Table of contents for Issue 316 2023 in The Big Issue

Enjoy Dr Dylan McGarry is an educational sociologist, scholar activist and artist originally from Durban, South Africa. He is a Senior Researcher at the Environmental Learning Research Centre (ELRC) at the university currently known as Rhodes. As well as a scholar in the Global One Ocean Hub research network, Dylan is the co-founder of the research theatre collective”Empatheatre”, and a passionate artist and storyteller. He explores practice-based research into connective aesthetics, transgressive social learning, decolonial practice, queereco pedagogy, immersive empathy, African spirituality, and intangible heritage in South Africa. Instagram: @dylan_mcgarry www.empatheatre.com www.coastaljusticenetwork.co.za…

If you would like to support our vendors in any way, or if you have opportunities or ideas that could help them, please feel free to get in touch with us by emailing Melody at placements@bigissue.org.za or call 021 461 6690. ABOUT ME My social work journey started when I enrolled for a four-year Social Work programme at the University of Cape Town in 2017, earning a bachelor’s degree in social work. Growing up in Zimbabwe, I was always passionate about helping people and lending a hand whenever necessary I did not think twice about applying for Social Work as my major at school because I knew it would help me acquire the necessary skills that I would need to make change and impact the lives of the vulnerable groups…

[ THE BIG ISSUE ] "The impulse to write often strikes when I’m observing someone else. Something in their face or their manner grabs my attention and refuses to let go. It is rare for me to write about it immediately because I can tell that I’m only glimpsing a shadow The thing itself might stay hidden for days or even a few years. This is a fanciful way to say that ideas, especially the ones that become novels, tend to come to me before I am ready for them. The wait before I write the first sentence is twofold. I wait for the figure casting the shadow I’ve glimpsed to come into view. Then, I wait for my skill as a writer to match up to the demands I…

[ OCEAN GRAB ] OCEAN ISSUE [ THE BIG ISSUE ] EU TWEAK TO GRAB? The ‘Big 5’ (oil companies ExxonMobil, Chevron Texaco, Conoco Phillips, BP, and Royal Dutch Shell) are major stakeholders in the global economy. Google them and their activities. Without these corporations we wouldn’t enjoy civilisation as we know it, let alone the laptops, cars, and other economic spoils that we so desire and pursue. Since the dawn of ages, man has warred in different ways for profit and benefit. Now, in a gain that is particularly opportune, while SA flails, its back broken by its post-apartheid goon-like governance in a quiet war, our oceans are being traded to foreign companies backed by the EU Green Deal 2030, which was recently advantageously 'tweaked' to include gas as a 'transitional'…

PATRICK POUYANNÉ'S LETTER: “I am writing in response to your letter of October 17 in which you indicate that you have learned of TotalEnergies' application for a production license, filed on September 5, to develop gas fields off the southern coast of South Africa. I can confirm that TotalEnergies EP South Africa and its partners applied for a production license on September 5, following which an environmental and societal impact assessment was initiated, in accordance with South African regulations. This assessment will provide a detailed description of the project’s economic, social and environmental impacts, the measures planned to preserve the environment, and the related social and economic benefits. A survey has been launched to map the marine species, including, potentially, marine mammals, to model the potential impact of production activities…

FOUR TICKETS TO WATCH VOOMA! WORTH R500 Win four tickets to watch VOOMA!, the latest show brought to you by Zip-Zap Circus. Email entries to: liammarinus@mikatekomedi.co.za by 30 April 2023. Winners must be able to attend on show dates offered by the circus. T&Cs* *The winners will be selected by judges from correct email entries received before 11:59pm on the closing date. The judges' decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. The prize/s cannot be transferred or sold. The competition is not open to Mikateko Media, Zip-Zap Circus, The Big or little issue employees, or their family members.…

Our coastlines and oceans are haunted by legacies of colonial and apartheid rule which have fashioned exclusions, dispossessions, and violent forms of epistemicide (cultural genocide) of indigenous coastal residents for generations now. Artisanal and small-scale fishers have had to navigate ongoing dislocation from their ancestral waters and coastal territories ever since the arrival of colonial dominion and further reinforced under subsequent racist spatial and development planning and conservation policies of the Group Areas Act of 1950. While these policies, along with others, have been changed to address injustices in South Africa and align with our progressive constitution, many of the procedural and practical ways and customs in which ocean planning is undertaken, with its geographic separations, artificial boundaries, evidence and knowledge-hierarchies, conservation zones, local by-laws, modes of public participation and…

