Angry, broke and bruised, the wound goes deeper for creatives
Spira Tlhankane | Friday December 11, 2020 15:24
The government tried to patch their sores with the wage relief funds only for the bandages to come off months later. Now, after 10 months of woes and suffering, the creative industry is limping with no clutches, it s finally showing its wounds to the nation, but the cuts go deeper than any disinfectant could reach.
“I was so sad the other day to find out that I cannot buy Tomato Sauce for my child,” uttered a visibly distraught Vee Mampeezy during an unlawful gathering of creatives at GSS Grounds this week.
A day later a legendary Rhumba musician told a horde of crowded creatives and members of the public at Old Naledi in Gaborone that the last time he held a microphone on stage was on New Year’s Eve last year at Fora Farm in Kumakwane village.
Franco who was scheduled to make history by filling up the National Stadium in April used the legal gathering of creatives dubbed ‘Save the creative Industry’ to draw attention to the 'devastating' effect of continued closures within the sector. Franco also said he has hired 35 people who expect him to pay them every month. “I was weighing 95 KG earlier this year but recently when I stepped on that weighing machine it read 75 KG. We are hungry and have been writing letter after letter with no proper response,” he further revealed. He said there is no how he can use money from 50 people to operate a gig that requires paying venue and security among others. Currently the government allows only a maximum of 50 people in any event whether it is a music concert or theatrical event. Many creatives especially musicians warn this is not enough.
Musicians like Franco who use music as a powerful lever for social change this time aired out their sad situations to the public hoping to get a befitting listening ear. While they were sharing their plight to crowd of people in Old Naledi who eventually got carried away and blurred the social distancing boundaries, the creatives’ cries were louder than before. The ‘Save the Creative Industry’ gathering was one of the largest public gatherings in Botswana since coronavirus hit in March.
As normal people who have families and bills to pay, creatives have finally come together, found a common voice. They are now calling on the government to open their industry while social distancing restrictions and other Covid-19 protocols remain. Creatives want to go back to work and say they will pledge to be ambassadors for health and safety. They feel that they have been left to rot in a corner, ATI was the first to try to galvanise it but months later others have joined the movement trying to bring their plight to the fore. ATI said as people they are one and have the same concerns. “We all want to live, we all want to survive, we all want to eat,” he said. He said he was glad that artists put competition aside and taken the war to people.
The COVID-19 task team led by Dr Kereng Masupu which is supposed to decide when it is safe for the entertainment sector to go out to play again has not come at all for the arts. For the 10th month now, enforced closures and social-distancing measures have left creatives high and dry, in an impossible economic position.
One of the organisers of the gathering in Old Naledi Tshere said everyday creatives call asking for something to eat. “They haven’t paid rent and other bills. We have tried to humbly share these dire situations with the government but they have opened for other sectors except us,” he said. Tshere was disappointed with people who suggested that they find alternative employment. “Being creatives is our job. I left my former as a teacher to become an artist. We are angry, we are hungry and fed up, we have lost our patience,” he emphasized. For people who spent years perfecting their talent to be what they are today, he said it really hurts to be at the bottom of the pile.
Still at the event, Vee Mampeezy added that for a long time he supported Old Naledi Traditional group Mafitlhakgosi but he can’t do it anymore because he cannot make any money for himself anymore. “Many lives in this sector have been affected, some people have lost their partners and families have been torn apart as a result of this financial situation. We are not going be killed by this disease, we are going to die of hunger and starvation,” he highlighted. Vee Mampeezy has since been charged with two counts of holding an unlawful meeting and flouting Covid-10 restrictions.
The minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Culture Development Tumiso Rakgare has in the past recognised the 'devastating impact' coronavirus had had on the arts and insisted the government was doing everything they can. “Rakgare stop ignoring us,” read some of the banners at the gathering.
With most gigs still stuck in a shadowy and silent motionlessness, and coronavirus restrictions getting tighter as the holidays approach, it's an unlikely time for the entertainment industry to be opening their doors again.
It is clear that a thoughtful reconsideration is required therefore the creatives demand Masupu and company got to spin ideas around and appreciate the social role of the arts in the public dominion, where coming together, in night clubs, theatres, and stadiums is an essential part of public life.
The artists used the Old Naledi rally to outline the perilous state of the creative industry. While government says the entertainment industry must stay shut in line with current advice to control the virus it is no doubt that the creative scene is definitely an incredible part of Botswana’s cultural and economic force. With the country already in distress with youth unemployment, creative workers have officially joined a growing army of the unemployed.