South Africa has seen its first protests under lockdown. Now, more than ever, there is an urgent need to understand what is at stake.
“Some do not have enough to eat”, wrote China, “and the food parcels only go to those earning below R3600 even though those who are earning more also face the same hunger problems as they are at home”.
China lives in Khayelitsha, a township in South Africa, where the dynamism of civic life is matched by the hardship of economic life. Almost half of the local residents are unemployed, and roughly the same percentage live in informal housing. China is one of the 70 participants in our Lockdown Diaries project that has been running over the last two weeks, covering occupied buildings, informal settlements, townships and suburbs in Cape Town.
