NO CHOICE

A project by Sabine Maier (assisting: elffriede, Raymond Marlowe)

 “Either you are prepared to cross the line or you are not prepared to cross the line.
From the mere point of view you are not prepared to cross the line --- but you don’t have any choice; you have to move out even if it costs you a lot of money or even your life.”
(who said this?)

The Central Methodist Church is the only possible home for many Zimbabwean refugees.

The Church is filled to capacity and more than 2 000 Zimbabweans are now living in the streets around the building.

The project ‘No Choice’ describes the passages of some of these Zimbabwean refugees from their hometowns to Johannesburg. These passages are depicted in lines drawn on transparent paper and audio recordings of their recitation of their passage across the border. The process of this project created a form of portrait of the refugees.

In this work the Zimbabweans are non-passive, depicted as strong individual personalities with stories and conflicts. It was my objective to give voice to these people’s stories. Many seemed relieved to tell their stories, releasing the trauma, to someone who was willing to listen.