Vulani Shongwe

Have you ever been on a rush our train on your way to work or school?

Sometimes I ride in the yellow taxi of optimism. I am going to fulfil my dream in the city of dream in the city of dreams, Joburg.

On my way to the city I can see Telkom Tower in Hillbrow. Pedestrians, motorists rushing in and out of the scene. Just like me, these people are here in Joburg to expand their skills and improve their lives.

The rush is everywhere. Sometimes I ride on the train. But most of the time it is late and keeps on stopping in the middle of nowhere. There is no reason for the stopping again and again. The packed 3rd class carriages that I ride on remind me of the packed city streets. I do not understand why the first class carriages are almost empty. This emptiness makes me feel sad. Does it mean that in the post apartheid South Africa the majority of the people are still poor? Classism is still a big issue in the new democratic South Africa when I look at some of the passengers faces; I see the face of the struggle that still lingers on from the past in the present. I see someone like myself who is trying to improve their lives, who is not waiting for thing to come to them. But we feel like nothing on the train because still we are being treated like third class citizens.

I wonder is this how you also view thing?

Information courtesy of the curator, Mphapho Christian Hlasane.