Diary Pages

The Lockdown Diarists give us their take on key themes…

Diary page: Reflecting on the diary process

As we wrap up this phase of the Lockdown Diary Project, we asked our diarists: What has been your experience of the project? How have you found the process of sharing your lockdown diaries? Diarists shared their joy in participating in a ‘meaningful’, ‘informative’ and relevant project. Several of them appreciated the opportunity to share

July 22, 2020July 22, 2020

Diary Page: Hope in times of COVID-19

During troubled times, moments of hope can be important. This week we asked our diarists: Has there been a particular moment or experience that gave you hope during the lockdown? For some diarists, the interventions by government such as the lockdown itself, expansion and increase of social grants, provision of water, food and shelter, and

July 22, 2020

Diary Pages: Why are we at the epi-centre?

The Western Cape has more than half of South Africa’s COVID 19 cases. This week we asked our diarists: Why do you think the Western Cape remains the epicentre of the COVID-19 virus in South Africa? A strong narrative arising from our diarists is that residents have not been able to  prevent the spread of

June 22, 2020

Diary Pages: Dear President Ramaphosa….

This week we asked our diarists: If you could speak to President Ramaphosa and ask him to deal with one important issue regarding lockdown, what would it be and why? Respondents raised a number of issues they felt strongly about. Below, we have highlighted those that came through most strongly – education, employment, health, alcohol,

June 15, 2020June 15, 2020

Diary Pages: Intergenerational relationships

The lockdown and the spread of COVID-19 has changed the way most South African’s experience everyday life. To understand the impact of lockdown on intergenerational relationships we asked our diarists: Do you think that the lockdown has changed relationships between younger and older people in your household and your community? If so, in what ways

June 15, 2020June 15, 2020

Diary Pages: Work and Income

Just as South Africa was due to move to Level Three, we asked our participants whether the Lockdown had affected their work and income, and whether this was likely to change during Level Three. Income not affected For several of our participants – across different areas – there had been no shift in their income

June 8, 2020June 8, 2020

Diary Pages: Army and Police Brutality

During the Lockdown, the government has deployed both the police and the army on the streets to police its lockdown legislation. At the end of May, Police Minister Bheki Cele claimed that almost 230,000 arrests had occured for lockdown infringements. During the same period, at least eleven people lost their lives at the hands of

June 8, 2020June 8, 2020

Diary Page: Gender roles and the lockdown

The lockdown has changed the way many function on a daily basis, in their home and in their community. We asked our diarists whether the lockdown changed the roles different genders play in their household or in the broader community. We probed to find out if there were changes in gender relations in regards to

June 8, 2020

Diary Pages: Religious Gatherings

The government announced that religious gatherings would be allowed under the level three lockdown regulations. These gatherings would have to be limited to 50 people and congregants must ensure they follow good hygiene practices such as wearing a mask and maintaining social distance. We asked our diarists how they felt about these new regulations. Opening

June 4, 2020

Diary pages: Community Leadership

The COVID-19 crisis has made the need for compassionate, imaginative, democratic and dynamic leadership more pressing than ever. Community leadership can be hotly contested in South Africa’s crowded civic landscape. Since the lockdown began, Community Action Networks (CANs) have sprung up, joining the NGOs, social movements and political parties that are already active in many

May 29, 2020May 29, 2020

Diary Pages: Trust in Government

Exploring whether people’s level of trust in the government has shifted during the lockdown can give us an insight into how citizens feel the pandemic is being managed. We asked our diarists if the lockdown had changed the level of trust they have in the government, and if so, why. The answers were split between

May 14, 2020May 22, 2020

Diary Pages: Level Three

Following news that South Africa would be moving to Level Three on 1st June, we asked our diarists how they felt about this. The responses below show the mixed emotions that exist across the city: for some this brought a sense of relief but for many, fears still remain. Relief that some sense of ‘normal’

May 27, 2020May 28, 2020

Diary Pages: Dealing with the virus – Support and Stigma

Viruses can cause fear, and illnesses such as HIV/AIDS have in the past had a stigma attached to them.  To understand how COVID-19 is being received in Cape Town we asked our respondents how people have responded to those who have been diagnosed with COVID-19.  As we report in other diary pages the majority of

