Thoughts on Johannesburg

Typically, before you travel to a place, you hear snippets of information about the place.  I heard that JNB is not a safe city and now that I am here, I can understand why.  It's a big sprawling city and after a few days, you can see the division between the better-off mostly white and the very poor blacks.  I am staying with Ashir in a suburb called Sandton, about 30 minutes from the Central Business District or CBD.  Here is where you find your typical malls, beautiful homes in gated communities, golf courses, and brand-new offices.  Most of the big companies have fled the CBD into Sandton and the surrounding suburbs.  During the apartheid days, the CBD was a thriving all-white commercial district but today it is mostly populated by black businesses and residents.
In order to get a better view of JNB I took a hop-on hop-off bus that goes around the city, stopping at some of the tourist spots.  I got off the bus in the CBD and walked through the area.  Believe it or not, I was nervous.  Even black South Africans warned me to be careful, not to take certain streets.
Below is a picture of Gandhi Square, which is a big bus terminal right in the middle of the CBD.  Gandhi, as you may know, spent many of his years here working as a lawyer.  He started the non-violent protest movement that people like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King emulated.

Plaque honoring Mohandas (later Mahatma) Gandhi

It's just a big busy bus terminal in the middle of the CBD

Seeing Gandhi Square and CBD from the top of Carlton Centre building

Because of the violence and crime, many of the businesses around the CBD have left, leaving many empty buildings.  The picture above was taken from the roof (50th floor) of the Carlton Centre, which is the tallest building in Africa.  It used to house the famous Carlton Hotel, where guests like Hillary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Mick Jagger, Henry Kissinger, Whitney Houston, have stayed.  It shut down in 1997.  Today it's a bustling shopping center with many retail stores and some government offices.
One of the more interesting stops on the tour is the Apartheid Museum.  It's a reminder of South Africa's tainted history but it's also a tribute to the man who ended apartheid - Nelson Mandela.  Much has been written about him but you can't help hearing about him everywhere.  He is like America's JFK, a politician with superstar status.

A reminder of apartheid as you enter the Apartheid Museum

How race is classified:  white or non-white

No difference from the pre-civil rights days in the US

A big focus on Nelson Mandela at the museum

Just to show how much he is adored, they named a square in a high-end shopping center after him.  It's a place where most of the black South Africans can't afford to shop or eat. 

Nelson Mandela Square in a Sandton City Mall

Another interesting stop on the route is the Origins Center, located in the University of Witwatersrand.  About about an hour north of JNB is an area of caves and archeological sites they called the Cradle of Humankind.  Here is where they found many of the pre-human primate fossils, proving that this is where humans originated from.  This museum has excellent exhibits and videos explaining how humans derived from our ape-like ancestors.

The Origins Center

Park Station, where you can take a bus or train to almost anywhere in S. Africa or Africa

Just to prove my point about crime in JNB, I myself was a victim on my very first full-day here.  I was tricked into using my ATM card at a well-known local bank ATM in a nice shopping center in Sandton.  Apparently, someone used a device to capture my debit card and pin.  By the time I ran back to my friend's house to call my bank, they have withdrawn almost US$1,000 cash and spent another US$1,000 on credit purchases.  Fortunately, the bank will write this off as fraud and I will not have to pay for the losses.  However, it is a rude awakening and reminder for me to be more vigilant the rest of the trip.
So, you asked, "why is there so much crime in Johannesburg?"  The answer is only obvious when you are here.  The gap between the haves' and have-nots' is very wide.  And the have-nots' are mostly blacks, which consists of almost 80% of the population in JNB.   Some of these people are not just poor, they are extremely poor.  When you are in that state and desperate for money to feed yourself and your family and you have no job or other means, you resort to crime.  It's not an excuse but a fact everywhere.  The end of apartheid gave the blacks freedom but not economic freedom.  That is going to take some time.
One of the tour guides I encountered summed it best.  Blacks need to solve these challenges:  1.  more education  2. HIV/AIDS  3. Early Pregnancy  4.  Jobs
If Americans want to see what it's like to have a wide gap between the rich and the poor, they only need to come here to see the future.  You live in constant vigilance: in gated communities surrounded by barb-wire fence, extra security in your cars, shop only in safe neighborhoods, etc.
If I did not have Ashir here, I'd have stopped in JNB for the most 2 days.  It's a good transit to the safaris at Kruger National Park, other National Parks, or private game reserves.  From here you can go to other parts of South Africa:  Durban or Cape Town (CPT).  Everyone has been telling me how beautiful CPT is.  I plan to spend 7-10 days there and I can't wait. I can just taste the wine in Stellenbosch.
If you do stop here, I suggest you at least visit Soweto and the Apartheid Museum.  Drive through the CBD but avoid walking through there unless you have a local friend with you.
Lastly, the locals shorten Johannesburg to Joburg or Jo'burg.  In this fast-pace world, it takes too long to say a 4-syllable name.