Photofilm: White Squatters South Africa – The Kuhn family from Matt Tabaccos
Ruyterwacht, Western Cape, South Africa | 2011
George Kuhn (46) sweeps away dirt from the porch of his 5 x 4 ft metal sheeted shack which houses himself, wife Bridget (39) and four children, Brad (13), Jamie Lee (7), Karen (4) and baby Eileen (3 months) at a squatter camp for poor white South Africans in Ruyterwacht, Cape Town.
“The problem with the government is they don’t do enough for people like us” he says. Kuhn is one of many disgruntled poor white South Africans living below the poverty line who feel marginalized under an ANC Led elected government and affirmative action laws introduced since the end of apartheid in 1994.
White poverty in South Africa is estimated at 450,000, 10% of the white population and is a politically sensitive subject that receives little attention in the mainstream media “the same thing is going to happen in South Africa what happened in Rhodesia” says Kuhn, a sentiment echoed within the walls of many white South African households but rarely aired publicly.
Shot and recorded over the duration of a day, this photofilm explores the Kuhn family’s views and existence in a white squatter camp.
BIO – MATT TABACCOS
Is a British photojournalist and multimedia producer who has been primarily based out of Lahore, Pakistan and Johannesburg, South Africa over the duration of the last four years. His work has been published throughout the media spectrum in The Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph , The Sun, ABC News, BBC, The National, MSNBC, Nat Geo TV, RTL, SKY NEWS (TV) The Washington Times and Thomson Reuters.
In 2007, armed with a graphic design and communications background, and a natural curiosity of people and the wider world, Matt up sticks from his executive position in the London media world in exchange for a backpack full of camera equipment and an urge to tell interesting stories.
He has recently returned back to the UK from a 17 month stint in South Africa to actively pursue and collaborate on documentary and investigative media projects that inspire, question and engage audiences to the medium of storytelling.
You can get in touch with Matt @ : mtabaccos@hotmail.com
Or Follow @ : twitter.com/matabaccos
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