The other day, in Pimville, I saw a young woman reprimand a youngster who was swinging on the branch of a young tree, telling him to stop in case he broke it. This surprised me greatly, but what was more remarkable was that the youngster looked embarrassed and duly obliged.
In the decade since the African National Congress came to power, Soweto has undergone tremendous cosmetic improvements. There are more tarred streets, more filling stations with one-stop shops, an increase in take-away outlets operating till late and more telephone booths and mobile kiosks. There are more trees and, with electricity, less smoke from coal fires. In Pimville square there is even an Internet cafÃ