do you get in touch with family do they come visit you here no my family's in Cape Town
unfortunately do they know you're living here yes they do and what's their take
as I say I made my bed I have to lie in it isn't it I made the wrong choices
so I have to live by them were you always poor how did you end up here
um I end up there after my father's death okay my father passed away my brother sold the house
I should have got the house but I never got it because my brother uh paid their lawyers to
give the house to him do you keep in touch with family do you go visit why not uh it's a long story
in November 2014 a group of white South Africans was moved from Coronation Park
in Krugersdorp west of Johannesburg to an informal settlement in Munsieville
they say they were promised RDP houses according to their recollection it has
now been eight years without receiving the promised housing, this is their story
How did you end up in this situation, you as Elize
I was staying with my husband in Germiston for quite a while we've been together for 12 years
so I left him and I went to Coronation Park to go and stay in Coronation Park because
the things didn't go well between me and my husband so when I went to Coronation Park
I divorced my husband and there I met my new husband that we are together now for 14 years
When these people got here, we welcomed them
Coming to check up on them every morning every night
asking them how they slept and how they are
so that it is not rough for them because they are also people
So I got familiar with her, because she does not drink alcohol just like her man
She is a decent woman
I am Elize Saunders I am staying here in Munsieville, I've got a soup kitchen in Munsieville
We were staying in Coronation Park and they
um evicted us with a court order to come here to Munsieville and we're coming here on the
beginning of November 2014 we stayed here in Munsieville so when they moved you here how long did
they say they were going to put you in this place for they didn't really say for how long they just gonna
say they just say it's an informal settlement here that we are gonna stay here for a while
they didn't say for how long. Is Coronation Park also an informal settlement? No Coronation Park
was a Caravan Park before we just go there and we we just squat there at Caravan Park.
You caught my attention particularly because of your accent most people who stay here are people who
come from Coronation Park who are Afrikaans speakers but I picked up your accent immediately
this is an English accent it's not an Afrikaner accent where are you from? how did you get
to stay here? Originally from Cape Town moved to Joburg whiles ago um to tell you the truth um
drugs I made wrong choices I was hooked up in some terrible drugs I lost my job lost my place
to stay I ended up moving into Coronation Park and then I was staying there and then
from Coronation Park they moved us across to the side.
Everybody came from Coronation to this side, we're actually happy to stay next to the people here because they treat us like
any other person like humans like you know like friends and that
there's no fights and violence like like other people are talking about
The ones that came didn't understand how a black person is
They were scared to come live here because they had written in a Krugersdorp newspaper,
saying they are afraid that their children will be raped and killed
We said no. We are human beings
Then they came and saw that it is alright here
what was your impression when you got here because I know the race relations
we like to think we are a rainbow nation but you know there are still those tensions or people are scared of each other
because we're not used to each other
what was your impression when you first moved here?
I can't really tell you um I just came in and said you know let's see what happens and see how we live and tell you
the truth the people they accepted us with open arms and they welcomed us and since then it has been awesome
In terms of race relations how are the black and the white people living together here
We are living fine, we don't look at at the thing that she's black and I'm white it's not
such a thing we're both people living on the same ground living in the same world and serving one God,
so we are all the same. There's no problems here we haven't got problems with the people
and the other thing is you must treat them like they treat you
uh so maybe I'm going to buy me a beer or somebody offers
me a beer I mean yes I'm going to go with him it doesn't matter he's black or white
appreciate what he gives you. When you got here what was your impression of black people?
You know our country comes from a divided past what was the impression what do you were you expecting
were you scared of black people were you used to them? Actually you know what I was born in Warm Baths (Bela Bela)
we were playing with black kids like they like our brothers and sisters here we when we came
here there was nothing like oh you must be afraid for what reason I'm not afraid of
nobody I'm 60 years old, my wife is 50 and they treat you they treat you like humans people
we treat them back okay and there's nothing like I hate you and you hate me there's nothing like
um skin color yeah so the problem with the people in uh in South Africa some in
the town they think they're rich and they push the poor away.
In the past eight years we are living here peacefully
The community is standing together when there is any trouble like the Zama Zamas (illegal miners)
when we have trouble with the Zama Zamas we are standing together, we are helping each other looking out for each other
so it is really good to stay in the community in Munsieville.
What's this partnership about?
This is my chef
He is my chef, but I teach him alot because he doesn't have his papers.
I am lost now, are you learning how to cook from the old lady?
Yes!
What did she teach you?
Gravy, Chakalaka
Pap, what pap is that? Braai pap
and that green sauce stuff. The stuff you don't learn at school yes because I went
to school so you're helping them out in the soup kitchen? Are you also doing work on the side?
okay, yes I do aftercare and Nails.
