I have always classified the homeless into 3 groups : drug addicts including alcohol; intellectually challenged; and kids, who my friend Di would say, don't wish to obey home rules anymore.
However, in Cape Town I thought these might not apply as every Wednesday I saw from my window overlooking the street a procession of homeless men coming up our street
Once in the city, they would discover that life here is much tougher, getting a job is not easy and getting by might be difficult. The unemployment rate in the country is very high..well over 25%.
And without resources, they couldn't get back home.
Since meeting David ( in earlier story ), I decided that I could provide a "day at home" treat to suitable other homeless folks. So after meeting many on my walks around the beach, I discovered there is quite a large community of homeless men along the Atlantic seaboard. I did ask why there are very few women and was told they have other options to earn money to get by and besides, safety would be marginal. I gradually became aware that there is a definite deterioration in their physical well being as they spend time as "homeless" and as they age. Many of the younger ones, say 18 - 22, are still relatively fit and active and could be seen having fun with their mates on the beach or swimming. I discovered that their "well groomed" appearance was helped by the fact that many black Africans don't start shaving until well into their 20's and like Asian men, many have little or no facial hair for their whole lives. There are fresh water showers on the beach so this group usually spent time on personal appearance even though there were bylaws against folk using the showers to bathe with soap and wash clothes instead of just rinsing off after swimming in the sea. Some appeared as if they were on a "boys own adventure" without realising what the future may hold!
Into their mid 20's, you see the affects of living on an inadequate diet and the stress of losing any semblance of personal pride or social standing with all the knocks of being rejected in almost everything they may attempt. This leads to a lethargic appearance with long periods lying around either sleeping or chatting with friends. They have absolutely no mental stimulus. The body gets thinner and learns to cope without an adequate intake of food i.e. the body goes into a mild form of hibernation. A sense of humour fades. They may now partake in alcoholic binges. Someone within their group earns a few rand and it is spent on cheap booze once a week or so. After 30 or so, this seems to turn into full alcoholism and these sad folk seem to survive totally on alcohol and generally make a nuisance of themselves around town. At this stage, I don't believe there is any turning back and they are really are a lost cause.
Hence in this story and those that follow you will not find any of the late stage homeless but those in the 1st two stages.
To generalise, most were either coloureds or blacks though there were a few whites. Indeed the very first beggar who came to my door on the day I moved into my apartment was a Afrikaner lad offering sewing kits in exchange for a donation and there was a regular old white man in the retail area of Sea Point who I ran into on most occasions there. He had all the appearances of being an alcoholic but with a pleasant smile. His short shuffle walk indicated he was in early stages of Parkinson's disease. As he always wanted money, he got nothing from me though I did notice someone gave him a new set of clothes at Christmas.
Most were believers, mostly christian with some moslems, smoked but could only afford one or two at a time, occasionally smoked "gangga", had very smelly feet ( they slept in most of their clothes including their footwear )and unreliable ( time is of little importance ). I naively thought the marijuana was a hunger suppressant. I am reliably informed the opposite is the case but it does do wonders for the head! They came from two sources, either from far away in the Eastern Cape or from out on the Cape Flats, near Cape Town and had some sort of difficulty with their home life. Surprisingly most managed to get food everyday, either purchased from the little cash they earned from looking after parked cars, begging or doing odd jobs around town, being given food or finding scraps during their rounds of rubbish bins. Bread is the staple. Indeed, the younger and more active ones could earn quite a bit on the weekends when laundries and furniture removal companies were much busier and took on casual labour. As well, near the centre of Cape Town there is a site where building contractors or sub-contractors pick up labourers on a daily basis. However, I was told this was not easy as the "Nigerians" fight to get the good jobs and often, the payment after the job is not the same as that promised at the beginning. On an honest job, they could earn R100 - 150 per day. On the subject of Nigerians, they seem to be the bad boys of Africa. Most know of the e-mails scams but they seem to run the drug distribution business for all of Africa and have the reputation for being aggressive in most endeavours.
The homeless lived in a small community with all the back stabbing, gossip and fluid allegiances that go with these. Most slept in groups of 2 or 3, obviously for security reasons and theft by one with few possessions from another with few possessions did happen!
As all who came to my place emptied their pockets out before I washed their clothes, I noted that the amount of cash-on-hand would usually just be 1 - 10 rand...20 rand tops!
