A festive farce of ironies

NATHAN’S Pier frames Umhlanga Beach in yuletide festivity as visibly working class families nibble fried chicken and quaff fizzy drinks that match the effervescent sprays of the restless ocean.

- KIRU NAIDOO

IN the township of Ocean View, scarred by gang violence, poverty and hardship, more than 400 children experienced a day of pure delight at a Christmas party organised by resident Nadia Petersen and her nonprofit organisation, Groundbreakers. Children, many from families grappling with unemployment and danger on the streets, beamed as they played together and received wrapped presents, moments of childhood joy that stand in stark contrast to their everyday realities. I ARMAND HOUGH Independent Newspapers

(ARMAND HOUGH Independent Newspapers)

The jolly scene is crowned by a striking whalebone carcass artistically oxidizing in the salty wind and carefully cradling in its bowels teeming crowds seeking respite from the scorching sands and blistering sun.

Excited chatter in Sesotho cuts through the air. The first sight of the sea for the excited infants, perhaps? The melodious northern tongue is unfamiliar in these parts save for Christmas when Jo'burg descends on Durban like an invasion of merry ants. A smile is enough to trigger a conversation: “Jozi people, welcome to the kingdom.”

The ice is broken and there’s more in the ubiquitous cooler box. The pleasantries quickly shift to MK Party leader Jacob Zuma and Monday's fracas in the chamber. “Yoh, yoh, yoh,” takes the place of Santa’s “Ho, ho, ho.”

The visitors whip out mobile phones to show frame by frame, the MK Party defending democracy with their buttocks against the nuisance of a swarm of policemen and a rule-book-thumping Speaker of the House.