The Faces of Occupy: Elijah

 Elijah.
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©2012 Paul Davey

I met Elijah a couple of weeks back when I started shooting images at the Occupy LSX camp at St Paul’s Cathedral. I was photographing Indigo, his girlfriend as she sat in the entrance of their tent. Elijah was inside, in the shadows, embellishing some of Indigo’s answers to my questions, as I took shot after shot of her. He was like a colour commentator, allowing Indigo to do most of the talking, to tell their version of the truth. Eventually, he emerged into the daylight and we chatted together for a while. I was more interested in getting pictures than what we spoke about. I photographed them together and separately, but had no real idea of exactly what I was going to do with the images.

  Elijah and Indigo.
Click to enlarge
©2012 Paul Davey

I visited the camp several more times and on occasion spotted Elijah or Indigo in the distance, but I was busy with other photographs and didn’t approach them. Clearly they were long-term residents in the camp.

Finally having decided to do a series, The Faces of Occupy, I came back to the camp with the intention to photograph and interview my subjects. I arrived at the camp to find residents dismantling the kitchen and parts of the “Tech Tent” and loading their precious, mismatched, disparate components that most people would classify as junk, into a van.

The day before, February 22^nd, the camp had lost its High Court appeal against eviction and were packing up some of their more valuable items and moving them offsite.

I wandered around the camp snapping off the occasional image – there are rich photographic pickings to be had.  I came across Elijah and Indigo sitting beside the Tea Tent in camping chairs.  They remembered me – and greeted me warmly – as warmly as eighteen year-olds greet any forty-something from the same generation as their parents.

Elijah obliged and agreed to my five-minute interview. 

First name: Elijah.

Age: 18

How long have you been in the camp?

Since day one.

What were you doing before you joined the Occupy camp?

I was travelling in Germany and joined the Occupy Berlin camp. Before that, I was studying in Australia.

Do you have a specialist role in the camp?

I help facilitate camp-related meetings.

What compelled you to become an Occupier?

The tyranny of the rich over the working class, and the impoverishment of the third world by the powerful.

How will you as an individual make a difference?

Through honesty. Through speaking my mind, as a spokesperson for the oppressed and sharing my personal views.

Who is your Enemy Number One?

The greedy upper class

Why?

They hoard wealth whilst their workers are impoverished.

Who do you admire?

Jeff Buckley

Why?

Too many cat stealing all the bread

What is the best part of being in Occupy?

It’s the all-encompassing work experience. You meet anyone and everyone. I’ve learnt a lot of lessons – we all have – and there are mistakes we’ve made that won’t be repeated.

What is the worst part of being in Occupy?

Fighting within the community.

Is Occupy making a noticeable difference?

Yes.

How so?

It has sparked hundreds of conversations. Issues are being discussed.

Anything Else?

People need to communicate more.  We need more honest conversations. We lack the willingness to communicate.

Elijah, like any good young revolutionary, plays guitar. His song was obscene but funny, about being in love with a crack whore.

Click to enlarge
©2012 Paul Davey

Copyright © 2009 Paul R Davey. All photographs, text and artworks in this portfolio are copyrighted and owned by the artist, Paul R Davey unless otherwise stated. Any reproduction, modification, publication, transmission, transfer, or exploitation of any of the content, for personal or commercial use, whether in whole or in part, without written permission from the artist is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

NO to FIFA World Cup in South Africa!

As thousands of Zimbabweans lie dying of cholera in various provinces around the country - and now in neighbouring countries too - the world is at last starting to take notice. Yes, the unfolding humanitarian disaster that has been happening for ten long years is finally being taken seriously.

How so? Well, Mr Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has said Mugabe is very naughty or something similar. Mr Obama has been quiet, but I expect some words post-inauguration. Mr Bush has said Mugabe is very naughty too, probably after Ms Condi Rice told him who Mugabe was and showed him this place called Africa, an island off the coast of Florida.

