NEWSLETTER

PHOTOS BY EDDIE GROENEWALD & NORMAN LEVY. TEXT BY HAYLEY SIEBERS

These photos were taken in a part of South Africa known as Walmer Location in Port Elizabeth. The place is a side effect of the implementation of apartheid in the 1960s, when areas like this were established to separate people into groups of similar skin tone. Walmer narrowly avoided being demolished and all its residents re-housed in the 1980s but the ongoing neglect has left a general vibe of it being a really shitty place to live, which isn’t helped by its position directly next to an airport and a rubbish dump. Eddie Groenewald is a South African photographer who recently visited Walmer to shoot the styles on the street.








“In Walmer Location, I found that people were more than happy for me to take their photos, but they refused to answer any of my questions or give me their names—people don’t trust journalists here, especially not white ones. There are bigger black townships around like Motherwell and Kwazikele, but we didn’t venture in as even the roads leading in are dodgy. It’s not unusual to have stones or bricks thrown at your car in the hopes of forcing you to pull over, at which point you’ll be mugged. Walmer’s the safest location for us to get into. During the day, community life is great and peaceful. At night though, when the taverns open and the nightmares start, even basic services like ambulances won’t enter for fear of being shot up or hijacked.”

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Comments

Anonymous, on Apr 2, 2009 wrote: why do white people make it shitty..wake up crime and corruption makes this country it lack of all the potential this country has...some get rich all get poor, white black indian coloureds and all the rest...south africa is rich in natural and huamn resources.wake up and stop beeting about the bush we need good leadership, good people and good values, we have the rest and lest all make a sheit load of money!!!!

Anonymous, on Aug 16, 2008 wrote: SOUTH AFRICA IS NOT A SHITHOLE ..you stupid motherfucker!!! Z

Anonymous, on Aug 16, 2008 wrote: THIS IS A VERY WEAK AND MISLEADING PIECE. IT HAS NO BALLS! Z

Anonymous, on Jul 8, 2008 wrote: The townships are shitty because the government that is in power, ANC, has not delivered it promises to its people and has actually made life slightly worse for them. So no it is not white involvment, sheesh, and yes maybe the writer should have gone to nightclub, because we all know that by going there we would learn so much about other cultures! It would actually be so much better to go talk to the people, who don’t have anything better to do with their time than drink, smoke and get high, its not worth talking to the people who actually care about real issues!

Anonymous, on Jun 23, 2008 wrote: God... Durban...better than what? Durban is a shithole... Shouldve gone on jhb town, people make an effort there... Or shouldve gone to another country, South africa is a shithole...