Strange New Year's Traditions: Hillbrow, Johannesburg Photogallery

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Strange New Year's Traditions: Hillbrow, Johannesburg

Till a few years ago, in Hillbrow, a neighborhood in downtown Johannesburg, they threw large appliances off high-rise buildings.

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Preparation for this unusual New Year's Eve tradition starts weeks ahead of Dec. 31, with Hillbrow residents stockpiling old fridges, TVs, microwaves and couches on the roofs of tall buildings in this dense urban area.

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Hillbrow has over the years nurtured this unusual custom which has grown into a somewhat gruesome, macabre celebration. And it is not uncommon to witness the flight of electrical appliances and even furniture, hauled through windows and doors of high rise buildings onto the streets or pavements.

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South African police, too, start their New Year's work early in Hillbrow.

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On New Year's Eve, police will send armored vehicles into Hillbrow, an area famous for crime and "hijacked" buildings, taken over by criminal gangs who illegally collect rent from tenants.

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Pedestrians in Hillbrow are scarce on Dec. 31, but every year dozens of people are hit by flying objects.

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Police officers on patrol are often victims.

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For weeks they patrol the area in helicopters, trying to spot collections of appliances on rooftops.

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Health authorities launched the Hillbrow Prevention of Trauma and Injuries Campaign, which involved distributing first aid kits to community members and giving basic injury training to help each other during an emergency,