Thumbs Up In Vibrant Yeoville

THE GREY, GLOOMY WEATHER did not dampen the excitement as South African citizens, young and old, made their way to their respective voting booths on May 8.

- Gypseenia Lion

First-time voters enthusiastically posted images of their thumbs on social media after their turn polling. Twenty-five years post-apartheid, they did what voters in 1994 could not – flaunt their inky fingers to the world.

This year marked the sixth democratic elections since the fall of racial segregation.

When former President Nelson Mandela’s handcuffs were removed, a nation was freed from years of brutal laws that marginalized people of color in South Africa.

As a young ‘colored’ woman born in 1995, there’s another layer to my identity as a ‘born-free’ citizen.

I use the terms ‘colored’ and ‘born-free’ loosely, only because of the numerous sociocultural connotations attached to my identity.

On May 8, I joined the scores of people from the lively Yeoville suburb, once a cosmopolitan source of pride, but now largely associated with crime and discord in Johannesburg.

As a lone female photojournalist in one of the notorious parts of the inner city, I found myself in the cold with a groveling stomach, and without a cent to my name.