These are the car guards of Long Street. They are the detritus of the DRC; the flotsam of the Congo River.
Most have lived along the river that feeds the heart of darkness. Now they trawl Cape Town’s brook of booze.
The tributaries that flow into Long – Buiten, Bloem, Pepper and Leeuwen – are their fishing grounds. They are bright men from a dark place. Some are university graduates. Some are trained mechanics. Many are trying to earn money to learn a trade.
I meet Pappi. He spent 1 year at university in Kinshasa before political intimidation forced him out. Far short of the R4000 he needs for a 3 week welding course, he earns R50 on a good night and lives not far from here with 3 other Congolese in a room in the Bo Kaap.
This is Jules who sends money back to his family in Kinshasa. He is a proud man and finds it degrading to guard cars. The first night I meet him he is full of life and laughs at my pathetic attempts at French. The second night, he is sombre because no one has parked on his street. I meet him a third time and I am the only car on his street. He thanks me for the tip then scuttles off to the corner cafe for some food.
In 2009 the estimated death rate in the DRC was 45 000 people a month due to famine, disease and conflict, this despite efforts since 2004 to rebuild the nation. Studies show that 76% of the population has been affected in some way by conflict. 100% of these car guards have been affected, and they are here trying to piece things together. This country can be a haven of sorts.
There are quite a few drivers who don’t give them money. One argument is that you already pay for car insurance so why pay someone else on top of that. Another argument is they can’t all be trusted, that some work for syndicates that steal cars. But where there are stories of robberies taking place under the watch of car guards it is certain there are 10 000 times as many stories untold, of cars parked on dodgy streets that go untouched, of carefree nights on Long, and many other streets. Sadly, there are many stories of flush folk with flash cars who ignore them, who drive off without offering so much as a nod.
Pappi says he understands if someone doesn’t have the cash to tip him, he just wants to be acknowledged in that case. Jules agrees and where the average tip is between 2 and 5 Rand, he says every cent makes a difference.
And what if there were no car guards?
No doubt many more cars would be stolen or broken into. Insurance premiums would go up, probably above what one spends tipping car guards. Without the ordered network they have created, we would have more vagrancy, more theft, more dealers, more dark nights.
Congolese, Zimbabwean, Malawian or South African, car guards are part of the ebb and flow of things. Acknowledge them. Give them what you can, you’ll brighten the night of someone who’s known little more than darkness.
this is such an eye opener. I always tip the guards heavily, I can’t park to save my life :/
beautiful pics.
We too have car guards outside our store. Fortunately we all found a middle ground and we issue neon them neon bibs. Their group is now split in two, and they alternate days. Apart from guarding cars, they often help us and our customers with loading of goods and sweep up the litter.
No way to really get rid of car guards, so might as well work something out and keep everyone happy.
Lastly, YES, we are part of the local Community Police Forum (CPF) and all carguards must have an ID book and no criminal record. SAPS have a cool finger print scanner which blurts out said persons background in seconds.
Great eye opening read. Will defiantly have a far better perspective at these guys.
Thank you for the enlightenment.
People who ignore our brothers working hard to survive away from home are disgusting.
Here is a short story dealing with a car guard on long:
http://mzan.si/h8LE
I can recall meeting PhD’s from the DRC who are reduced to caddying!! The story of Africa is not finished and I hope that it has a happy ending. It is people such as these that make Africa the special place that it is. Oh that the leadership on the Continent had the humanity of the people they purport to govern. !!
Actually nearly moved to tears reading this. If only we could learn to be more mindful of those in dark places. Your essay is a step in that direction. Thank you.
Nice work – a fresh perspective and awesome images, it offers great insight into a world unknown by many.
An inspirational story about a car guard that has a bright ending that I wanted to share –
I met a guy recently at a course in Cape Town, he was from Nigeria and a qualified engineer. He was a refugee when he first arrived in South Africa and as he was not able to speak much English (only french), he was unable to get a job and had to work as a car guard for years to support his family. He finally got a break from a fellow french speaker and finally had the opportunity to work in an Engineering company. He worked his way up and is now a very successful Engineer travelling the world, invested in houses both here and abroad. Despite his success he remembered where he came from and experiences he had, he said that he could not sleep easy at night with the luxuries he had without thinking of others who had nothing. And so he decided (in the course that I met him) that he was going to open an Orphanage for street children! The last I heard is that he was going to use his holiday house in Blouberg area and turn it into what would be the first of many orphanages!!!!! Story to be continued but it’s just awe inspiring if you ask me, what can happen when someone is given a break?!!
Thank you, you have inspired me to be more caring and giving (time and money) towards these bright men in dark places.
Great essay and photos. Hard to relegate them to “the other”, a trick we all employ to aviod confronting their humanity. It is a great pity that we do not use these guys more. There are so many ways that their skills and experience could be utilised. Our utter failure to provide education and the skills needed right now are on our streets, parking cars. They are our “get out of jail free” card… More than that, the Congolese and other West Africans could play a great role in making Cape Town a truly African city.
Wow, good photos. Esp. the forth last gives a good impression how guards must feel when they stand for hours in a dark road watching partying people. It must be bitter if some of them, however, don’t get a tip.