Life in South AfricaPort ElizabethPort Elizabeth (PE) is a city with an identity crisis. Known as the Friendly City, Windy City and Detroit of the South, it needs to decide whether it wants to consolidate its status as an industrial city or cash in on the tourism wave. On the one hand, PE has some fine beaches, temperate weather, pleasant walks within the city, plus the usual small city attractions. It's never going to take your breath away, but there a few places which are worth a visit and it serves as a good base for exploring the surrounding countryside and visiting some of the excellent nature reserves within an hour's drive. On the other hand, in the 1970s the City Fathers saw fit to build a freeway through the heart of the central business district, cutting it off from the ocean and effectively ruining it as an attraction (there are a few Victorian Gothic style buildings which escaped the wrecking ball, but the charm has been destroyed). Everywhere there is dull ugly concrete. Concrete freeways, concrete buildings, concrete everything. Sometimes it reminds one of an East German city. Almost Stalinist. The problem, as far as tourism is concerned, is that the people who promote the city are 40+ white males, who can't see the bigger picture. They can't understand what it is that makes someone fly halfway across the world to see your city. Until now the focus has been on things of interest to the white middle class. The historical central district has been described as the heart of our tourism effort, but what it amounts to is a group of pretty small Victorian cottages. Important to a middle-aged white person, because that's "where we come from", but (in my opinion anyway) of pretty limited interest to someone visiting from Europe or the States. What I think needs to be showcased are those things which are uniquely South African. What do you think of when you think of South Africa? Apartheid! Port Elizabeth has a proud history of resistance to the apartheid system. The father of Deputy President Thabo Mbeki (Govan Mbeki) lived in Port Elizabeth and staged one of the first acts of defiance here (he walked on the "white" side of a bridge which had been demarcated into two areas -- one for whites and one for non-whites). There is so much of historical interest which has happened here, but nobody seems willing to tap into it. Probably the single biggest event which Port Elizabeth has ever seen will commence soon -- the construction of a deep water port at Coega, set to serve a steel mill and various other industries which are supposed to settle there. Reaction to the plans have been muted, to say the least. Considering that the developments will fundamentally alter the very being of Port Elizabeth, there has been almost no local debate. The only negative reaction has been the response of the Southern African Environmental Project, which is lobbying against the project in London. The rest of us are either indifferent, supportive, or are too cowed by the constant attacks on Greens as being spoilers. Say the word "jobs" and everyone lies down at your feet... Visit Swerdov's disparaging Port Elizabeth page
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