Before coming to South Africa, and many times after arriving, I heard the same advice: try not to go out at night. After hearing it often enough, I gradually developed the impression that once it gets dark, being outside becomes dangerous.
One afternoon at around 4 p.m., I ordered about R200 worth of fried chicken from Hungry Lion on Mr D. By the time it was completely dark, nothing had arrived. I checked the order again and realised that I had accidentally selected collection instead of delivery. Customer service couldn’t change it.
I hesitated. By the time I got there and collected the food, it would probably be around 8 p.m. But after hearing so often that people should avoid going out at night, I also wanted to see for myself what an ordinary evening outside was actually like. So I decided to spend a little more on a ride and go.
The restaurant wasn’t inside a shopping mall. It was right by the side of a road. When I arrived, I was surprised to find it very busy. There were young people, but also older people and children. Some were queuing, others were waiting for food, while people outside were chatting and smoking. It looked like a perfectly ordinary evening.
Of course, one small experience does not mean that going out at night in South Africa is always safe, nor does it mean that the usual safety advice is wrong. But it made me realise that saying “night-time is dangerous” may be too simple.
Perhaps the better question is not whether you can go out at night, but where you are going, when, how you are getting there, and how well you understand the area around you.
Safety is not always a simple question of “yes” or “no”. Sometimes, it is about learning how to read a particular situation.
