Diepsloot is a well written and researched top journalist's account of a specific burgeoning squatter camp and organized settlement on the outskirts of Johannesburg . The study is about people coming from somewhere else, trying to find a space to call home , start a life in the city, find a job, their problems and the challenges of overcrowded formal and informal living with minimal services . Diepsloot is perhaps home to 200 000 people.
Harber writes in a readable , accessible manner about the people he meets and how they see their lives , hopes and futures at a specific moment in time circa 2010. It is a carefully researched book. Harber has interviewed hundreds of people and he has also talked to the experts who clearly do not have instant solutions and answers to the socio economic conditions that have given rise to a settlement of this type . The wealthy who live in surrounding , nearby suburbs and small holdings ( they chose country life style of living) don't want dense masses of people on their doorsteps , but the poor have nowhere else to go and the city encroaches . Everyone who is here hopes for a better life and that hope includes the possibility of being given an RDP for gratis, formal small home by government . But normal life becomes orderly even in an informal settlement with churches, schools, shebeens, spaza shops

Harber writes with some authority based on meeting the people , he is non judgemental and sees Diepsloot as a microcosm of urban demographic transition and at the cutting edge I of issues around service delivery . Harber keeps on asking questions and one line of enquiry then leads deeper into the murky territory of who is responsible for the provision of services , what to do about xenophobia , how do South Africans and people from other parts of Africa co exist . He gives face and form to the scale of the challenge when one notes that Diepsloot (literal meaning of the name = deep ditch ) is only one of 182 such settlements around Johannesburg, all competing for public services (water, transport, roads, sewerage , schools , clinics .... The list is endless) and resources are beyond limited . No wonder, Johannesburg 's slogan , "a world class African city" now rings so hollow and is so difficult to deliver on and this impacts on both the affluent and the poor .

My own connection with Diepsloot was through my lovely housekeeper, Dorothy * (* name changed to protect identity) who lived in Diepsloot when she arrived from Zimbabwe more than 10 years ago. The transport costs of bringing herself to our home to the old eastern part of Johannesburg was high. Irene lived with us during the week but preferred and chose to have another independent life in Diepsloot. . Her friends too lived in Diepsloot. We were worried about her when the xenophobic waves hit but she remained independent, nonchalant and cheerful. Irene saved and her goal was to buy a house 250 kms from Harare. She has now accomplished that goal. A couple of years ago Irene chose to move to Berea and find a flat in the inner city. She was upwardly mobile. Her was one personal story from Diepsloot and the new migrant pattern to Johannesburg , with a foothold in the city and roots in the country.

Any weaknesses in the book ? It's not a scientific or planning study so lacks neatly tabulated data showing change through time, there is no bibliography, no footnotes and is not in that sense an academic book. The strength is that it is readable, accessible , gives direct voice to people who live in Diepsloot and care about what is happening. It is an essential book that adds to the literature on Johannesburg . Diepsloot cannot be ignored in you are a student of Johannesburg. Informal settlements are as much as part of the city’s history as Sandton , the suburbs and inner Joburg. ( )

Excellent introduction into the complex structure, background and people of a typical exploding township, squatter camp and melting pot in Gauteng. Excellent views and deep insights, because he get's the people talking, sees them where they are living and has a good sense of perception. Great writer! ( )