South Africa 7 Crowding Around Yelling And Arguing

 The filtered sun sets through thick trees with leaves like ferns, draping the rusted and worn playgrounds in embers of warmth. The children seen earlier have gone, replaced by a group of a dozen men crowding around yelling and arguing. The elementary school, with its chain-link barbed-wired fencing retaining the children in its humble grounds, is now quiet, and all that remains is the squawky sound of some unknown birds flying overhead. As I walk through the side-streets I'm nearly jumped by two guard dogs leaping half-way through an absent owner's fence, flashing their teeth at me and growling incessantly. As if the barbed-wire and sharp spike fence weren't enough, I'm also reminded by a sign that the single-story deteriorating bungalow also employs an armed security response.

 Calvin (to be continued)