Cape Town - Four years ago an Eastern Cape man moved to Cape Town in search of a better life. But it didn’t work. First he lost his job, then he lost an eye in police fire during a service delivery protest.
Thandikhaya Shweni spoke to the Cape Argus about life on the streets.
At 20 his life in rural Mthatha was bleak, he said. His parents were dead. He lived in a mud house with four siblings and there was little money for food and school fees.
In Grade 9 he dropped out to pursue a life his older brother promised would be better, a life in Cape Town.
Moving in with his brother in Philippi, he got a job as a petrol attendant earning R550 a week. After getting a security certificate, he got a part-time job as a night guard at a factory in Westridge. There he earned R2 500 a month. “My life started looking better. It felt good to be independent and to have my own place to stay,” he said.
But now Shweni, 24, lives in a shack at Sweet Home Farm, in Philippi. Outside his door is a pool of “stinking” water. “It's always there, whether it's raining or not,” he said.
Shweni shares a toilet about 2km away from his place with other people. He has been unemployed for eight months after his security guard contract wasn’t renewed.
In July he was shot in the eye during a violent protest by residents of Sweet Home Farm. A Golden Arrow bus driver was killed and the bus and traffic lights were set alight.
Shweni spent a week at Groote Schuur Hospital. “I told the doctors to take my eye out if that’s best. I just wanted the pain to stop.” He was fitted with a temporary rubber eye. He has a case against the police that’s still pending.
Shweni admits protesting and damaging property is not helping the community, but he doesn’t see any other way to put pressure on government.
“Nothing has changed since the protests started, people are left with little choice. This place is my home now… Electricity and toilets will make it better for us here,” he said.
Shweni’s brothers now take care of his food and basic needs. “I am looking for a job and it’s going to be harder with one eye. I can’t work as a security now,” he said, adding that he was thinking of going back to the Eastern Cape.
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