Tag: Malawi

Moonisah’s Story: From the Mother City to Mangochi

Moonisah Namata was born in Cape Town, South Africa, to Malawian immigrants. A year ago, her parents took her back to Malawi to live with her aunt and uncle.

The Mother City to Mangochi

Four years ago, I interviewed Oscar Haj Namata (45), a Malawian who had been living and working in Cape Town (the Mother City) since 1996. At the time of the interview, Oscar and his wife, Mabel, expressed the wish that their two-year-old daughter, Moonisah, would have a better future in Cape Town, where she was born. Recently, I discovered that they had sent Moonisah (now age 6) to Malawi to live with Mabel’s sister.

Oscar and Mabel with their daughter, Moonisah, age 2, in Cape Town, South Africa, 2016

Both Oscar and Mabel are employed at the same company as driver and receptionist, respectively. As driver to the CEO, Oscar’s hours are unpredictable, and it was becoming difficult for him to fetch Moonisah from school, and public transport in Cape Town can be unreliable and unsafe. The decision to send her home was not made lightly, as Oscar explains:

“Sometimes I had to leave her alone in the house and run back to the office quickly before anyone noticed. That was not easy for us. Anything can happen and we always find out too late and we cannot blame anyone.

We had no choice but to send her home.”

Oscar Haj Namata

The last time Oscar saw Moonisah was in September 2019 in Malawi. Mabel’s sister decided it would be best for them not to communicate with her for the first three months so that she could adjust to her new life. “She didn’t know where we were until we gave her the first video call. She didn’t say anything. The tears were just dropping.”

Mabel looks at photos of Moonisah, now age six, Cape Town, South Africa, 2020

Now they speak almost daily on WhatsApp via voice notes. Moonisah speaks English to them, because she thinks that her parents don’t understand Chewa. Although it is difficult for them to be away from her, they believe that she is safe and well-looked after, since Mabel’s brother-in-law is a school teacher and they live on campus.

Oscar will be visiting Moonisah in December. She is excited for his visit and the South African chocolates and ice cream that he will bring. He wants her to return to South Africa in a few years’ time when “she can take taxis by herself”.

Although Moonisah was born in South Africa, she is not a citizen. According to Oscar, her birth certificate shows she is a foreigner, but he hopes that “one day she will be able to go to Home Affairs and get that citizenship”.

Read Oscar’s story here

Oscar’s Story: From Mangochi to the Mother City

In 1995, Oscar Haj Namata first travelled to South Africa from Malawi as a teenager to sell curios. Twenty-five years later, he has lived through five South African presidents.

Mangochi to the Mother City

In 1995, Oscar Haj Namata frequently travelled from Malawi to South Africa with his uncle to sell curios. His uncle had encouraged the then 19-year-old to get a passport so that he could learn the business. “His focus was on showing me … the routes to take, how it works on the borders … to open my eyes. That’s why I stuck with him,” explains Namata. However, when Namata met up with school friends who had settled in Johannesburg, he aspired to their lifestyles. When he saw the small black and white televisions in their rooms, he says that he knew that was what he wanted, but he was not earning much working for his uncle.

“At the end of each trip, his thank you was LUX soap or tea bags. It was never money. Soap, soap, soap …” Namata laughs. He decided to work in South Africa on his own terms and moved to Cape Town (the Mother City) from Mangochi. “The place I was feeling safe and where I would be welcomed was Cape Town with my sister.” Namata worked in a grocery store for a few years, before becoming a driver.

Oscar Haj Namata in Cape Town, South Africa, 2016

Namata was born Haj Namata, but chose the name Oscar when he was in primary school. “I remember very well … like yesterday (he laughs). My close friend, who was in high school, thought I resembled someone he knew called Oscar. He wanted to call me Oscar. I liked it immediately. I changed everything. I used it until people didn’t know my other name, Haj. Only my parents. Haj comes from my great-grandfather. My father’s surname is Namata Haj. I found it [Haj Namata Haj] awkward … it didn’t sound nice. That’s why I was so quick to accept the other name. Oscar Haj Namata. I take all of them. Officially changed. Everyone knows Oscar.”

Although Namata has been in South Africa for 25 years, he sees himself retiring in Malawi. “I cannot think [about it] twice. One day, I know I will get tired and mature. I will … need to go home and do something else, whatever it is. If there is money, I can decide to start something. Maybe in the next five years. That’s only a wish. I’m not really sure. I will be 50. It’s time for retirement.”

