no words to decribe how we feel. Perhaps let everything go down to rock bottom and then it can only start to go one way again....upwards and a place everyone can be proud of.

A big thank you again for this brilliant site. We are passing it on to all our contacts around the world and the media.

Anonymous said...

One of the reasons that western democracies work is that everyone is expected to pay a high level of tax. Countries like SA, Brazil, North America and India which have huge differences between the most wealthy and the least wealthy also have no real social welfare systems inplace.

Yes, it is a shame that downtown Joburg looks like this; on the other hand any middle class South African has a life-style (space, house-keepers, gardeners, nannies) that is really only available to the mega-wealthy in Europe. Not only that, but they also have access to some of the most beautiful nature on the planet.

Perhaps there are lots of people who feel sad that they can no longer hold onto their priveledges down the barrel of a gun; as many of these bloggers seem to be quite racist in their outlook, then perhaps they should celebrate that they no longer have to live in South Africa. After all, if Europeans hadn't bred so much and overpopulated their own countries, they would not have had to steal land from other people!

Anonymous said...

If the Europeans hadn't come to africa then "our black brothers" would still have had to hunt for their dinner, how long do you think they would have lasted. The wildlife would have died out years ago.

Anonymous said...

Hullo All.

since 1994 when the anc took over,its got worse every year.bring back the old government and they will fix ourv city and fight crime.we never had such a dirty city before.we used to ge to the city on satdays with our family,now you need a army escort to go to the city.........Mark

Anonymous said...

I lived at the Mariston with by best friend whilst a student at Wits in the 80's- I cannot believe what it looks like - Although I live in the US now I often think of where I grew up - I always loved the Art Deco buildings in the CBD - is their any chance some pics of those - Are their any minority residents left living in these areas? thanks for all those great pics.

Anonymous said...

Well I thank you for this Blog so it can open some eyes around the world..... and to those who think SA can be saved you are not only blind but also ignorant. I now live in the UK, things here are much better but the british also have their problems!!! but fuck it let them kill eachother.

By the time europeans came to SA they had ships, cities, currency, schools and they could read and write. The monkeys in Africa failed to progress even as far as to invent a wheel to make their farming easier (if they even farmed and didnt just destroy everything back then too.)... I am sorry but these monkeys are a burden to the advancement of our country and have set SA back about a 1000 years.

What does the future hold for SA??? look at Zim... you say we should come up with solutions but you obviously dont live in SA because there are no solutions, its fucked... When you hand a country over to corrupt criminals on trial for murder, rape, theft, consorting with criminals and drunk driving, to mention a few, what solutions are there, you ignorant fuck. wake up. For fuck sakes our previous minister of health (responsible for educating the country on such matters) thinks if you shower after sex you will not contract A.I.D.S... and now the same guy is going to run the country.... come on, wake up...

SA's future is bleak and I expect some photos of Sandton to be up here on this site in the near future so go and grab some pics of Sandton quick so we can have some comparison pics.

My heart goes out to all my fellow country men who are stuck in that hell hole, futureless country and my thoughts are with you.

.... I always stuck up for SA, saying its a great country and its not that bad, but the truth is, it is.

so so so sad...

and to the realist.
Rock on Dude, Rock on

Anonymous said...

Found this site yesterday, was totaly shocked at what Im seeing after beeing away from JHB for so long. Ive traveled the world and have been to some dodgy places and war zones including Trinco in Sri Lanka. Even in Trincomalee I have not seen so much waste. Closest I come I guess in certian areas of Calcutta or Beijing. F*cking blacks worldwide claim they are supressed and opressed which is bull. Most black have more opportunities than any white would have thanks to the liberals. I live in Italy and see this happeing in certian areas of Padova were blacks are moving in but thank god the government here in Italy is send alot of them home. Even dogs are cleaner than black. F*cking animals, destroyed my youth but at least I still have my memories of the old Johannesburg.

Anonymous said...

Goodness!!! I cannot believe my eyes. I live in Germany now, but used to stay in Pretoria Street Hillbrow in the late 70ties. I am schocked! Unreal. And to think!! We had a party at our flat and were arrested for disturbing the peace, only because our music was a bit too loud!!! (that was in 1978) I am speechless!! Please take some pictures all over JHB as long as there are still some buildings left. sad sad sad....

itrade4real said...

Perhaps somebody else has commented that SA looks a lot like Detroit here in the USA.

Hmmmmm...perhaps it's their OWN fault?

itrade4real said...

Negroes appear to be just about the same everywhere, and SA looks almost as "nice" as Detroit in the USA.

Animals, and nothing more. Thanks for showing the pictures, so we won't ever make the mistake of spending any money there.

Unknown said...

i left s.a. in 1985. the one and only country i've really loved. it's a pitty what has happened. the damaged areas, the dirt. it saddens my heart. history changed in s.a. i just don't understand one thing. anc rightfully took over. how does a government let all this happen, in so little time since 1994. the country was secure, the principal foundations were built and working. how did mandela, an educated man let all this that was built and working go down the drain? and after 15 years still nothing is being done to make it better, to make it work again. it's hard to build a solid structure, but it's even harder to keep it working. governments exist to make things work as good as possible. society must also realize that in order for the government to make things work, society must help, obeying rules, providing for the country. steeling won't help. nothing is given for free, people must work in order to have their things. the only things that don't have a price attached to it is help and love. society must realize that they must work, hard, to bind with the effort of the goverment, no matter what the colour of the government, black, white, yellow, green, etc. please help make south africa the example it once was for the whole of africa. the anc should start cleaning up, very fast. south africa doesn't deserve to become another angola, mazambique, zimbabue.

Anonymous said...

Yes this is a crying shame! But someone should post some pics of what goes on on New Years Eve in Hillbrow. That is Hell on Earth!

Anonymous said...

I used to live in hillbrow and went to school there and left the country a few years back and i was shocked to see these photos. Thats when i hope someone would just drop a BOMB on soweto and drasticaly reduce the number of blacks in the country and give the white people of taking the country back because they are the only ones who have ever cared for that country and not same monkey who should NEVER have left his cage. THis is how angry i am at seeing such distruction.

Anonymous said...

Guys - if you live in a Zoo - you got to keep the cages closed. Once they're open, it's gloves off!!! - SA was once a fabulous and prosperous country, envied the world over - now we have opened the cages, corruption and crime have spilled out. We now have to put the animals back in the cages, and lock them! - (I know Africa, I've lived there since 95!!!!)

Anonymous said...

I cannot handle what has become of South Africa we used to have such fun in the 1980,s and everything was in order.Come on South Africa we cant let things like this destroy our country.I am sure God looks down and shakes his head at this filth and disarray.

Anonymous said...

I used to stay at the Marriston Hotel upon my arrival in JHB in the early 80s. What I nice place JHB was. Fond memories. What did the "liberty" bring. Just trash - it's so sad.

Muzi Maseko said...

Perhaps it would be worthwhile for you to post pics of how townships, and rural areas were while white folk enjoyed exlcusivity in Urban araes and darkies were conndemned to mere slums and ghettos. Whiel you are shocked inthe state of Jozi, we, darkies in Mzansia re used to such and worse. It is amazing that you only realise now that there acan be such terrible living conditions in SA. perhaps yiou must visit ALex, Orlando, in Soweto. Mlazi, Claremont Gugulethu, Khayelitsha sometie just to show what the apartheid government had manged to give darkies .

Great blog by the way, I might not agree with the political view, but the effort and articulation is impressive. Keep up