What's your special dish? if you want to impress someone
what would Rudolph cook for that someone? If you want to really impress
make someone smile what would you cook for them what's your best dish?
which one there's so many Pasta Bolognese there's pasta with seafood there's a lot
just a normal pasta cheese and white sauce oh okay and bacon okay and fat cook and mince well at least oh
When I got acquainted to Elize, I realised she is a good-hearted person.
When you come to her with your problems, she helps you. Initially she was cooking for white people because they came here together
We then saw our black kids eating from the dust bins, she asked if they can cook for them? Will I help them? I said yes.
But Monday and Thursday I work elsewhere, general cleaning work.
and on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday
I come this side to help with the cooking.
I've got a sponsor helping me for the children's breakfast and lunch
in the mornings I've got um two or three other sponsors that is helping me with the food in the
afternoon without the sponsors and without God's help I won't be able to do what I'm doing but yeah
Most of them steal from each other and they like drugs.
They don't like working, they like collecting rubbish and scraps.
How do you make an income now?
I get "piece jobs" now and again but most of the time I deal with scrap metal and things like that.
scrap metal plastic bottles whatever I can but yeah. And is money coming in? uh yeah but
it's not you know not gonna get rich it's just barely surviving so yeah I can eat every day
Do you have a plan to get out of here what's your plan uh not yet as such but I am looking
forward to I am trying to get a job I can get a job I'll be able to get off but uh until then
I'm stuck unfortunately.
Look this is goin' out on YouTube, there's a lot of people who can provide help on such platforms.
What are your skills? How does someone get hold of you?If they say look, I wanna give this guy another shot at life.
How do they get hold of you? I don't have a cellphone number as such but I'm actually kind of an adventure Guide you know
qualified climber a rough master and professional kayaker um other than that yeah I was in the
Telecom industry and you know sort of welding handyman jobs bit of building work things like that
I can do pretty much everything you know Jack of all but most of none so yeah I do pretty much
anything from Roofing building walls to putting tiles to welding up things panel beating I get
piece jobs quite often with that. Do you get in touch with your family? Do they come visit you here?
No my family's in Cape Town unfortunately. Do they know you living here? Yes they do.
And what's their take?
Uh as they say I made my bed, I have to lie in it isn't it, I made the wrong choices so I have to live by them.
Sho bra, what are you guys playing? Zweb yeah okay, I call it "spin" yeah they are calling it spin.
Are you working? No I'm on pension. Okay, do you keep in touch with your family? Do they come visit, do you go visit?
Why not? Uhh, It's a long story okay um I got five brothers they all you know, high society, they're rich people.
When you ask them for something they tell you no you stay in Munsieville,
why must we help you I mean that's not fair I mean it's my family but
um I pushed them away now like they pushed me away. Would you say they are ashamed of you?
Yeah, because I'm staying in Munsieville.
My family doesn't come here we don't go to family we are giving our time
for the community on Christmas day to prepare them the lunch that mostly of them don't have
the funds to do it so then we provide them with a nice meal for Christmas.
My daughter asked me yesterday morning, "Daddy are we rich, are we normal, are we poor?" if she'd ask you the same question,
how would you respond? Poor. Poor? okay were you always poor, how did you end up here?
um I ended up here after my father's death okay my father passed away, my brother sold the house
I should have got that house but I never got it because my brother paid the lawyers to give the house to him
and that's how I moved into Coronation Park.
How would you categorise yourself?
as normal yeah as normal because there's not one day that goes by that I can say that
I didn't have food for my children for the night to eat or that I can't give them
three times a day a meal to eat, we are still struggling but when the moment comes that you
start worrying to wonder what are you going to give tonight for your children to eat
there's someone coming and there's a plan for it to give your children that night something to eat.
You're saying you're living in poverty, the lady behind you says they are normal
what makes you say this is poverty because that's how I see it too by the way.
Well uhm, if you look at the way we're living I mean they got horrible toilets which is not very healthy um there's running
water but you have to walk far you know there's no jobs really available here you know
town is quite far most of the people don't really have money to you know take taxis into town and
things a lot of people have to walk some of the older people it's very difficult for them um
yeah um the housing is not the best of it you know it's tin shacks
um I prefer it was better, we've got electricity finally you know after I think it was about what six
years living here they finally gave us electricity which helps but yeah
you know it's not it's not really a great place I mean just look at our dust-bin
Thanks for your time bro. Pleasure. What's your name? Gareth, Gareth thanks man.
Is that where everyone dumps everything? Yeah it's supposed to be in the bin not around the bin! Yeah okay sho Gareth!