By Jonk wa Mashamba
news@alexreporter.co.za
Those who always enter East Bank by a pedestrian bridge of 20 Selbourne, are always confronted with a frightening atmosphere .
However, for someone who uses the road for the first time without knowing what the area was like before, is probably going to mind his own business.
But for someone who is familiar with the beauty of the area before, will be emotional while walking in the area.
This area was formerly called Jukskei & East Bank Park; the park which lovers preferred for their romantic reunions.
During the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the park brought together Alex’s residents from 1st avenue to Tsutaumani with a mission to watch beautiful games on the big screen together.
But the park and its contents vanished into the thin air while others watched .
A resident who regularly visited the park in its former glory is Basil Tshabalala.
Tshabalala’s home is not far from where the park once stood.
He says he is disturbed by the current state of the area, which has become the refuge of criminals where crime is frequent .
After he realized that no help would come if he took no action, Tshabalala gathered a few friends and started a project called ‘Adoption of Juskei Park‘.
There are approximately 48 dedicated volunteers who have worked for the last four months without being paid as the project currently has no money.
Tshabalala, was born and raised in Alex. He said the park was attractive and big, saying it was able to accommodate many people to watch the 2010 World Cup.
“But today it is no longer a park, it is a waste site. People are killed, raped and robbed there. There was this guy named Balaclava who raped men and women,” he said.
He says that guns shots were heard from the area.
Tshabalala said he and his friends have begun the project to clean up the park in order to revive it and eventually turn it into a museum.
“This museum will run from London to Westbank’s new park.
“Alex is the old township and the father of many townships, but we don’t have a place to take tourists and show them our history.
“They tried to build a museum at the 7th Hofmeyer but failed. Again, that place isn’t big enough to hold Alexandra’s story,” he said.
Tshabalala argued that it was high time for the world to know about Alex’s positive stories, as it is rich with such stories.
“We want people to know Alex better, not because of crime. And we are doing it for our kids, all the people of Alexandra and the tourists.”
Tshabalala was a member of Dudula when it was formed , but he divorced the movement, claiming there was a lot of bad stuff it did.
He said they were correcting and undoing the controversial mess made by the Dudula Movement, so that Alex will also be known as a beautiful area.
Tshabalala, along with other volunteers, is currently mowing long, scary grass in East Bank Cemetery. The cemetery is part of areas they adopted.
He said the other goal was to create permanent employment for volunteers and others who are already part of the initiative.
Some community leaders believe that the initiative will benefit many people.
Secretary of Alex Water Sanitation Environment Community Forum, Thabo Mopasi said the park could be revived if Joburg City Parks gave others a chance.
This project consists of Tshabalala (main founder),
Bongani Mdluli, Thabang Mothabe, Tebogo Madigage and Jabulane Tshabalala.
