It feels unreal when I open my eyes and tasser up to the window with the view over Cape Town. A dove sits and sleeps on the railing outside the window and flakser off when I go from gardina. Today it is the one that is free, while I sit in a golden cage.
This morning is the first in the South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa’s call for “lockdown”. On the night of Friday 27. march closed the whole country for a minimum of 21 days. South Africa is the country with the most infected of the COVID-19 in Africa, and now makes the government all in order to stop the virus.
Soldiers and police are in place in poor areas to ensure that the population maintains the 21 days long, the prohibition to go out. Here are the in townshipen Khayelitsha outside Cape Town.
Photo: Mike Hutchings / Reuters A common enemy
I sit on the porch to write the weekly korrespondentbrev. The only thing that moves in front of my eyes, waves crashing against an empty promenade.
A couple of seagulls flying over the settlement. Right now there had maybe been okay to be a bird, and not knowing how chaotic the world is.
Now is matbutikkene only open in a few hours each day, and only a certain amount of people can enter at a time. I only get allowed to go in the shop every second or third day, and must wear a mask and gloves.
The south african army is in place throughout the country. This soldier makes sure that people keep themselves inside the townshipen Alexandra in Johannesburg.
Photo: Jerome Delay / AP
There are military in the streets and roadblocks throughout the country. The military makes sure that everyone who is there has a valid reason. Violation of the restrictions is punishable by prison.
Thus the lives of the people who in 26 years has tried to free itself from the apartheidregimets restrictions, again with the roadblocks and soldiers in the streets. This time, it is not those who govern the country, who operate the weapons, but a public invisible enemy that is transmitted through the air.
Loads Twitter content Could not load the content, but you can go to twittermeldingen. From swimming pool to water shortages
I live in a appartment building in one of the city’s fine coat. From the porch I can look down at a communal swimming pool with lounge chairs. “Time to work on your tan by the pool”, was the humorous message from the janitor to the building’s residents before it closed in three weeks. It got me to thinking about those who do not have enough water to keep themselves clean.
Earlier in the week I’m on my way out to the townshipen Khayelitsha which is located approx. thirty kilometres from the centre of Cape Town. In the three years I’ve been living in the city makes this journey a little over half an hour always equally strong impression.
Along the way is the poor residential areas called townshiper. Blacks were forcibly relocated out of town during the apartheid, which lasted until 1994. The regime separated people of different race, and all the residential areas were divided by the whites, indians, coloured and africans. The beautiful discover the coastline in the town was reserved for whites, and it is still in huge villas with sikkerhetsgjerder.
It is 26 years since the apartheid was over in South Africa, but it takes time for those who were forcibly relocated out of townshiper, to climb on the social ladder. Therefore, the differences between the rich and poor very clearly when koronaviruset now affects the country with the greatest social inequalities in the world.
It is not everyone who lives in a golden cage when South Africa closed for at least three weeks. These people live in townshipen Alexandra in Johannesburg.
Photo: Jerome Delay / AP Read more: Rich meets poor: the aerial photo shows the strong contrast between rich and poor, One bar of soap
in a small house In Khayelitsha sitting Dambisa Mqumbisa in the couch. The sister’s son comes running in and throws himself on her neck. Dambisa says that it’s impossible to wash your hands often and keep your distance.
In all lives there are nine persons in the house. These parts in 50 gallons of water a day. It should go to everything from tooth brushing to the laundry.
Dambisa Mqumbisa can’t wash your hands as often as she should in order to avoid infection. She shares 50 gallons of water with eight other people in the household every day.
Photo: Ida Titlestad Dahlback
Dambisa takes out one såpestykket family of parts, because they can not afford to several soaps. She looks at me with big brown eyes, and says that if one of them becomes ill, all the sick.
For the family, it is also difficult to avoid getting outside the house’s four walls. There are two million people in the townshipen, which is the second largest in South Africa.
I am waving goodbye to the family, and running towards the city centre. Rows of palm trees stands as a portal between the harsh reality on the one hand, and a life with running water and the wine in the glasses on the other.
eventually, I see fewer people in tattered clothes, carrying possessions in a trash bag on the back, and more in pretty blouses with the handbag.
Dambisa Mqumbisa is afraid that someone in the family should be ill, for then everyone in the little house infected.
Photo: Ida Titlestad Dahlback Tredemølla
a Few days later I standing on an empty floor in one of Cape Town’s sport shops and ask one of a butikkansatt if they have several treadmills. He answers that the whole city is sold out for treadmills and spinningsykler.
It is certain more privileged people who have thought like me. Frantically I begin to call around to other shops. What should I do if I am sitting completely still in the 21 days?
While I stand in the telephone queues in order to track down a treadmill, I look around me in sportsbutikken. In front of me stands a tripod with fitness equipment that is about to be emptied of white, well clothed people with shopping cart. All weights are sold out, so now people are going loose on what’s left. In the chaos forget the customers to keep their distance to each other in order to avoid infection. They’re cramming jump ropes and exercise bands in all the colours down in the shopping carts as if it would be apples and pears on offer.
Tredemølla arrived at the place in the living room to the Radio correspondent before three weeks in isolation.
Photo: Ida Titlestad Dahlback
While I stand in telephone queues and watched hamstringen of sports equipment, dolls butikkmedarbeideren up again and say that it just came in a new treadmill. “I’ll take it!” I cry in fear that some of the others in the store to hear the news.
On the way home with tredemølla on the truck I realize that I have spent over seven thousand dollars on a training device. While Dambisa’t afford soap, I just bought me a treadmill. Some are more privileged than others, and I’m clearly one of them.
I am glad that I can move me in the living room to come, but I should perhaps have bought a ton of soap and delivered it out to the people in Khayelitsha?
In the days before South Africa closed, there were many who took a last run. From the 27. march no-one allowed to jog or go for walk outside.
Photo: Ida Titlestad Dahlback, Not just the prison
the Day after is tredemølla mounted, and I’m soon finished with the weekly korrespondentbrev from the porch. The fridge is full of food, and I have bought into drinking water.
I look up from the pc and gaze sticks on an oblong island in the horizon. It is Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years during apartheid. The little cell, his only had a mat on the floor, a bucket to do from in and a small table. From an open window, it was raining sideways in the winter.
18 years of age, I think and try to comprehend how it must have been. If Mandela managed 18 years old, I could do 21 days. I have after all the treadmill, full fridge and swimming pool.
South Africa will be closed for at least 21 days. Maybe the promenade stand empty even longer.
Photo: Ida Titlestad Dahlback
