Scraping to survive in a cold world
Maqhawe, just one of many homeless people living on Newcastle's streets, would literally sell the clothes off his back to survive.
How far would you go to make ends meet?
Maqhawe, just one of many homeless people living on Newcastle’s streets, would literally sell the clothes off his back to survive.
“People are suffering. I do what I can to survive.” Underneath a worn tarpaulin on Ayliff Street, between the stacked wood and cardboard, Maqhawe scrapes a meagre living by selling odds and ends otherwise consigned to the rubbish dump. Yet rough living has not stripped him of integrity. “I knew if I lived in the forest, I will be a criminal all my life.” Orphaned and on the streets from a young age, the only ‘parents’ Maqhawe has are the mannequins he has dressed up fashionably.
He knows little of his real family.
“I was born in the Newcastle area. My family lived on the street and I heard from others my parents had died.” This is Maqhawe’s motivation for scattering bird feed alongside his ramshackle home each day – he wants the animals to have someone caring for their needs. Showing compassion has not always been a good thing.
Although he does not complain when other homeless sit at his fire pit, the desperation of poverty often brings out the worst in people. “Sometimes they steal my things but I understand the life. I ask people to watch my home when I leave, and offer them a cut if they sell items for me.”
Speaking frankly on the dark side of vagrancy, Maqhawe said he learned electrical and wiring skills while incarcerated at Waterval Prison 11 years ago.
Upon his release in 2007, he vowed to never cross the line again.
“The municipality doesn’t give me trouble because I make it neat. I sweep and pack things nicely. I need my space because I am also a person from South Africa.” Looking at a brighter future, Maqhawe said his dream was to afford a home, or at least the income to rent a place of his own. “There is money in reclaim – I sell those boxes to get money.”
The winter months are tough for the homeless, and inside his trusty backpack, he keeps a stash of flu medication for emergencies.
After all, he alone can keep the fire burning.
