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Capetown Markt Bettlerin

 

... on the market in Cape Town:

a beggar – unfortunately one of many

 

Capetown Markt Mili-Verkäuferin

 

... on the market in Cape Town:

vendor of "Milie" (sweet corn)

 

 

... on the market in Cape Town:

Enock Kolimbo

vendor of cloth and carpets from Zimbabwe

Enock brought his goods from Zimbabwe to Cape Town. His visiting card says:
"Back to black with Africa in mind."

Capetown Markt Verkäuferin von Süßwaren

 

... on the market in Cape Town:

vendor of sweets with granddaughter

 

Capetown Pärchen

 

... in the streets of Cape Town:

a couple

 

Capetown Pärchen

 

... in the streets of Cape Town:

another couple

 

Capetown Kinder

 

... in the streets of Cape Town:

children

 

Capetown Minibus-Taxi

 

...Cape Town's coach station:

a minibus taxi "guard"

The minibus taxi is the most popular means of transportation of the black people. Mostly it's a Toyota bus that would be licensed in Germany for a maximum of 10 persons. In Cape Town they're mostly jam-packed with 18 people. Among them the driver and a "guard", the one who is looking for costumers. He would do that at full speed by opening the sliding door, calling the people's  attention by whistling and crying out the name of the destination. As soon as he would spot a potential customer, he would jump out of the bus in order to 'invite him personally'. A trip from the city to one of the nearby suburbs like Mowbray costs 2.5 Rand ($0.25/0.18€).

 

... in a Rikki taxi in Cape Town:

"Jaco", Rikki taxi driver

  Another means of transportation: "Rikkis". These are communal taxis for tourists. Several people are sitting on planks in the cargo bay. The driver, a white man, talks to us in fairly good German. A university graduate as a taxi driver? Well, he considers himself as a victim of the "new" apartheid. Before the change he had worked for the Government for eight years, "political and economic research". Now a black man does his job and he is a taxi driver. For that reason he wishes that there was someone like Hitler in South Africa, who would put an end to the discrimination of the white people. He admits frankly that he's a colonialist. He thinks Europe should give the orders for everything. That's South Africa, too!

Capetown Straßenjunge

 

... in and on the streets of Cape Town:

a guttersnipe

 

Capetown Obdachloser

 

... in the streets of Cape Town:

John Benjamin – a homeless

John Benjamin lives on the streets. He approached us, but not as a beggar. He wanted to know where we came from. Then he told us that he had been a dancer once. In order to prove that he took his costume out of his wardrobe (the dustbin behind him) and danced for us. The performance left it open whether he had actually been a dancer, but John Benjamin had his audience.

Capetown alter Malaie

 

... in the Malays'district of Cape Town:

an old Malay

This district is inhabited by Cape Towners of Asian descent. who once came to Africa as slaves of the British. They belong to the "coloureds". For that reason they have never felt represented by the Government. During apartheid they weren't white enough, for the new black Government they aren't black enough.

Capetown Kind im Malaienviertel

 

... in the Malays´ district of Cape Town:

a boy

 

Capetown 17-jährige Farbige

 

... in Cape Town at Waterfront

Faith Stevens, 17, from Mitchells Plain

Beautiful name, "Faith", suits her. Should she ever become a photo model: I’m the one who discovered her!!!

Capetown Busfahrer

 

... in the Golden Arrow bus to Khayelitsha:

a bus driver

"YOU want to go to Khayelitsha?" "Yes, we have friends there" "YOU have friends in Khayelitsha?" The last bus was supposed to go back to Cape Town at 10 p.m., but the really kind bus driver recommends us not to come back after 4 p. m., otherwise it would be too dangerous. He said that armed gangs ambushed the buses frequently. Not without good reason are the driver's cabs of the buses to the townships protected by gratings.

im Bus nach Khayelitsha - Patricia Mrumbu

 

... in the Golden Arrow bus to Khayelitsha

Patricia Mrumbu from Khayelitsha

 

Capetown Zizi Gqoloza

 

... in the Golden Arrow bus to Khayelitsha

Zizi Gqoloza from Guguleto

 

Capetown Zizis Enkelin

 

... in the Golden Arrow bus to Khayelitsha

Zizis granddaughter

 

Capetown Zizi und Anja

 

... in the Golden Arrow bus to Khayelitsha

Zizi and Anja

 

Capetown Hugo

 

... in the Golden Arrow bus to Khayelitsha

"Hugo" from Khayelitsha

Hugo wrote down his surname for us as well, though absolutely unreadable.

Khayelitsha Markt Bujiswa

 

... on the market of Khayelitsha

Bujiswa Ntaka from Khayelitsha

Bujiswa asked us whether we needed a housekeeper. Most of the white people’s maids actually live in slums like Khayelitsha, Guguleto, Nyanga, keeping in mind that townships inhabitants make up more than just a quarter of the population.

Khayelithsa Markt Fleischverkäuferinnen

 

... on the market of Khayelitsha

Bujiswas workmates: meat vendors

Um, if you are not a vegetarian yet, you will probably be it after a trip to Khayelitsha, at least if you're German. Such a raw heart - well - is still ok...


Khayelitsha Markt Rinderkopf

 

... on the market of Khayelitsha

"fresh" head of beef

... but as we're eating only anonymously dead animals (or maybe even don't ), we shudder with horror at  the sight of such a head of beef, recently cut off the neck.

 

... on her way to school in Khayelitsha

Shumi Nomveliso

She didn't tell us that her name was Shumi, but it was written on her exercise book -easily legible on the 6x7 original slide.

Khayelitsha Kindermenge

 

... in front of the Community Hall in Khayelitsha

"vivid" children

I'm not Michael Jackson, but for many of the children here seeing a white man is something rather special.

Anja mit Freundin

 

... in the Community Hall of Khayelitsha

Anja with Vuyolwethu Menziwa

Vuyolwethu means the little one. Until we found that out, her name was "Wuwu". Wuwu is 5 years old and had been sort of shy at the beginning. But she began to thaw fairly soon and eventually she’d hardly let go of us. Until that day I hadn’t considered my hands to be something unusual, but not so Wuwu: She hadn’t ever set eyes upon such big and white hands!

Daniel und Nanette

 

... "at home" in Mowbray

Daniel Raubenheimer and Nanette Lloyd

Daniel and Nan live in Mowbray, a suburb of Cape Town, inhabited by some whites and many blacks. The white people hide behind walls and barbed wire because of the high crime rate.

Nan and Daniel have three Jack-Russell-Terriers: Dusty, Smudge and Jeronymo.

more pictures ...


Betty

 

... "at home" in Mowbray

housekeeper Betty

Betty comes to tidy up one day a week. She lives in Manenberg, an area that gained a doubtful reputation for gang wars. It takes her quite some time by bus to get there. She’s afraid as well of being robbed.

Celia Straußenfederstaubwedelanwenderin

 

... in the backpackers´ in Wilderness

Celia, ostrich feather duster staff

You might say that Celia is Betty’s workmate. She is tidying up the backpackers´ (sort of youth hostel) in Wilderness, an area near Oudtshoorn that is famous for ostrich breeding. That’s why I asked Celia to show me how to use the ostrich feather duster.

 

... in the "Full Stop"-restaurant
in Cape St. Francis

Terry Mack, owner

He offered us breakfast, even though it was actually too late. Thanks!

 

... in the "Full Stop"-restaurant
in Cape St. Francis

Valery Booysen
a kitchen maid

And Valery prepared and served it! Thanks to you as well!

 

... at the BP-petrol station in "PE"

hoover staff

"PE" means "Port Elizabeth", but most people simply say PE.


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