Documentary filmaker shares his story of Zandspruit in lockdown

Local documentary filmmaker Jan Harm Robbertse has shared his experience of telling the stories of those in lockdown in Zandspruit.

Robbertse has spent a lot of time in the area engaging with Zandspruit community leaders and the people of the informal settlement to document their struggles during this trying time.

Robbertse writes: Zandspruit is one of Johannesburg’s larger informal settlements, with a population exceeding 31 000 – in about 9 500 households the national lockdown and regulations put in place by the South African government could have devastating effects on this closely-knit community. Children and toddlers are to suffer the worst – almost all the ECD centre’s (Early Childhood Development) and primary schools give at least one crucial meal per day, breakfast.

In many cases it is the only meal the children would have – and now that all the schools and education systems are in lockdown, many of these children will starve to death – to date, there are no reports of confirmed Covid-19 cases, but according to community leader Tebogo Maake, if an outbreak does occur, it will be impossible to contain due to the proximity of living conditions. It also seems that the regulations and threats from the government urging citizens to stay at home during lockdown has had little to no effect. “We have to leave our homes to find food to put on our tables,” said Maake.

The consensus surrounding the government’s food distributing policies has been received as another corrupt and jaded scheme. Only a handful of Zandspruit’s people have received food parcels. Maake said, “The funny part is that those people that receive the food parcels are not in need, they are not the vulnerable ones, the ones who need them the most are the ones who struggle. Making the rich, richer and the poor poorer.”