Cascoland Journal
Monday 13 March
For a young person living in a Capetown township it is often a thin
line between becoming a gangster or a respected resident. Peer pressure
forces too many youths to become what they actually don´t want to
be. A gangster. Asanda Gonya, one of the local Cascolanders, tells us
about his personal fight to be what he wanted to be.
He might only be 20 years old but Asanda Gonja´s childhood, like
so many other youths in New Crossroads, has never been an easy one. Growing
up in a neighborhood that had one of the worst reputations when it comes
to gangsterism in Capetown suburbia, he fought hard to get respect for
the things he loved.
There are several reasons why Asanda never got involved in the gangster
life, which is still so common in the suburbs of Capetown. Even though
he, like many other youth in New Crossroads got the full exposure of it,
a kind of stubbornness kept him out of trouble. He says: ´As a small
kid I admired these gangsters who were living close to my grandmothers
house. But I had an older brother who was an athlete and he was very popular.
Almost every week he would come home with medals. I think he used to be
my mothers favorite and that also gave me a competitive spirit. His example
kept me clean and took me away from crime. Just like my brother, I wanted
to proof I was just as special to my mother.´
Regretfully his brother died at a young age in a gang related stabbing
incident. But the spirit to become something special had already taken
root in Asanda. The example of his brother taught him that to excel in
something, could be a ticket out of a dangerous lifestyle. He says: ´I
still remember vividly that we better not go to Guguletu township. We
would run the risk that somebody would stop us to ask us where we came
from. If we said New Crossroads we would be in trouble. So at a very young
age I realized that my neighborhood was a notorious one. People used to
say: `New Crossroads is a place where you become a gangster´.
Following into his brothers footsteps Asanda started playing table tennis.
He was good at it and before he knew it he was on a nation wide tour.
His self-esteem grew. Others around him, however, didn´t like that.
He says: ´Because I did not drink alcohol and was not chasing girls
I got a lot of pressure from my peers. They would say that I wanted to
be better than them. I realized that I was not free to express myself
or have my own opinion. Because of that I chose to stay indoors a lot
and watch TV. That medium became my best friend.´
His life changed for the better when he joined high school. Because of
the love for film that he had developed by watching TV, it was only logical
for him to initiate a film club at his new school. He says: ´We
started watching lots of African films. Around that time I also wrote
my first poem, which was called ´´confused´´.
It was about the fact that I wasn´t allowed to express myself freely
because of peer pressure. One day, visitors from Switzerland came to our
school. I was asked to recite a poem. I performed ``confused``. That made
me very popular at school. Other boys would come and ask me to write a
poem when they had problems with their girlfriends and wanted to make
up with them.´
Before Cascoland Asanda was involved in setting up the dance & drama
group BLASP. After Asanda finishes his work with Cascoland as a coordinator
of the Mobile TV Festival he is going to set up some table tennis clubs
in the townships and he will start making his first short film. The story
is about a father who puts too much pressure on his son to become a soccer
star. He says: ´I have this gift of storytelling. Even though it
is hard growing up in a township you get lots of life experience at a
very young age. With my film I want to give people hope. By telling stories
of day-to-day life I might be able to play a role in changing the world
for the better.´ If he finishes his film on time it will be shown
at the second edition of the Youth Film Festival in Nyanga. His work might
inspire other youngsters in New Crossroads to believe in themselves. And
dare to do what they want, without giving into peer pressure.
Asanda wiht blasp
Asanda at his grandmothers place
