Die Veld

José Cendón
Caracas
1974

Old furniture and rubbish accumulated in front of Shantel’s shack.

This is a story about Die Veld and in particular about four individuals and their families: Bridget, Vessel, Jack and Shantel.

Die Veld is an informal settlement, located in a hidden corner of Cape Town, South Africa. It is home to a handful of impoverished families, predominantly white, who live in 14 crowded shacks. Most of its inhabitants are unemployed. When one manages to get a job, it is usually temporary and in precarious working conditions.

Most children living in Die Veld do not attend school. Arguments between the men and their partners are common, mainly due to alcohol and other drugs such as tik (methamphetamine).The settlement has no electricity and only one water point. There are three mobile toilets, of which sanitary conditions leave much to be desired, as they are emptied only once a week.

Although many of the inhabitants of Die Veld don’t like black people, most do not blame the ANC government for their situation but rather themselves and their past. Since 2008 the provincial government tried to evict the community of Die Veld in a long process that has taken them to the High Court of South Africa.

(Text by José Cendón)

It is a weekday afternoon and Jack has just got up. The first thing he does is smoke a cigarette. These are not good times for him; he recently lost his job due to a fight with his supervisor.

Shantel returns to her shack, distraught, after being informed by police that her boyfriend, Shane, has been arrested on charges of robbery and will remain in jail until the trial. Finally, a month and a half later, the case was dismissed for lack of evidence.

Bridget and her husband George carry their daughter Zoe and Andy, son of their neighbour Wessels, on the back of a tow truck borrowed from the company that he works for.. They are on their way to the High Court to appeal an eviction order by the Provincial Government. For people staying in Die Veld, and especially for Andy and Zoe, to leave the settlement is a kind of celebration.

It´s Friday afternoon and Wessels begins his weekend routine, pouring himself a brandy and Coke. This is the first glass of a binge that will last several days. One year old Christelle, , the result of an encounter between a Filipino and Marinda when she worked as a prostitute, is behind Wessels on the bed, playing with a pack of cigarettes.

Although it is not late, Shane and Shantel are in bed. In fact they have not moved all day. As she explains, when they have no money for drugs or food, they prefer to sleep so

The 14 houses of Die Veld each have a number. Number 2 is the house of Jacques, one of the best in the settlement. It is prefabricated while most of the other houses are built with material scrounged from the street. The settlement lies next to a new housing development whose inhabitants complain about the people living in Die Veld.

Jack sleeps at this shack during the day because he is unemployed at the moment.

Shantel holds a mirror to help Bridget put on her make up.

A condom and cigarette butts on the floor of the shack of Shantel, Shane and Barry. With Shane in jail, Barry had sex with a

Shane and Barry do not have enough money to smoke tik (metanphetamine) and so smoke instead marijuana mixed with Mandrax (methaqualone) in a glass pipe made from the neck of a bottle.

Jamie, Bridget´s daughter, plays in Die Veld.

José Cendón studied economic science, journalism, and cinema before turning to a profession in journalism. His work has appeared in major publications, including The Atlantic Magazine, Time Magazine, Newsweek, The New York Times, Stern, Internazionale, Leica World Magazine and others.

He is now based in Spain before heading to a new destination, combining photo assignments and video for different clients.

www.josecendon.com

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