Steffen Jensen recounts the story of Marwan, whose life is in many ways a reflection of the last 75 years of South African history, having had to navigate the violence of apartheid, prison, the Cape Flat drug wars. Central to his narrative are the notions of damnation and redemption.
When understood in a nuanced manner that goes beyond the usual stereotypes and Manichean representations, gangs and gangsters arguably constituterecounts the story of Marwan, whose life is in many ways a reflection of the last 75 years of South African history, having had to navigate the violence of apartheid, prison, the Cape Flat drug wars. Central to his narrative are the notions of damnation and redemption.
. At the age of 16, in the mid-1970s, he began dealing drugs, quickly acquiring a notorious reputation, allowing him to operate semi-independently of the local gangs.structures. Before the mid-1970s, drugs did not play an important role in gang formation. They were mostly self-defence gangs protecting neighbourhoods against the hostile environment of the new housing estates.
He had just been released from prison after serving a 19-year sentence for multiple charges, including robbery, violence, drug dealing, and shooting a police officer. He was the brother-in-law of my best friend and confidante in Cape Town, Shahiedah. Marwan had heard about my upcoming interview through the local rumour machine. He looked at me, and said gravely, without any context or explanation: ‘In a conflict like this, you cannot stay neutral. Everybody must choose sides’. ‘You too?’, I asked. ‘Also me. Everyone!’.
At one point, he described a court case he was involved in, after being accused of shooting a policeman:
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