#Feedourcrew,
supported by DWR Distribution’s SOS Charity
Fund, are hoping to give a final push to
raise funds internationally for event
industry freelancers and theatre technicians
in South Africa. This very hardworking and
dedicated group of people have struggled to
put food on the table during the national
lockdown due to Covid-19 lockdown. Nicole
Barnes of DWR paints a picture of the sad
situation so many people are facing.
In late
December 2019, reports about a strange pneumonia
affecting some provinces in China seemed of
little significance to us in South Africa.
However, for those of us with colleagues and
friends in China, the desperate calls for masks
and other health-related supplies by mid to late
January 2020 brought the issue a little closer
to home.
Weeks later,
news spread of people falling ill and dying in
Europe, the UK and America and, in what felt
like a blink of an eye, the world suddenly and
irrevocably changed. One heartbeat later and the
World Health Organisation confirmed that we were
dealing with a world-wide pandemic, and no
country would be left unscathed.
In early
March, the first rumblings started that the
South African Government would be implementing a
range of measures to mitigate the risks posed by
the unknown disease in South Africa. Companies
in the events sector saw the first in a slew of
event cancellations, as rumours grew that South
Africans who had recently travelled to affected
countries were testing positive for the virus.
Before we knew it, all schools were closed and
gatherings greater than 50 people were banned.
In that moment, every stakeholder in the events
industry was forced to come to terms with the
reality that our industry would be the first to
feel the impact and would likely be the last to
recover from the economic tsunami set off by the
Covid-19 quake.
On 15 March,
President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed our worst
fears, and declared a national state of
disaster. The government implemented a
nation-wide lockdown, effectively confining
every citizen to their homes for four
weeks.
While the
lockdown was deemed necessary to give the
Government time to prepare the country’s health
sector for the onslaught of the pandemic, Kagiso
Masimini of Black Motion Productions, identified
another immediate and urgent threat. “There are
hundreds of freelance technicians that rely on
events to make a living. This army of highly
skilled, dedicated and hard-working
professionals make a living from gig to gig.
While often ignored by labour movements and
government departments, and little appreciated
by those who enjoy events, without them there
would be no national celebrations, concerts,
corporate or sporting events in South Africa or
anywhere in the world,” he points out.
Kagiso
realised the enormity of the crisis about to hit
the events industry, and released a series of
videos, aimed at the Presidency, to highlight
the plight of those that rely on events to make
a living in the wake of the lockdown
regulations. As days turned to weeks, the pleas
for help started coming in from technicians all
over the country, and it quickly became apparent
that the industry would have to take matters
into its own hands.
Technical
Production Manager at MGG, Tamsyn Strydom,
contacted Kagiso about the work that he was
doing, and together with Gomolemo Madumo, Landy
Yeatman, Marcia Alves, Sasha Raubenheimer,
Vickie Whitehead and Daria Higgins they decided
to establish a temporary fund to try to support
those most in need. “Once we had made up our
minds to do something, it took about two days to
get the fund up and running,” Tamsyn points out.
“It would never have been possible without the
support we received from Landy Yeatman, as her
organisation People4Purpose provided the legal
framework that we needed to run as an NGO,”
Tamsyn adds. “It also grew with additional
people stepping in to help like Debra Batzofin
and Duncan Riley of DWR Distribution and the SOS
Charity Fund.”
Over the
past two months, the #FeedOurCrew initiative has
been able to provide shopping vouchers for over
350 families, who’s primary breadwinners are no
longer able to make a living due to the closing
of the events industry. “The #FeedOurCrew fund
has raised R280 000. Originally each recipient
was given a voucher for R1000. Due to dwindling
funds and a huge increase in applications, we
are now giving recipients vouchers of R500 each.
This has helped just over 350 freelance
technicians that are currently completely
without any form of income and do not qualify
for UIF,” says Tamsyn.
As the
crisis deepened, donations are drying up as both
businesses and individuals in the sector are
running out of funds themselves. To date,
government relief has not addressed any of the
needs of the industry, despite multiple appeals.
At the initiation of the hard lockdown, The
Department of Arts and Culture announced a
relief fund to be distributed among affected
persons in the industry, and not a single
freelance technician has benefited to date.
“We have
done everything that we can as an industry to
support our most vulnerable colleagues,” says
Tamsyn. “Unfortunately, we are only able to do
so much, and an institutional response is
desperately needed.”
As the
majority of South Africans return to work under
Level 3 lockdown regulations, the events
industry remains firmly behind bars. If the
pandemic follows the trajectory predicted by
analysts, there are unlikely to be any events in
South Africa until at least the first quarter of
2021. Unfortunately, if government and the
private sector ignores the plight of the
technical events industry, there will be nothing
left by the time that we reach level 0 of the
phased lockdown approach.
If one
reflects on South Africa’s greatest moments as a
free nation, images of Nelson Mandela’s iconic
inauguration come to mind. As does the glorious
celebration of our nation during the FIFA 2010
World Cup. We remember when artists around the
world raised their voices against the
devastating effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in
South Africa and across the world during the
46664 concerts in 2003. We recall with pride as
people from every corner of the globe joined
some of the world’s leading artists in a
humanitarian call to action during the Global
Citizen Festival in 2018. Not one of these
moments would have been possible without the
hard work and dedication of freelance
technicians, production companies, lighting
designers, sound engineers, riggers and stage
hands – who are always the first to arrive on
site and the very last to leave.
The theatre,
and the technicians who make it possible to
stage work, played a seminal role in our
country’s journey from tyranny to freedom. Works
by Athol Fugard, John Kani and others, brought
our stories to audiences across the world during
our darkest hours and offered opportunity for
social healing in the years after apartheid.
More recently, Aubrey Sekhabi’s Marikana
the Musical furthered the debate
about ongoing injustice in our country. As we
all question our individual rights versus the
State’s measures to curb a disaster, the theatre
offers a platform for social healing as it has
always done – unless there is nobody left to
turn on the lights and lift the curtain!
South Africa
is unique in our ability to rise up over
adversity, to join hands in song and celebrate –
no matter how desperate the situation. Our
ability to sing and dance in the face of
disaster is the glue that holds our nation
together. We are at risk of forever removing the
bonds that make that glue work, unless
Government delivers on the promises it has made
and corporate South Africa heeds our distress
call.
We call on
every person who has ever attended a concert,
theatre show, political rally, religious
gathering, football game, rugby match, a play,
festival, or corporate event to please
contribute today and make an invest in this
nation’s joy tomorrow!
