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In Pictures: Cape Town’s xenophobia

South African city said to be one of the most unequal in the country with foreigners facing increasing discrimination.

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Abdulle lives in Bo-Kaap close to the heart of Cape Town(***)s central business district. Every morning he wakes up before 5am to set up his stall in the city centre. 
By Raeesa Pather
Published On 4 Dec 2014

Cape Town, South Africa – The informal economy has become a vital source of jobs for many in South Africa with the country’s unemployment rate at 25.5 percent. Without the informal economy, that unemployment would jump to 45.7 percent.

Alongside economic woes, these jobless figures have also contributed to a culture of xenophobia.

Cape Town has been mapped out as one of the most unequal cities in South Africa. Its central business district has the least amount of street traders out of the country’s four biggest cities, but it has the highest proportion of foreign African traders.

For the past two decades, Somali refugees have streamed into South Africa to escape war at home, and 32-year-old Mohamud Abdulle is one of them. Abdulle left Somalia in hope of a better future, and has been in South Africa for more than 15 years. He now has South African citizenship, but he is seldom accepted as a member of the nation.

Greenmarket Square, the Grand Parade, and Adderley Street – where Abdulle trades – are some of Cape Town’s most celebrated historical sites. Yet, as more foreign hawkers populate the urban centre and turn to the informal economy under the threat of destitution, a bitterness has grown among some Cape Townians.

Street vendors employ Joshua Yeshiva, who came to South Africa from Tanzania, to push their stalls from the storage room up the road to their trading spot.
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Sabrina van Zyl, Abdulle’s supervisor, said plans are under way to re-engineer new trolleys to be more stable and provide more room for products. 
Abdulle buys his stock from a wholesaler in the city centre. His most expensive items are cigarettes, while his cheapest are small sweets.
Customers normally stream in after 8am.
(***)I have a lot of friends,(***) Abdulle said. 
Traders in the city often work in pairs. Abdulle(***)s friend, Ali Abdullah, takes over close to midday.
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Lunch time generates the most foot traffic for street vendors.
Cape Town has the least number of informal workers in its business district compared to other South African cities. Traders are known to get harassed by police and protesters, who sometimes loot their shops.
South Africa(***)s youth are battling to find jobs, despite education being made more accessible to poverty-stricken communities. 
South Africa(***)s high unemployment rate has left some South Africans critical of jobs given to foreigners.
During rainy days, many traders close their stores early. 
Abdulle usually earns $13 a day working 12 hours. He said he hopes to be able to buy a home for himself and his wife, who currently lives outside the city.