South Africa: the life of a confined family in Soweto

View of the township of Soweto, South Africa. RFI / Paulina Zidi

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In South Africa, concern is growing. The coronavirus has recently spread to the townships and is threatening to spread on a very large scale. In these places, confinement is often at the limit of the possible, because these districts are on the fringes of cities, often poor and overcrowded.

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Just 45m2 at the southern end of Soweto, among the Pooe, there is Melusi the student son, his two parents, as well as the great-grandmother . Four generations confined under the same roof.

So Melusi takes precautionary measures: “ I keep my distance from my great-grandmother. For a week, I have not interacted with her at all. But we share almost all the rooms so it's hard to completely avoid it at home. "

Hydroalcoholic wipes and gels are everywhere in the accommodation. As in the supermarkets where Motseoa, the mother, goes shopping: “ We have to go to the mall for the shopping. Yes there are distancing measures inside the stores. But the problem is that outside you have to line up against each other. All this because the usual small grocery stores have closed. "

Little internet connection

The problem at the moment is actually a school problem. As hundreds of thousands of Melusi students struggle to take his logistics courses from the University of Johannesburg: “ This is one of the only good news. Mobile operators have lowered their prices, but it is not enough for us students to take our courses online . "

Indeed, mobile and internet data are extremely expensive in the country. The most expensive on the continent. And therefore leaves millions of South Africans almost without connection during confinement.

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  • South Africa
  • Coronavirus
  • Containment

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