Litnet

Hierdie is erg interessant hoe jong mense hul stede vergelyk ...

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/jan/29/cities-debate-teenagers-london-new-york-johannesburg-rio

Lebohang (Jo'burg)
I like the sense of heritage here. I speak English, but in Soweto we also speak Zulu and Sesotho. I speak Sesotho in my house with my family, and I like that the language carries on from generation to generation. I like the diversity we have in Johannesburg, and I'm interested in the city's history. After the Mandela funeral, everyone came out into the streets to celebrate his life. I'd like to believe everyone has a photo of Mandela in their house.
My neighbourhood is very clean, there is a local older man who always makes sure that it's very clean in the streets, he's not paid by anyone he just takes a lot of pride in keeping the area nice. My neighbourhood is very safe too. Plus the houses in our neighbourhood all have air conditioning and fans to keep cool.

Security

Kafila (NY)
How safe I feel depends on what neighbourhood I am in. Some are worse than others – it depends on the demographics: if the community is low-income or not, where it's located, how big the police presence is in the community. Sometimes if there is more police I feel safer, and sometimes I feel more threatened because there is also the chance of being racially profiled.
Yara (London)
Generally I feel safe here – but sometimes, especially in winter when it gets darker earlier, I do this thing where I keep my keys near my knuckles. It was a trick my mum taught me where you put the keys in between the spaces of your fingers and keep your hand in your pocket so if anyone tries to attack you out of nowhere when you punch them it will be harder.
Raíssa (Rio)
I've never been mugged, never seen any kind of violence, but I still feel insecure. I think the police should be an example of confidence, but we cannot trust them at all. The police are very corrupt. Sometimes people trust more in the bad guys than the police. And we have lots of cases of bribery regarding the police.
Yara (London)
Around here there are a lot of undercover police but you can see their belt and stuff. So that makes me feel like there is something bad going on, rather than making me feel safe. Also many of the community support officers, they just walk around pestering young people that don't need to be pestered and are just innocently going about their day.
Makayla (NY)
Getting certain communities and the police to like each other is a very tough goal. I believe that a more attainable goal would be understanding on both sides and that begins with communication. There are shootings of young black males from police officers in these communities and usually the community is left wondering why the person was shot, it wasn't necessary – often the justification is that they were threatening or wore threatening clothes, but that's not enough justification. So I believe that the mentality of the officers is a big component of the path to understanding. I don't think that there is anything physical that you could do with some communities. I come from those kind of communities that aren't that safe – and if you put in more police officers we feel threatened; if you put more lights, we're like why are there so many lights? What police and council people can do is become more in touch with the community they serve, put more amenities in the community that can get teenagers and children involved.
Aida (London)
I've been mugged a couple of times, so I'm always aware of my surroundings and I prefer to keep my stuff close to me no matter the area. I don't think it makes a difference if the police are around on not. I just prefer not to attract attention to myself.
Yara (London)
I don't feel that threatened in my area; there's always someone drunk in the park or someone dealing drugs at the end of my street, but they wont bother you if you don't bother them, so no eye contact and just keep walking and you'll be fine.
Lebohang (Jo'burg)
There are boys on the street corners in my area getting into trouble, they don't have anything to do so they just choose to commit crime. I think maybe they have problems at home and they don't like to be at home. Also my neighbourhood is exclusively black African, there is not a lot of diversity, unlike the city as a whole – I would like it to be more multicultural. My neighbourhood is very safe, though. There is a soccer area and a netball field for young people. The houses are nice and big, with big yards – they are spread out, not bunched close together.
Michel (Rio)
I feel safe in some areas of the city, but in the northern zone of Rio, the situation is critical. If I were political, I would invest in public security policies. I was recently robbed in Rio and the thieves took my phone. The Rio de Janeiro transformations are suffering because of the new security policy. The UPPs (pacifying police unit) are expelling traffickers from the slums but they are taking refuge in other slums. So, drug trafficking is reduced but robberies have increased because of the decrease in trafficking. There is only one park near Tijuca Forest but residents do not use it; that is where Amarildo de Souza disappeared. Amarildo was a resident of Rocinha who everyone thinks was murdered by officers of the UPP. For fear, locals avoid the place.
Amosh (NY)
I think the culture of carrying weapons should be addressed. In the US you can own them, whereas you can't in other countries in the world – and so you feel less safe because you don't know who might have something in their back pocket to harm you. Just this morning I read about two people being shot in Indiana … This culture of carrying weapons is a big issue in our country that needs to be addressed.

Interessant né ... gaan lees gerus selwers, ons dink SA is sooo kak, en JHB is sooo gevaarlik, maar kyk maar hoe voel die jongmense in ander groot stede ... toe is SA alweereens gladnie so kaknie ... huh!

Francois Williams