Small stories from a big world

I have a day off today as it is election day. I drink a cup of coffee. The table wobbles. The waiter looks for a solution. You don't have card board coasters here as in Belgium. On the fence across the street a banner of the Independent Election Commission. It indicates there is a polling station on the premises. I passed several of them during my walk here. At all of them, people were lining up. Outside I see some party posters, mostly from the Democratic Alliance (DA) ‘save South Africa’ and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) ‘land and jobs now! - stop loadshedding!’ It is unclear what the election result will be. In recent years, the share of the ANC -the majority party since the first democratic elections in 1994- systematically declined. Will that trend continue, and if so, how low will the ANC share fall? Is the new party, MK, with former president Zuma a serious threat? No idea. Among people I talk to about these elections, I feel some resignation (as in Belgium?): not know...

  Durban CBD and harbour at sunrise Basking myself in the warm glow of the sun's rays broken by an orange parasol. In front of me a glass of water. I am waiting for my lasagna. Behind me the buzz of a busy restaurant, half inside, half outside on the terrace and pavement. Across the street, the grass illuminates bright green in the sun. Here and there the dark shade of giant trees. This is Durban. The city I have been traversing for a week now in search of a suitable home. I realise that what I have seen so far is only a slice of this gigantic city, a carefully selected slice, where it is safe for me to move around. But what a place this is. How different from Kigali. Less well organised, less clean, less safe, for sure. But also much less sterile, much more vibrant and diverse. It is nice to be back in a place where people greet enthusiastically on the street or in the shop, where public space is alive and vibrant. Across the street, a family is having a picnic in the park. I ...