🧵1/ In Upington I had the opportunity to visit the Melkstroom settlement where residents have established the most dignified informal settlement I have ever seen. Not a spattering of litter. I met Mr Van Schalkwyk at his home which he proud to show me.
#RoadTripConversations

2/ Another home of a family in the Melkstroom informal settlement. This is a wood and iron structure - built with pride. People have erected homes that they are proud of - partly because they have been given enough land to do so.

1/The problem with 1994 & political parties 30yrs later in #Election2024 is this: The psychology of apartheid oppression has brainwashed the oppressed to become tolerant of its existence, merciful in its overthrow, & confused about its replacement. And so black poverty remains. 2/If you think that the ecosystem of oppression only concerned itself with its own existence, you have successfully been brainwashed by the oppression ecosystem. Oppression’s ideology was intended to confuse you so that post-oppression,

1/Woke up at 3:20am. Staring at the dark. I didn’t want to know whether it was loadshedding or just deep darkness.
What I do know is that I don’t want to live like this anymore. I don’t want my fellow citizens to live like this anymore. Enough. 2/What I do know is that I don’t want a government that’s intentionally setting us up to take our national assets & sell it to themselves & their friends through a massive privatisation drive. I want a competent government.Not a syndicate. They’re selling our silver to themselves

1/ Today, at the CT Marathon, due to the heat my wife nearly fainted. She never does well in any heat. We got her to a tent and laid her out on the ground, stretched out. Next to us another runner man was also sleeping. With eyes strangely half open. But this man hardly moved. 2/ Watching him I was thinking of tweeting how strange some people are who sleep with eyes half open. My wife was conscious but unable to get up for over an hour. We had my wife there for over an hour. The man however never moved. His phone and shoes were laying in the open.

1/This morning I went to Waleed’s Fruit Stall in the Cape Town CBD. His sister Waseema & his son Shakier runs the stall. They are from Delft. They get up at 3:30am each day to go to Epping Market to get fresh fruit to sell. By 7:30 they’re all set up. They trade till 5pm daily. 2/Waseema’s real desire is to one day be a farmer. She wants to grow fruit. While she works on her dream she helps her brother with his CBD fruit stall. She knows fruit like few people I know. She knows the different variety of peaches. She knows what her customers want each day.