But yes, its been ten years of agonised cries for help by a population suffering terribly at the hands of one of the most evil people to ever walk the surface of the planet.

South Africa, the regional powerhouse has for the last ten years led the 'mediation' between Mugabe's ZanuPF and Tsvangirai's MDC. Mbeki's "quiet diplomacy" has for ten years failed. For ten years we have all been pointing out the absolutely, totallly and irrefutably obvious, that "quiet diplomacy" is the very LAST thing needed to remove a recognised genocidal butcher from power.

In fact, I believe "quiet diplomacy" is the carefully and deliberately applied slow-death torture that Thabo Mbeki has enjoyed inflicting, together with his cohort Mugabe on Zimbabweans. They have acted in collusion. After ten years, that is obvious. Mbeki has reinforced Mugabe's position time and time again. He feels and the ANC feels, that they owe Mugabe a favour; that his loyalty to the ANC during the Apartheid era must now be repaid at all costs.

The truth is, Mugabe did not help the ANC. It was us, the people of Zimbabwe who all helped the ANC. The very same people who are now suffering at the inactive hands of the ANC. Mugabe put our country at the ANC's disposal. Our country, not his country.

And this is the basic fault with African politics. History has shown time and time again, right across Africa, that most of the leaders never seem to realise that they lead a people. They look at only themselves as important, and see only counterparts as important. And the reason is simple. They help each other to subvert freedoms, to keep democracy at arms length. Mugabe helped Mbeki; Mbeki's quiet diplomacy has helped Mugabe. Mugabe helped Mobuto Sese Seko of Zaire, then rapidly switched to helping his replacement, Laurent Kabila. He helped Marxist President Samora Machel bring Mozambique to its knees, fighting off the pesky concept of democracy. He mollycoddled the utterly useless President Kaunda of Zambia... there are more... the club of incompetents all wrecking Africa in a circle-jerk of self -importance, greed and corruption.

But it is South Africa where the spotlight falls. South Africa has the regional influence to dramatically change the course of history in any of its neighbouring countries. It should have used its influence in 2000, nipping in the bud what was a very nasty situation even then. Instead, it chose to side with the Mugabe rather than with Zimbabwe.

Now, when South Africa prepares to pose and preen on the world stage as World Cup hosts, its neighbour has to suffer the dreadful consequences of its inaction. Any firm action taken by South Africa now would be welcomed, but it will have been too late. Mugabe should have been dealt with in 2000. There is simply no excuse.

African leaders, very wrongly, enjoy a lot of leeway when it comes to their governance and moral conduct. They are forgiven a lot (just look at Mugabe's genocide which everyone swept under the carpet). And because they are forgiven for one thing, they carry on and do something worse until they are all behaving like... like... ummm well, African Leaders.

Time to stop it. South Africa must be made to utiliuse its influence. What possible harm can be done over and above that which is already being done by Mugabe? South Africa must act as it did years ago to bring the Rhodesian crisis to an end or if it would rather carry on supporting Mugabe and his (really quite small) band of thugs, then it must lose the right to host the World Cup. There are other more deserving, more democratically free countries, to host the tournament. Let voting South Africans suffer the consequences of their leaders' inaction, the consquences of electing to power a party that would rather support a dictator than his desperate people, and let it be an example to the rest of the swine that rule in Africa. This is no misdemeanour we're talking of. Its a crime against humanity. All 13 million of us Zimbabweans. South Africa could have, should have helped avert it.

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I have little doubt that many South Africans will feel I'm being rather unfair. Let me just offer a word of caution: I have seen Zimbabwe squander its freedom. Our voters allowed our leaders to ride roughshod, first over tiny freedoms, then later (when it was too late) anything they chose. Right Now South Africans need to get a grip of their freedom because I see the signs of it being wasted. You've set your standards too low. Expect better from your leaders, expect better from your ANC - and watch them like a hawk! They are way too powerful - just like ZanuPF.