Perspectives

Current issues

Trevor Noah’s autobiography Born a Crime is intended as a commentary on a range of issues concerning post-apartheid South Africa. One of the best examples is the township of Alexandra, which “started out as a squatter settlement where blacks gathered and lived when coming to Johannesburg to find work” (Chapter 15, p. 196). Trevor highlights the fact that people in Alexandra are not given the proper tools to evolve and rebuild the township as a proper city: “Even if you go back today, Alex hasn’t changed. It can’t change. It’s physically impossible for it to change. It can only be what it is” (Chapter 15, p. 196).

Nowadays, Alexandra remains the same, despite the efforts of several associations to renew the community. In this light, Born a Crime is a critique of the post-apartheid system in South Africa, which forces poor black people to perpetuate the cycle of poverty. 

Racism is very much present in post-apartheid South Africa, even aft...