May 27, 2020

Diary Pages: COVID-19

For weeks our diarists have spoken about the many consequences of lockdown. However, very few have spontaneously mentioned the impact of the COVID-19 virus itself on their lives. To understand if the virus was starting to have more of an impact we asked: Have you or anyone you know been directly affected by the COVID-19

May 27, 2020

Diary Page: Crime

How has the lockdown affected experiences of crime in Cape Town? Statistics released by the Cape Town Central City Improvement District’s (CCID) Safety and Security department show that there has been a 73% drop in all reported crime during Level 4 Lockdown. Are these statistics representative of actual crime levels or only reported crime? Has

May 22, 2020May 22, 2020

Diary Pages: Transport in lockdown

With transport regulations easing under Level 4 of the Covid-19 lockdown, concerns have been raised over the safe regulation of mass transportation. We asked our participants: How has transport affected your experience of lockdown? Has the opening of public transport affected you? Here, we take a look at their responses. NB: We have included combi

May 15, 2020

Diary Pages: Exercise Regulations

Level four lockdown regulations stipulated that people could exercise  between the hours of 6am and 9am, within a 5km radius of their home. We asked our participants if they had been among those making use of the allocated time to exercise outdoors. We wanted to know it they used the exercise time, their experienced of

May 29, 2020June 8, 2020

Diary Pages: Social Grants

The Lockdown has been a period of unprecedented government intervention in post-apartheid South Africa. Interventions include the recently announced increase in Child Support and the introduction of a new Social Relief of Distress grant (also known as an unemployment grant) which offers recipients R350 per month. We asked our participants what they thought about the grants

May 11, 2020May 20, 2020

Diary Pages: Level Four

After weeks of experiencing one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, South Africans heard from President Cyril Ramaphosa that the lockdown restrictions would be slightly eased from the highest Level Five to Level Four. Restrictions, he explained, would shift according to the level of Covid-19 threat being faced at any one time. As of

May 7, 2020May 20, 2020

Diary Pages: Alcohol and Cigarette Ban

Why do you think the government banned alcohol and cigarette sales? How has that affected you, family and friends? Currently, the sale of cigarettes and alcohol is not permissible under South Africa’s COVID 19 national lockdown, nor can home-made beer be shared. The lockdown is considered one of the strictest in the world. As the

May 7, 2020May 16, 2020

Diary Pages: Housework

We asked our diarists: Who does the household chores during lockdown? Has this changed from your normal routine?  Lockdown has changed the way we engage in public, but has it changed the way our homes are run? We asked our respondents to reflect on their daily chores in order to gain greater insight into gender

May 7, 2020May 16, 2020

Diary Pages: Back to School?

We asked our diarists: Do you think children should go back to school as proposed by the government?  How has the lockdown impacted the education of children? As South Africa has eased its COVID 19 lockdown to level four, controversy has been mounting over the issue of schooling. The Department of Basic Education faces the

May 5, 2020May 7, 2020

Diary Pages: Childcare in Lockdown

We asked our diarists:  Can you share any experiences you have had caring for children within or beyond your home during the lockdown? Caregivers are under pressure during lockdown, and those looking after children are no exception. Diarists expressed a deep desire to protect and nurture children in their care but also the anxiety and

April 29, 2020May 1, 2020

Diary Pages: The New Rules

On 23rd April, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that South Africa would begin ‘a deliberate and cautious approach to the easing of current lockdown restrictions.’ Following this news, we asked our Lockdown Diarists: ‘What is your understanding of how the new lockdown rules (starting on 1 May) will affect you and your family?’ Tentative Support but Incomplete

April 23, 2020May 7, 2020

Diary Pages: Lockdown Extended

On the 9th April President Ramaphosa announced that the Lockdown would be extended in an effort to contain the virus. We asked our diarists how they felt about the news. Widespread Understanding on the Need for an Extension Despite the hardships that the extension has bought for many – particularly those in townships and informal

April 10, 2020May 1, 2020

Diary Pages: Freedom Day in Lockdown

We asked our diarists:  Do you usually celebrate Freedom Day? What are your feelings about it this year? On the 27th of April 1994, South Africans of all races stood in long lines to cast their votes in the first post-apartheid elections. That day has been observed as Freedom Day and is a public holiday

April 28, 2020May 1, 2020

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