It is easy to focus on the Coronavirus in the U.S. and forget about places in the world with far fewer advantages. We had the opportunity to recently spend time in southern Africa and had the opportunity to visit the township of Soweto, I think of a township as a suburb in this case of Johannesburg. The historical characteristics of such townships is not positive as they were part of the apartheid practice of separating blacks South Africans. The political situation has changed, but this does not necessarily result in an immediate change in living conditions. Changes in the law do not change the circumstances from which people have limited opportunities to escape.
Here are a couple of pictures from our trip. Johannesburg is very much a modern city, but the past hangs on and poverty persists.
I was thinking about distancing and having things we need delivered to our front steps and wondering how this would work among the poor of Soweto. I remember seeing lines of men walking by the side of the highway in the mornings to get to their work. What happens when there is no work and you live under such primitive conditions.
Thinking about this I sent an email to our friend who spends some part of each year in South Africa. He responded in short order via video chat and we had a great conversation. He is sheltering very much as we are, but with more stringent conditions. You can leave your home to either get food or to seek medical care. That is it. I expect this extreme isolation was part of the reason for our quick opportunity to interact. He obviously felt isolated. He reported that he spends some time playing bridge online.
When asked about Soweto, he admitted that he did not know what those living in poor townships could do. He suggested that they were not adhering to the expectations because it was simply not practical.
This is likely one of those situations in which everyone must be supported. The desperation of some creates danger of all and yet there seems to be no way to change the world as it is.