My patience was tested not too long after that when I took an Uber to work. Unfortunately for me, my driver was one of those annoying distant family members – one of those people whom you’d always want to avoid. That morning, I was in a rush and I didn’t have the luxury to cancel the trip to request another driver. It was actually a Monday morning. Although I was dikbek (moody), I forced myself to be courteous and exchange pleasantries with the Boeta (uncle). The drive went fairly okay – at first. We spoke so lekker (well) about our lives, and how our immediate families were.
Then, as we stopped at the first red robot, the Boeta peered up at his rear-view mirror and shot me with – and yes, you’ve guessed correctly – “Maar jy’t eintlik vet geword”. It didn’t stop there. The Boeta continued with, “En jy’t nou ’n vet gevriet, nè!” (And you now have a fat face, eh!). He even gave off a slight giggle after that second comment. That “huh huh huh” still sounds so vividly in my ears. Yoh! (Wow!) I wish I could express the list of colourful language that spun through my head after he made that dreadful comment. The nerve of that Boeta to tell me that I had ’n vet gevriet (a fat face).
But, again, I kept my cool. I knew that he had sadly run out of things to say to me. Maybe I should’ve reminded him that he had seen me last when I was a teenager, and of course I was going to look different. Instead, as I stepped out of his car, I gave him a lekker vet (nice and fat) one-star for that Uber trip – the one star being as fat as my gevriet!
Zubayr Charles grew up in the picture-postcard neighbourhood of the Bo-Kaap. He teaches English First Language at the Good Hope Seminary High School and coordinates the school's drama club. At the same time, he is busy with his master's degree in creative writing at UCT. 'I write short stories, but I also consider myself a poet and playwright. In 2019 I showcased my first play dealing with gender-based violence The Battered Housewives' Club.' Zubayr is in the process of self-publishing an anthology of poems on the topic of the gentrification of the Bo-Kaap. Zubayr was hesitant about submitting his work to the Kommadagga panel. 'I have learnt that reading is subjective and people can either really like or dislike one's writing. So, I wasn't sure how the panellists would respond to my submission. When I received the good news, it was humbling because, although I have grown more confident in my writing, I wasn't sure about the reaction I would receive.' The short story he submitted deals with many of the taboos that millennials in Cape Town struggle with and that older and more conservative generations may not necessarily warm towards. 'I feel extremely honoured to be part of this programme and I hope to improve my writing in order to continue sharing the stories of the marginalised in the Cape Town of today.'
