Do we have the right to speak out or the right to be heard?
With the change to democracy in South Africa came a constitution which allowed the right to strike. This was implemented to give power to the people and the opportunity to speak out if they felt they were being treated unfairly. Well over a decade since the turn of democracy strikes have become a kind of phenomenon. On almost a weekly basis in Cape Town hundreds, sometimes thousands of people will gather together most commonly at Keizergracht and march to the steps of Parliament to vent their frustrations. The topics vary from poor working conditions and low pay, to public health issues, housing, poor decisions by Government, and xenophobia. With little development being seen and the same people constantly having to demand change, one has to ask if we should have the constitutional right to voice oneself, or to be heard? This ongoing collection of photographs is testament that the people have used their constitutional right to demand a better life, and that if South Africa spirals out of control Government cannot say there were no signs. It also looks at how the right to strike is accepted by the people, how after time with no signs of improvement the initial passion to stand up for a cause and abide by the rules wanes and is replaced with extreme measures - a natural progression to search for a method that works and a sign of ineffective governing. In the spirit of making a stand that is the nature of striking, I want these pictures to penetrate the imagination of those who can make a difference but who are mute to the cries of the people.
