Six anxious months of fear and loathing in Alexandra
ful night in the six months since relocating to this place. I come from a small village in Mpumalanga where I could walk around at night and see police cars patrolling. In Alex I have to be home by the time it gets dark, and I hardly see a policeman in the township. The streets are never safe at night – especially for girls.
Alexandra is not what I im- agined. I thought it would be better than Mpumalanga because it’s in a big city, but I am truly scared all the time that I will be held up and robbed. I am always cautious.
The helicopters make me nervous, as does the gang of young men who hang around at a car wash near where I live. They smoke dagga in the open, and they make me uncomfort- able when they say things like “Woza la my sista” suggestively.
Alexandra recorded 179 incidents of sexual offences in the latest crime statistics.
This may be down from 219 cases, but it doesn’t help me feel any better because I know criminals won’t stop what they’re doing.
Yesterday, the SAPS also an- nounced that 66 people were murdered in Alex in the last reporting period, and there were 128 attempted murders. Robbery with aggravating circumstances is one of the crimes that worry me most – and there 715 reported incidents.
A few weeks ago my neighbour became a statistic. She was walking to the taxi rank when a group of guys pulled a knife on her and robbed her of her bag. It contained all her important items – her cellphone, her money and keys to her home.
I worry for young people in Alex, too. I know the unemployment rate is high. There’s a guy with a drug problem who stays in the same yard as I do. He’s in his mid-20s and lost his parents some time ago. He’s all on his own. He’s part of a gang, and whatever money he gets he seems to spend on dagga. I’ve also heard so many stories that nyaope use is on the rise in Alex.
I know many people like him resort to crime, and we hear continually, on the radio station, how terrible things are all the time. It makes Alexandra one of the roughest townships in Gauteng. But I call this place home now. I wish for it to be the dream place I’d imagined.