I don’t feel part of this country. It’s for the whites and the darkies. And then they still want the Western Cape as well They are often racist towards me.

The problem is Coloureds don’t stick together, they think they can pick on us, because we don’t stand together and stand up for each other.

—- Charamaine, Mitchell’s Plain 25 years

They kyk you skeef when you walk in Cape Town like you’re a criminal or somethign. You’re in the shop like everyone else to window shop, but they follow you around the store.

They never do that to white people.

—— Brandon, Lavender Hill, 23 years

The other day I went to leave my CV at supermarket for a cashier job. Their attitude changes when they see where you live. Like all Manenberg people are the same. You know already they won’t call you. I guess I could lie about where I live, but why should I?

—– Tesia Lee

A matric means nothing. I got mine 4 years ago and still haven’t found work, except for a casual job with a marketing company. That was only for a month. There are black kids who have lekker jobs without a matric.

—- Pamela, Hanover Park, 21 years

I don’t like politics, I used to belong to the UDF in the old apartheid days, but look where that got us. All those guys got top jobs and live in mansions. I am a Christian and I believe in uplifting our community. We must save teh youth from drugs and teenage pregnancies. Many of these political parties claim to be Christians, but that’s only for show and to get our vote. The bible warns against people like that. They are all a disappointment.

—- Aunty Margie, Sherwood Park

I take drugs and I belong to a gang, but not all the time. Sometimes I get a job with my uncle on the trucks. We go places like Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, but that’s only about 3 months. My mom sends me with him to keep me from the gangs, but she doesn’t understand all these guys were at school with me. We used to go to the same church. My buddies and I had a hip hop group together once. We even cut a CD. But then our lead singer guy was killed in a shootout. We broke up because they said were a gang and rest of us will also be killed. But it’s not true, we used to do Christian gospel hip hop and rap…not that rough Tupac stuff.

—– Reginald, Heideveld, 19 years

I ask you honestly meneer what is the difference between political parties and us gangsters? At least in a gang Coloured people stick together, that’s our way. Whities stick together in places and the Xhosas as well. When they try to destory the Coloureds in a war, we will be able to defend our people. I never let the cops take my gun from me, because they want to leave Coloureds unarmed. Nooit! Ek skiet hulle vrek meener.

—– Jody “The Sugar Tolly”, Manenberg, 22

So what would you like to hear? That I am a ganster? Well, I’m not. My brothers are, but not me. I don’t smaak the way they portray us in the newspapers. I look after my family. You have a choice. I don’t even smoke cigarettes, it’s for stupid people.

I am proud of the Coloured people and our history, but the others here don’t see it. They want to be like the white man and now they want to imitate the black man as well. They are confused. We got a beautiful Christian and Muslim culture here. Instead of letting the foreigners to take money out of our community, we must start our own businesses where we help each other.

—– Solly, Hanover Park, 28 years

I came out of jail two years ago and can’t find a job. I sell fruit and veg sometimes.

It’s difficult to get a job with a criminal record. I am open with my 13 year-old daughter that I made a mistake and she must learn from my mistakes. But her mothers puts a lot of stories in her head that aren’t true. You can’t pay for a mistake forever.

I will have a dop sometimes but no drugs. I am a Moslem guy who drinks which is geraam, but my mother was a Christian. It’s nogal difficult here to completely clean, but I’m not a gangster.

—– Dicky, 28 years

It difficult getting an interview for a job with an Hanover Park address. It makes me fucking angry sometimes. We support these businesses as customers. Our money is good enough but not as workers. I feel sorry for the Coloured youngsters of tomorrow. They will have to deny who they are to get jobs. It’s not fair. This favouritism is often “uppity” Coloured people to curry favour with the black managers and people like that. It’s them I hate the most. They don’t even talk like Coloured any longer. They are not sure if they want to sound like Bishops Court or Langa.

—– Deidre, Lavender Hill

My fmaily are druglords, but we don’t hurt anybody…at least they buy it from us and not that crap the Nigerians sell. People are just fucking jealous of us. We give lots of money to schools to support their fetes and bazaars. You tell me who else does that?

You people can say what you want to, but you all rock up here after hours on a Friday. Lots of people are just dishonest and skynheilig. Do we force people to come here? Go to whitey in Camps Bay if you don’t smaak us. We put laaities through school when their toppies can’t afford it. It’s not different from the liquor store in the whitey areas who put fokkol back into the communities. We got a policy. We don’t sell to children no matter what.

—– Yunah P, Vanguard Estate

I am a musician and teach music. I used to be an addict and I still live in this township. I am not trained or educated. I teach these kids what I know. I can play any instrument under the sun. I learnt it in church when I was a child. We Coloureds are very muscial, but we fuck it all up with drugs. We want to be like those American superstars. Look what been a superstar brought me: only misery to my family because of drugs, until I lost them all. I want to stop these youngsters from doing the same, but it’s hard. They are in the clutches of these druggies. I learnt the hard way you either a musician or you’re a druggie. You can’t be both. Those drugs will swallow up your talent. These druggies hate me because I want to show them another way.

—– Hylton, Mitchell’s Plain

These gangsters are my bras brue! We are the genuine Coloureds.

Those ouens who condem the gansters don’t know what the real friendship is. All these girlies like us, because we protect them. We share everything. They want to weaken our commnities by breaking up the gangs. We must not let them. We dont’ allow the Nigerians and the Somalians to move in. They must fight us. Every broker here must come through us. I used to be a DA suppoter but it’s run by people who pretend to like you but only want you to do free work for them. Bullshit! We look after each other.

—– George, Lavender Hill

I used to take part in beauty pageants and organise beauty competitions. The gangsters told me who must win and who mustn’t reach the second round. They started threatening me. I even started carrying a gun to protect me, until they gave me a bodyguard. Then the bodyguard started started stealing from me ad I got arrested for shooting him in the leg. Now they leave me alone. Coloureds are the most beautiful people in the world. We have lots of talent. But the stupid ones only want to be to gangsters, DA supporters and moffies. I hate Hellen Zille, because she such an ugly bitch with a bad perm. When are the Coloureds going to stop voting for ugly white people? They should be voting for me. I will beat the ANC/DA combined.