Prior in inviting anyone for " a day at home" I had to make some sort of assessment of safety and would chat for some time. There was one rule..they must never turn up uninvited at my door. I would collect them at an agreed place and time and this usually coincided with a return from the supermarket so I could get them to carry my bags ( which I thought might alleviate any concerns of neighbours! ). Some were invited several times, others only once. The routine was breakfast, bath or shower, cloths washed and wearing borrowed cloths they would watch TV. Favourite programmes were music channels, cartoons and Nigerian soaps. Nigeria seems to be the Bollywood of Africa. Some would snooze off. One or two were very interesting to chat about their lives, family and background. Then another meal by which time their clothes would be dry. Some received discarded clothes to keep. Both Tommy and Lyndsay left clothes after their travels...Tommy will recognise his pigeon poo T shirt above. Henri also donated ( you will meet Henri later ) as well I had lots to discard before leaving South Africa. Should I return to Cape Town later this year, any visitors will be required to bring clothes suitable for the "cause".
Most living along the seaboard were actively hassled by the police and the local "law enforcement officers". Bylaws ban sleeping on the beach, loitering in one place for too long, begging and anyone can be stopped and searched at any time. One of my guys was given an instant fine of R100 after being caught over-nighting in his A frame. He has no chance of raising this so will be issued with a court summons and when he doesn't appear, an arrest warrant will be issued. The police carry portable finger print machines so next time he is stopped, it's straight off to jail or a week or so!To balance this though, I did see white people given infringement notices for having unleashed dogs and for drinking alcohol on the beach.
To my initial surprise, all could only eat small amounts of food in one sitting. Obviously their stomachs had shrunk to match the small meals that they got by on.
With competition very high, how do you get a permanent job? No telephone, no address, preparing a cv is difficult.....
Now to meet some of my cases :
John, a Zulu about 27 and sounded and acted like a white South African. Well educated at a religious school and mad keen about cricket and rugby. His parents and sisters have migrated to Australia ( his father sells time share on the Gold Coast ) and he does communicate via email with some of them. He had a Italian surname so I did wonder if he was adopted but the Australian authorities had found something in his background to deny him entry. Anyway, I found him seeking food on New Years eve so invited him home for something to eat and he spent the night on the couch, watching music shows. He had been living in boarding houses but had somehow got himself kicked out of one and was attempting to find another, I suspect because he didn't pay. He was looking for a job as a sound engineer in a recording studio. He had previously worked in a company supplying computer services but it had lost a contract and he his job. He visited again about a week later, bringing 2 white friends, she a makeup artist trainee and he a trainee photographer. They both lived in one of John's boarding houses. Then he made a big mistake of asking to borrow R50 so they could get home...not because of the amount but because I knew he wouldn't have the money to return so would not be able to visit again. He would have been better to ask for the money outright. Though he did phone me once later to ask if I wanted to buy some champagne!!
Vuzi, a Xhosa, also about 27. Has been homeless and living around Sea Point for some time. Tall and well built until you discover he is wearing several layers of clothing, to keep warm as well as safe guard them. Occasionally he went round to the point where building contractors collected casual labour but mostly spent his day sleeping or lying on the grass with friends. I saw him very drunk a couple of times. He was from the Eastern Cape and talked reluctantly about his personal circumstances and often fell asleep watching TV.
Shaun, another Xhosa about 28, a friend of Vuzi. His was a sad story. He had contracted TB and was obviously diagnosed late. A surgeon was planning to remove one damaged lung but decided against this at a late stage. He received some sort of compensation package from the government which I think included a regular pension which if the same as an old persons pension, is in the range of R200-300 per month...not a lot ( US$ 27 - 41 ). He foolishly then purchased a TV on hire purchase with his pension going on repayments. He lived at home with his mother, a partly crippled woman who had produced several children, all with different fathers over the years. One of his brothers stole his TV to finance a drug habit so Shaun reported him to the police. His mother gave him an ultimatum to either withdraw the case or leave home. He left home. I'm not sure how he will survive a Cape Town winter outside as he gets out a breathe easily just climbing a couple of flights of stairs and is very frail. One lung is very badly damaged. He was about to attend his brother's court case just after I left as he wanted me to clean some clothes for the court appearance.
Andili , Xhosa lad, only 18, slight, very active, cheerful and courteous. He was my last case, only visited once so I didn't get a chance to find out much about him. He was a friend of David so he still lived in the same A frame.
One funny aspect to giving is the "up selling". You have heard of the upselling when you purchase a shirt " and will there be a tie to go with you shirt, sir?". I gave away 3 pairs of footwear and each time received the follow on " you don't have pair of socks...."! I guess each has learned to take what ever opportunity as it arises.
There are 3 more stories to go in this series so keep looking...
