Gugulethu - South Africa
Pronounced Goo-goo-lair-too, it's home to thousands of blacks. It's what we would call a township which in plain English means a shit hole. It's dangerous, dirty, full of crime, running water is a luxury few houses have and electricity at the time I visited was just being rolled out. It's a relic of the old apartheid days and anyone who lives there fights a daily battle for survival. I'd say it's about as close to hell as you can get.

I worked for about 6 months at a factory not far from Gugs. Gugs being the name we locals affectionately call it. Everyday at the end of my shift I'd pile as many people into my car (an 1100 Austin mini clubman if you must ask) as possible and head off into the filthy roads of this smokey and decrepit town. The air was acrid with the smell of pariffin lamps because of the lack of electricity. Animals were tethered to random posts along the way - ready to be slaughtered later.There used to be a huge truck parked at the entrance to Gugs that housed hundreds of live chickens. Locals would arrive on foot and by battered old cars, buy a live chicken and disappear off into the setting sun with a squawking chicken. The sight of several flapping birds being shoved into the boot of a car became a common site. Blacks prefer their meat fresh so would always buy live chickens.

The streets were covered in litter. It was everywhere. In the fences, along the feebly constructed pavements and even in the potholes. The houses were all constructed from corrugated iron and haphazardly held together by wire. Stolen billboard, train windows and anything that could be used in the makeshift construction of these shacks was on show. The brazen red coca cola logo of said billboard was sometimes the only respite in an other monotonous sea of rusting grey tin shacks.

The other thing that also immediately enters your conscience as you drive into this place is the sheer number of stray dogs. Malnourished they wander aimlessly and scavenge for food. Fights between rival dogs as they eye up a rare morsel of food on the pavement are common. As is the sad site of dead dogs. Hit by passing traffic or simply dead from lack of food, they create a visible reminder of the stark existence animals face here.

Every working day for almost 6 months I drove into Gugs and saw this place. It was shameful that people live like this. It has and always will make me appreciate what I have.
(The Archduke of South London I'm in your Girlfriend eating her organs, Tue 3 Nov 2009, 21:43, 4 replies)

Fridges
"Blacks prefer their meat fresh so would always buy live chickens."

Anybody without regular electricity and a working fridge prefers to buy very fresh meat, more alive the better..... regardless of being black, white, pink, green or invisible.
(morse, Tue 3 Nov 2009, 21:57, closed)

True
But I think the OP was trying to get at an actual cultural difference rather than be derogatory. There is very little in 'white' (i.e. 'developed' Western) cultures that equips us to slaughter our own food - half of kids probably think milk comes from supermarkets and we're all so squeamish nowadays that we don't like associating our nice steak with a live cow.

Food preparation from live animals is a cultural skill that is always more prevalent in poorer areas where it is necessary (due to the lack of refrigeration etc), and the sad fact is in certain areas of SA the one thing a lot of the poorest people have in common is skin colour. I don't know SA that well (or at all really), but when I was in Tanzania it seemed that whilst white or asian people would as a general rule buy pre slaughtered produce, those buying livestock 'to eat' were almost exclusively black and poor.

This said I am defending someone against the perceived accusation of perceived racism, and have clearly gone internet crazy from lack of sleep.
(Foxinsockssir, Tue 3 Nov 2009, 23:12, closed)

Internet crazy
is the best kind of crazy; well done you!
(nd1001 slamdunked my funk, Tue 3 Nov 2009, 23:17, closed)

Live chicken in the townships: R8
Plucked, dressed chicken in the supermarket: R38.

I think we can see why people would rather buy their chickens live, hey.
(Tiktock Beating off flamers with a shitty stick, Wed 4 Nov 2009, 9:08, closed)