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| Article |
| Poverty & Charity in the
Early Twentieth Century |
During the Autumn of 1918 in the
wake of the First World War, Cape Town was
hit with a major epidemic of influenza known as 'the Spanish 'flu'. At its
peak, 250 people were buried each day and a sense of crisis pervaded the whole
city. Over 4,600 people died - representing a huge mortality rate of 35 per
1000 people.
Relief operations began, comprising of district committees that dispensed free
food and medicine. White Capetonians prided themselves on the integrated effort
to tackle the epidemic, but the high death rate shed light on the levels of
poverty that had developed since the turn of the century.
During the Great War, the rate of urbanisation had risen, as had the cost of
living, but no houses had been built. Young coloured women, most of whom were
employed in factories, were pushed out of their homes in the evenings due to
over-crowding.
White middle class women observed their presence on their streets as there was
little alternative recreation. The Marion Institute was established by an
Anglican Sister in District Six as a club offering singing, dancing and night
school to provide an alternative to the streets.
In the 1920s there was an economic depression and unemployment
rose in the Cape Town area. Poverty was exacerbated by high food prices in the
Cape, due to the tariffs placed on agricultural production to support Afrikaner
farmers.
Applications from white men seeking work rose as high as 30,000 during the
depression. Debate about poverty between the wars tended to focus on poor
whites, yet in relative terms they were substantially better off than many
coloured families. Poverty and unemployment led to a rise in
crime and drug abuse.
Families with young children and the elderly were particularly hard off, and
their difficulties were often exacerbated by debts, particularly after the
introduction of hire purchase. By 1939, the middle classes had begun to comment
on the growth of peri-urban squatters in the Windermere and Retreat areas of
the Cape Flats.
In 1941 severe flooding on the Cape Flats provoked social
action, including the formation of soup kitchens and a Flood Relief Board. Mary
Attlee, sister of the future British prime minister, helped to form the Cape
Flats Distress Association (CAFDA) with a 'native representative' in the Senate
as president. Students from UCT also became involved in basic health and
welfare facilities, leading to the formation of the Student Health and Welfare
Committee (SHAWCO). Both organisations remain large and active to this day.
The '39-'45 war brought convoys of ships through Cape Town which greatly
boosted the demand for food (fresh and canned) and clothes. Although this
boosted the economy it also led to rising food prices and the replacement of
white bread with the 6d national loaf, described as 'tasting like damp
sawdust'. Meat and fish became scarce and the price of potatoes rose
dramatically.
Protests about food shortages were made and in 1943 the trade
unions and women's organisations demanded better management of the food
supplies. Smuts wanted to avoid rationing on the grounds that it was more
difficult in a country with 'its different classes of population'. Frustrated
by the lack of action, housewives marched upon Parliament to demand food
rationing and a ministry of food. The result was price controls at Salt River
Market and mobile markets in poorer districts.
Petrol and tyre rationing severely affected private car owners
and public transport. However, employment was boosted by the construction of
the new Duncan dock, and of the repair base at Wingfield aerodrome
The economic crisis, and the resulting social consequences, led to the
professionalisation of relief work through the establishment of the Cape Town
and Wynberg General Board of Aid, and the appointment of sociology and social
work professors at Cape Town and Stellenbosch universities. Some liberals
advocated a welfare state, but
their voices were lost in the face of apartheid.
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