Police leave East Rand shack dwellers out in the cold
A group of people who organised a new occupation, have been left homeless and brutalised after their shacks and belongings were destroyed. They blame an uncaring government for their plight.
Stories by: Naledi Sikhakhane
Activists under threat from surveillance
Members of social movement Abahlali baseMjondolo allege that the state monitors their phones and emails, tracking their movements and putting them in constant danger.
Neighbours reach out to help homeless flood victims
In community shelters all over the eThekwini metro, kind-hearted residents who have very little themselves manage to find ways to help their stricken neighbours.
Burials bring more pain for Durban flood victims
For impoverished families who have not received the promised government assistance for funerals, burying their loved ones has been yet another difficult and heartbreaking challenge.
Zimbabweans show anger at service for Elvis Nyathi
Mourners who came to support the family of the migrant killed by a mob in Diepsloot did not hold back as they expressed who they really hold accountable for his death.
No ends meat: South Africans go without
With food and petrol prices rocketing, impoverished people sacrifice nutritious food for starches that keep them full, leaving children malnourished and adults prone to disease.
Mineworkers who have paid the price
Paralysis, tuberculosis and silicosis are just some of the tragedies that befall miners in South Africa, but mine owners have been reluctant, at best, to do the right thing.
One speaks for many: ‘I just want to be employed’
Trying to escape deepening poverty and continuing unemployment, graduates in Kutlwanong in the Free State have fallen for a scam promising job opportunities in return for money.
Urban farm brings hope, but it’s a daily battle
Members of a farming cooperative in Tembisa are trying to change their impoverished circumstances by turning unused land into a thriving agricultural project.
First jobs, now bodies on the line for Clover workers
The strike at the dairy giant is becoming more volatile, with workers assaulted while picketing outside the company’s factory in Johannesburg.
Quiet activist Khaya Dladla won’t be a stereotype
The actor, who is playing another gay character in his latest role on television, speaks about being typecast and the significance of realistically representing members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
The Clover strike heads to court
Labour unions say the dairy company’s attempt to end the strike and halt the boycott of its products through legal means and violent intimidation is a threat to democracy as a whole.
Threats fail to discourage striking Clover workers
Participants in the eight-week-long strike at the dairy company say their lives and property have been endangered, but they will not back down from their demand that Clover be nationalised.
Elderly land claimants wait in vain for restitution
While the government fails to adhere to its own deadlines, the clock is ticking for a group of Black people who were evicted from their land in the decade before apartheid ended.
The hopefuls of Hammarsdale
Some residents of the township who live in dire conditions trust that casting their vote in the upcoming municipal elections will bring change to their area.
The women eking out a living in Durban’s shadows
For years, they sought decent employment and failed. They are in the streets now selling wares and, in dingy corners and hidden building floors, plaiting hair to make ends meet.
Bread and skills to better impoverished lives
Many people in SA’s townships and rural areas struggle to make a living. Since 2008, one organisation has been doing its bit to help change this pattern.
‘You can’t buy much with R350 but it helped’
The Covid-19 social relief of distress grant has helped impoverished families buy much-needed food, but it is too little to provide other essentials.
July riots have made hard lives much harder
The lives of thousands of workers in KwaZulu-Natal who were already barely surviving have been upended, either by losing their jobs or having to scramble to keep them.
Community solidarity in July chaos ends in death
Residents of Adams in KwaZulu-Natal were watching over a popular tuck shop run by a Pakistani refugee when a drive-by shooting killed one of them. The mother of the victim doubts there will be justice for her son.
Pietermaritzburg was a dump long before the riots
The effects of the past week’s unrest and destruction of property will have dire consequences for the KwaZulu-Natal capital, whose residents have watched for years how their city has been ruined.