SOUTH AFRICA: UNEMPLOYED & HOMELESS PROBLEMS

(1 Jun 1999) Afrikaans/Eng/Nat

The homeless problem in South Africa used to be a problem that was confined to black people only.

Now things are very different.

Today, on the eve of South Africa's second all-race elections, stripped of their rights under apartheid, some whites find themselves in the same boat as their poor black compatriots.

For some white people, begging is the only way out.

Under the old political system their jobs were protected by law simply because they were white.

That has changed.

Today, everyone competes equally for the same jobs.

For many whites, the 1994 elections changed their lives for the worse.

Without legal protection for employment, they lost their competitive edge in the labour market and became redundant.

SOUNDBITE: (Afrikaans)
"For me the doors are closed, no open doors, that's why I'm on the streets because the promises that were made are closed. And now it's going to be closed again."
SUPER CAPTION: Johnny Fourie, Homeless Person

If it was not for handouts and relief help, Johnny Fourie and James Brown would not make it.

Once a day they join a queue for food on Church Square Pretoria once the administrative capital of the apartheid state.

Today it has become a haven for many of South Africa's white homeless people.

Johnny and James lost their jobs shortly after the 1994 elections and have not been able to find work since.

Without work there is no warm bed at night and no guaranteed meals.

SOUNDBITE: (Afrikaans)
"For whom are you going to vote? Nobody wants to unite. Everybody wants to have their own part. We are going to lost again."
SUPER CAPTION: James Brown, Homeless Person

For them the struggle of daily living has become a constant search for a safe place to sleep and odd jobs that will put food in their mouths.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The queue is getting longer by the day."
SUPER CAPTION: Johan Smit, Salvation Army Official

The Salvation Army runs a daily soup kitchen on Church Square.

When they started out three years ago, there were only four to five people in their queue and they ran the service twice a week.

Today they feed at least thirty people every day.

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