You could say Terry Haub has travelled from [upmarket Vancouver] Howe Street to hell. But he made it back. Twenty-five years ago, the former entrepreneur and stock trader resided in Kits and was living the good life — operating his own power washing business during the week and selling pizza at Wreck Beach on the weekends. He was making a lot of money and growing it through day trading on the side. There was just one problem. "I was an alcoholic back then,ˮ Terry explains. "It progressed.” During a bull market in 2000, Terryended up betting — and losing — his life’s savings. We’re talking six figures. “I fell into a deep depression. For the first time I became actively suicidal," he says. His alcohol consumption went off the charts…

[ THE BIG ISSUE ] "Do I think it's possible that some things are meant to find us? Absolutely. 'A friend recently said to me "It’s better to be lucky than good.” And while I do believe that we are — for the most part — authors of our own fate, I think it would be unwise to understate the importance of fate or luck or fortune or whatever you might want to call it Of course, we have free-will; we make choices every day Choice is the backbone of our life. But do I think it’s possible that some things are meant to find us? Absolutely. My novel, The Cloisters, revolves around the discovery of a mysterious deck of tarot cards that lay bare shocking secrets within a close-knit…

Families are emigrating daily, and every time that loadshedding switch is hit and we are plunged into darkness, all these negative thoughts are cemented. We’ve all been to social gatherings where 'that’ conversation is brought up by someone deep in their despair about the state of the country, where they can’t express enough how our children have no future here. "These types of conversations come to mind as I come across the umpteenth post on social media, written by an anxiety-ridden mom who is at a loss as to what to do with her demotivated school-leaver,” explains Children’s Mental Health Specialist Natasha Freemantle. How many of these demotivated, often seen as lazy and entitled, teenagers are feeling completely hopeless after having to listen to conversation after conversation about the lack…

Environmental group Green Connection is lobbying French MPs and members of the European Parliament to hold French corporation TotalEnergies to account for its “ocean grab” in South African waters.. French NGO Bloom supported their visit to Paris and Brussels this month. Bloom has urged 78 financial institutions to stop investing in TotalEnergies' oil and gas projects in Africa. The Green Connection is also taking the presidency and Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantas he to court for not having implemented an Integrated Energy Plan. TotalEnergies has applied for environmental approval for oil and gas exploration drilling in several areas offshore along the West Coast, Cape Agulhas, and Mossel Bay. The Green Connection held meetings in Paris and Brussels this month with French MPs and members of the European…

Claremont. Cape Town Name: Lungile Tose Vendor Number: 1456 About: Lungile (a single father of two adult children aged 32 and 38) lives in Nyanga with his sister and his nephews. He is 59 years old, and he has been selling The Big Issue for 16 years. He used to sell the magazine in Constantia, but now his pitch is in Claremont along the M3. Lungile is grateful to all the customers who love and support him by buying the magazine, since selling it is his only source of income. Superpower: He’s a good gardener. Wish list: Lungile wishes to raise money to buy himself a shack or cabin to live independently He’d love to buy a piece of land and be his own man. He suffers from high blood…

Boredomtriggersmind-wanderingand mindwandering leads to creativity. Helpthembecometech-sawy We can feel better about screen time if we make sure the content is meaningful. For example, they can watch and do exercise videos, follow kids’ art hub tutorials, play games like Minecraft or Roblox (offline, for safety reasons) or they can watch videos that introduce them to different parts of life. Enablethemtoflextheir critical thinking skills. Even from a young age you can start with questions like, "Do you want to wear the red shirt or the green one?” As they get older and the choices become more complex, you can ask for their reasoning. Fromayoungageyou can start to use stories to prompt questions about how each character may feel about a given scenario. Empathy is one of the key…

new offering from Zip-Zap Circus called VOOMA! is a fast-paced, action-filled circus show suitable for all ages. Trapeze, acrobatics, unbelievable juggling, and outrageous comedy will be performed by a courageous cast of ordinary kids doing extraordinary things. This circus family will take the audience on a journey into their world of magic, fun, and excitement. The VOOMA! cast are young performers from the advanced Zappers and Dare2Dream programmes, accompanied by their 'older brothers and sisters' who have just returned from France after a 3-month tour with Zip Zap’s professional production called Rhapsodie. 90 shows, 400 000 audience members, and nationally televised, this tour has put Zip Zap on the world stage. Zip Zap Circus is known for its vibrant, uniquely South African social and professional circus acts and was founded…

All the artworks on this page are for sale. Email info@bigissue.co.za to buy an artwork featured here or to donate materials for art classes. Keep a green tree In your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come -CHINESE PROVERB…