For now, Namata is very happy in Cape Town. “You see, I had no this (points to his stomach). I always remember my first time I came, I weighed 52 or 56 kilograms. Now I’m talking about 100 [kilograms]. That means I’m happy. The stress is very little.”

Namata prides himself on understanding Xhosa. “The belief is that when you are staying in a foreign country, you must try to adopt certain languages. Just a little bit. In order for them to welcome you. Even if it’s just greetings: Molweni (hello), kunjani? (how are you?). It helps. I believe that.”

Namata counts on his fingers that he has been in South Africa for five presidents: “Mandela, Mbeki, Motlanthe, Zuma and Ramaphosa. I wish I had nice documents, so that I could tell you straight away: ‘I’m here to stay’.”

Oscar Haj Namata in Cape Town, South Africa, 2020. Photographs of Nelson Mandela are behind him.

I asked Namata if he eventually bought his own black and white television. “I have more than that. I came to South Africa when there were no cell phones. If there was, only certain people had. After I got my first cell phone, I immediately wanted to go home … Thinking I had everything (laughs).” He recalls that it was a Nokia with an aerial. “I can even remember the ringtone (sings ringtone). Now I’m not talking about TVs and small things. I want a Toyota bakkie. One day, when I go home, I can drive to Malawi and put whatever I got in the bakkie and go.”

Read about Namata’s daughter’s journey here

Photojournalism portfolio

 PHOTO STORY

Malawians of Cape Town

From Mangochi to the Mother City

oscar
Oscar (41) arrived in Cape Town in 1995 from a village called Mangochi in Malawi, looking for “any work”. He has been working as a driver for the last five years. PHOTO: Saarah Survé

javison
Javison (42) arrived in South Africa in 2007, hoping to find a better future for himself. Before he came to Cape Town, he worked as a gardener in Johannesburg. He works as a security guard. PHOTO: Saarah Survé

frank
Frank (28) came to South Africa in 2009, looking for work and “greener pastures”. He has been a petrol attendant at the Caltex at the Waterfront and is now a driver. He would like to go to photography or graphic design school. PHOTO: Saarah Survé

dawood-and-mohammed
Dawood (26), in the blue T-shirt, came to Cape Town in 2012. Dawood has a diploma in business management, but works as a security guard. He is with his younger brother, Mohammed. PHOTO: Saarah Survé

mohammed
Mohammed (23) followed his brother Dawood to Cape Town in 2014. He cleans houses and works as a gardener. PHOTO: Saarah Survé

oscar-and-family
Oscar (41) and Mabel (29) got married in Cape Town in 2009. They live with their daughter Moonisah (2) in Claremont. Mabel works as a receptionist. PHOTO: Saarah Survé

moonisa
Moonisah rides her tricycle through their flat in Claremont. Her Malawian parents hope that she will have a better future in Cape Town, where she was born. PHOTO: Saarah Survé

NEWS

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A police officer reads a sign held by a protesting UCT student, outside Parliament, on 7 October. The sign reads: “Free education. End debt slavery”. He hoped to engage passers-by to further and deepen the debate on free education. PHOTO: Saarah Survé

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Police officers and private security stand outside Stellenbosch University’s Education building on 10 October. The presence of police and private security heightened after students and workers began protesting that morning. PHOTO: Saarah Survé

PORTRAITS

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Arthur Nico van der Merwe, 45, sits in the middle of a parking lot in Andringa Street in Stellenbosch. Arthur was released from Pollsmoor Maximum Security Prison in Cape Town two days before this photograph was taken. PHOTO: Saarah Survé

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A young boy leans against the wall of his home in Old Delhi, India. Many children are left to play without adult supervision during the day. PHOTO: Saarah Survé

portrait
A young boy playfully sticks his tongue out at the camera. He lives in a rural area in the Dominican Republic. Over 20% of the country lives in extreme poverty. PHOTO: Saarah Survé

FEATURES

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Children, in the Dominican Republic, pose for a photograph in front of their homes. In the absence of toys, they play with old tyres and sticks. PHOTO: Saarah Survé

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An old woman sells vegetables at a local market in Peru. PHOTO: Saarah Survé

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A family waits while a toddler relieves himself against the wall in a parking lot in Chengdu, China. PHOTO: Saarah Survé