Tale of a migrant
In a sad yet hilarious presentation, Thokozani Kapiri from Nanzikambe Art Development Organisation, and the 2008 DFL Honours programme narrates the story of a young Nyasa (Malawian) migrant’s difficult journey from a poverty stricken life selling groundnuts in Blantyre to seek greener pastures in Egoli (Johannesburg).
From the first scene the young Nyasa is portrayed as an enterprising individual constrained by the economic conditions in his home country. In desperation the young man resorts to selling groundnuts to make a living, this is until his encounter with a an uncle who drives trucks on the Blantyre – Johannesburg route.
The uncle leaves him with his Johannesburg number, ‘with a lot of digits’, and the young man views it as his passport to the good life. From this moment the play accurately portrays today’s society, where everything has a price, even a phone number. He has to pay his uncle for the phone number and this is to characterize the rest of his voyage.
Home affairs officials at the Mozambican, Zimbabwean and South African borders all demand bribes to stamp his passport and let him through. The only difference being the amount demanded at each post. Unsurprisingly the amount demanded gets higher as he gets closer to his destination. He gets arrested on his first night in the big city. With time things get a little better and he manages to earn some money. He sends part of it back home to his mother.
However he quickly becomes comfortable with Jozi life and starts clubbing and spending money on prostitutes.
The play ends with the young man having returned home to Blantyre once again selling groundnuts on the streets after fleeing xenophobic violence. The story touches on a number of pertinent issues affecting all immigrants. As is the case for most migrants seeking greener pastures in Jozi, there is no pot of gold at the end of the young Nyasa’s rainbow. It highlights the poverty and the economic woes throughout the region, corruption infesting all levels of society, issues of governance, xenophobia, family breakdowns and diseases.
The issue of the HIV/Aids pandemic is only dealt with in one short but lasting instance when the Nyasaboy throws away a condom before having unprotected sex with a plump looking South African woman saying “to hell with South African statistics on HIV status” in the belief that such a nice looking prostitute could not be infected by the virus.
Through the appropriate use of music and costume the one man show depicts different countries and characters that the protagonist encounters.
By Kuda and Tush