Table of contents for Issue 320 2023 in The Big Issue

A woman's bond with her hairdresser is priceless. When you've found the right stylist, hold tight because nobody wants someone who is rude and inconsiderate. Keeping the client relationship intact, a stylist needs a positive outlook. I recall a visit to a hairdresser in Cape Town's southern suburbs once, where after being criticised in front of clients by a stylist, the assistant stormed about the place, insolent and defensive. After my hair had been blow-dried, the assistant was asked to wipe residual hair dye from my face. Angrily and distractedly, she tromped up, grabbed a random cloth and, holding my head with one hand, rubbed my cheek vigorously with the other to remove the dye. Arriving home ten minutes later, I felt burning heat on my face. A red circle…

[THE BIG ISSUE] Huang Da-ge has been working as a Big Issue vendor for many years, and you can find him working in Kaohsiung, from his pitch at National Sun Yat-sen University during term time and at Pier 2 Art District during the holidays. Huang Da-ge enjoys his work but admits to finding things challenging in recent years, as both the pandemic and technological change have affected his sales. But that won't stop him. Huang Da-ge [“Da-ge” means “big brother” in Mandarin] can often be seen on the campus of National Sun Yat-sen University – sometimes on the ramp of the College of Liberal Arts and sometimes near the Activity Centre. In his familiar red vest and hat, copies of The Big Issue in hand, he is a familiar sight…

Hi Athalie I need help with my employer who is harassing me because I have refused to have a Covid vaccination; my colleagues have been told not to talk to me and I suspect that my dismissal was discussed with them beforehand and that my employer is using Covid as an excuse to dismiss me because of my political views. I brought a case to the CCMA which was delayed when my file went missing and it was then dismissed on a technicality. My children have become ill after being vaccinated with incorrect chemicals; my employer's medical aid did not reflect my claim correctly; my medical files were intentionally distributed to juniors in the office, and I suspect that if I am dismissed, my employer will withhold my pension on…

This ethical oath is taken by physicians and is a widely known and accepted medical text, which requires new physicians to swear, by a number of healing gods, to uphold specific ethical standards. These medical ethics with several principles, remain paramount today and include the principles of medical confidentiality and *non-maleficence. I swear by Apollo the physician, and Aesculapius, and Health, and All-heal, and all the gods and goddesses, that, according to my ability and judgment, I will keep this Oath and this stipulation – to reckon him who taught me this Art equally dear to me as my parents, to share my substance with him … I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and…

[WE ARE VENDORS] Buy The Big Issue from vendors in the suburbs of Cape Town, or from select Spar, CNA or Pick n Pay stores nationally. MAKE A VENDOR'S WISH COME TRUE. GET IN TOUCH! Email our social worker, Melody at placements@bigissue.org.za Green Point & Gardens, Cape Town Vendor: Cynthia Gogotya Vendor number: 2376 Find Cynthia at: Mill Street, Gardens About: Cynthia has been a Big Issue vendor for more than 10 years and stays in Lomazwi, Nyanga. She is a mother to three daughters and her last-born is in her twenties. Cynthia enjoys selling the magazine because she says it's her business and way of living. It's something that she does of her own will and in her own time, and she loves the freedom. She's grateful to her…

THE JOY OF FOOD My restaurant, The Kitchen, was loved by so many people and we had a strong community. To be honest, we still do, even without the restaurant. I can't tell you how often I am asked about when – or if – I'm going to open again. We were forced to close The Kitchen during lockdown in May 2020, when we weren't allowed to trade as usual. It was incredibly sad to say goodbye. I had 20 people working for me, and we were like a family. It was important to me that they were still paid and have something to tide them over after we closed. To to do this, I sold everything in the restaurant, gave online cooking demonstrations, began filling bottles of dressings and…

So, going back to what the Commissioner said about only the government having the right to make the rules about mandatory vaccines, what are the government's rules? • The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) of 1993, which says that an employer has to take reasonable steps to provide a safe and healthy workplace. In the CCMA case of Kok v Ndaka Security and Services, Gideon Kok, who refused to be vaccinated, worked at a Sasol site, which required a 100% vaccination rate and so he could not attend at the site. He was suspended without pay on a ‘no work/no pay' basis, and told to return to work once he had been vaccinated or to submit a weekly Covid test result at his own expense. The CCMA found in…

It is a social movement for mothers, which values and celebrates motherhood and mothers and the critical role they play socially, economically and politically in South Africa. The movement advocates for the priorities of early motherhood and is committed to raising awareness about the scourge of obstetric violence. If you, or anyone you know, has suffered this form of abuse in any way, contact Embrace as a supportive, confidential resource. www.embrace.org.za Facebook and Twitter: EmbraceZA Instagram: @embrace_za…

“Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face– Victor Hugo All artworks featured on this page are for sale. Email info@bigissue.co.za to buy a specific piece or to donate items for art classes. Visit Elaine's website at www.bridgingpolarities.co.za…

[SOCIAL WORK COLUMN] BIG ISSUE AT HOME AND ABROAD It is every person's desire to be buried in a dignified manner. In the event of a death, most African families pull their resources together to make sure that a loved one is given a proper send-off. In as much as people strive to bury the deceased with dignity, funerals have become expensive because of the high cost of living. There is a lot of money that is needed for a burial, and in this economy, money is something that most people are struggling to come by, especially our vendors. In African communities, people have seen the need to start their own burial societies so that they can assist each other in the event of a death in a family. In these burial…

Where did the idea for The Cassandra Complex come from? I came up with the concept about six years ago, immediately after a pretty distressing break-up. We had only been together four months, but the end came from nowhere and it was confusing: I found myself obsessively trying to work out what had gone wrong (or, perhaps more specifically, what I had done wrong). I had repeating fantasies, on loop, where I would go back through our entire relationship in minute detail and try to figure out where it had broken, and what would happen if I could go back and fix it; how it would play out differently, and whether we'd have stayed together. I spent hours, days, weeks doing that. It occurred to me at some point in…

The ‘natural process' of childbirth – ‘natural' meaning ‘derived from nature' – is about as natural as suffering a nasty viral illness or even slow death. Childbirth is by nature primitive, raw, sufferable, and sometimes life-threatening. Nature bears zero regard for the state of a woman's body, especially her dignity and in many cases, her life, ensuring as it does, the survival only of the fi ttest. Except, somewhere in the tenuous state between birth, life, and death, appointing human intervention is meant to alleviate suffering. First and foremost, through compassion – a quality commanded by the Hippocratic Oath taken by physicians. As human qualities go, compassion is one that's closest to Godliness, and can alter a mother's entire experience of childbirth during what is meant to be a private…

Choosing to share your life with someone from the everyday humdrum to the most defining moments is, for many people, a fundamental aspect of being human. At the same time, the human experience inevitably involves loss, and the loss of a partner can be one of the most difficult heartaches to overcome. Dimakatso Motiang, Clinical Psychologist at Netcare Akeso Arcadia in Pretoria, notes that grieving a relationship with a spouse or partner after a break up or a death is a process that needs time, a willingness to embrace the emotional pain that comes with the loss, and a preparedness to share it with trusted others. “Such a deep personal loss will bring on feelings of loneliness, grief, depression and anxiety, among others, and can result in physical symptoms including…