1. PORTFOLIO
This portfolio is part of my Honours thesis. Kindly note
due to size restrictions, few pages have been selected.
The full thesis is a 63-page hardcover book titled
‘Movement’ An African migrant’s story, which contains designs,
photographs, and articles that I consolidated.
2. ‘M O V E M E N T’An African migrant’s story
D I D I O N W U
I
was born a foreigner. I met Eladius and Jeighman at a time where my identity was heavily contested by so-
ciety. This is not my story. It is however, about two men whose journeys seem so different but are intricately
similar. In late 2008 and early 2009 South Africa was rocked by xenophobic attacks. African foreigners were
the targets. Six years later, the narrative is still the same. Migrants and immigrants have an interesting position
in the multicultural landscape that is South Africa. It is my hope to document a narrative that is prevalent within
the South African context in terms of socio-economic, social and political identity. As the world deals with the
migrant crisis across Europe, it is my hope that we all have the power to build bridges to be crossed. Even if my
neighbour does not understand the language that I speak, the religion that I practice or even the politics I believe
in, he can understand my story. If he can understand my story then he can understand me a little better. This is a
10-month journey of an African migrant’s movement.
“I only left because I wanted a better life. How can people like me be killed for something as simple as having
hope for something better? Are we not all dreamers and hopers?” - Eladius
PREFACE
3. to Cape Town
S
everal weeks earlier, I had been
listening to the radio and stumbled
upon a story that had been
showcased for Africa month. It was Eddy’s
(Eladius) story; a young man who left
Tanzania for South Africa hoping for a
better life. Surely, there was more to the
story. I intended to find out. I’d known
Eddy for four years. He was the friendly
man at the food shop in the university’s
cafeteria. It was like his smile enticed you
more so than the food that was being
sold. He was extremely friendly and
welcoming. So, I knew when I approached
him about my idea to interview and
document parts of his life, he would not
resist. Or if he did, he would be very polite
about it. My interest in Eddy’s story is not
out of randomness or sheer curiosity, it is
founded in the issue of migrants in South
Africa.
In late 2008 and early 2009, parts of
South Africa broke out in xenophobic
attacks; and in late 2015, history
repeated itself. Most dictionaries define
“xenophobia” as a hatred or fear of
foreigners” which combines the Greek
words ‘xenos’ (foreign) with ‘phobos’
(fear). In South Africa, we’ve come to
understand it as the often-violent dislike
of foreigners who are frequently referred
to as “the makwerekweres”.
Violent attacks aren’t restricted to
xenophobic “hotspots” such as townships
as one might often hear. Localised
competition for political and economic
power is also a trigger for such attacks.
The vast majority of South Africans are
not necessarily evicting foreigners from
their neighbourhoods; nevertheless
xenophobic attitudes are more prevalent
than many are ready to admit.
As Xenophobia became the buzzword
and was traded over glib conversations,
I pondered the idea of documenting an
African migrant living in these times. I
thought about my immediate community
friends of friends who were immigrants
or migrants themselves. What was their
experience? What interesting stories did
they have to tell me? It was then that I
realised, through my own naiveté that I
was looking for someone so “different”
from the rest of South Africa, to help me
tell the story. But in reality however, being
a “foreigner” myself and a naturalized
South African at the same time, I realised
a lot of the foreigners I had come across
have tried to embrace the South African
culture whilst also trying to hold on
to their own customs and traditions.
So, finding a story in Eddy proved to
be the best approach in enticing my
curiosity with questions of identity and
amalgamation.
“Xenophobic attitudes are
more prevalent than many
are ready to admit”
Cape Town, 2015
“Stay True”
4. You know, I just want to inspire the younger ones. I lived on the
streets for two years. I was beaten up by police becuase I didn’t
have the right papers and all I wanted was a better life and to follow
my dreams. You have to be patient and trust it will be better. My
bruises and scars are reminders that I have to keep on pushing. I
never take anything for granted.
“
“
Cape Town, 2015
5. The Work
The Walk
and Beauty
In documenting Eddy’s story, I was further inspired and sought to seek out more stories of
migrants. Jeighman was one such story. Jeighman welcomed me with quiet wonder and vast
intrigue. He is a young man who moved from Zimbabwe to South Africa. Maybe his narrative
perhaps may seem somewhat monotonous but there is beauty in everyone’s journey and this is
Jeighman’s version of assimilating into South Africa and it’s culture.
Newlands, 2015
