Through My Eyes

Undeniably there is this sense of worldliness about Capetonians. They live large they speak large and they are not apologising for anything, why should they?

Well maybe because it's not that fabulously fantastic as everyone makes it out to be. While staying at the very trendy Sun Square Hotel in the Gardens I met an interesting lady, Nonthandlo, who is originally from Johannesburg but was down in Cape Town doing market research for the DA.

She said to me, "I am here to find out what is wrong with the DA's campaign." Admitting that like me, she did not have any political affiliations, she was however opposed to a white president, "But on the other hand we cannot allow the people who are in power right now to carry on." She stated.

Having spent a few days interviewing people and traveling to various corners of the Western Cape, Nonthandlo, had a clear view that the DA party was just not being inclusive.

She told me of the dire gang and drug problems that exist in various townships on the outskirts of Cape Town. She said that it is so bad that people need to have their TV's on the floor and sit and watch their TV's on the floor because it's just not safe to sit on the street level as the drive by shootings are so bad.

She said "DA said we are all equal but say that to a girl in Mowbray, who is scared to leave her home because of gangs and general terror that is subjected on people who live there."

Suburbs on the Cape Flats such as Manenberg, Elsies River and Parkwood have deeply entrenched, decades-old gang structures. And there are now fledgling gangs forming in the townships of Khayelitsha and Nyanga.

The neighbourhood of Parkwood is now run by The Americans gang, where children as young as twelve have been seen with The Americans' gang motto, 'In God We Trust', tattooed across their chests.

"On the Cape Flats, your first experience with violence is not on the streets, it's in the house," says Nonthandlo. "By the time that you're in your early teens you've seen a hell of a lot more than what you've seen on the street when it comes to gender-based violence, when it comes to fighting." Nonthandlo says that the DA has not tackled these issues and are turning a blind eye.

Nonthandlo, certainly gave me a lot to think about while sipping on my colourful cocktails in Camps Bay I had a sense of false contentment. I could not stop thinking of Nonthandlo's research findings and as I sipped my Mojito I realised that during my half hour sundowner six people had approached me trying to extract money from me, giving me their sad stories of hardship and despair.

I still love Cape Town but I am more aware of the underlying situation that is present not just in the Mother City, but sadly in the whole country.

Here is wishing you a fabulous week, we are just 63 days from Christmas! Yay!