Cape Town's Car Guard

"Immigrants pretty much invented this job about a decade ago, because they found it difficult to secure 'real' jobs in South Africa as they were learning English."

By Nishat Kurwa

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South Africa has always been a major destination for immigrants and refugees from countries like Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Over the past decade...Cape Town has become a booming tourist destination for wealthy foreigners. But it also has its share of residents who struggle to make a living...some in the most unusual ways. Youth Radio's Nishat Kurwa reports from Cape Town on one immigrant's attempt to climb the economic ladder. (January 3 on Marketplace)

On a busy morning in a Cape Town business district, there are cars lined up on this narrow street, waiting to snag a parking space.

SERGE (on tape)
In the morning the parking is terrible here. Full up! No space.

NISHAT
Twenty-one-year-old Serge Tshisumpa came to South Africa from the Democratic Republic of Congo two years ago. Now he works 11-hour days as a car guard.

SERGE (on tape)
Hi guys. How're you? I'm okay, how're you? I'm well thanks.

NISHAT
A car guard is like a valet - minus a boss, a time clock, and a steady paycheck. He's a maestro of traffic management, directing cars in and out of parking spots. But people mostly tip him for just being there, thinking his mere presence will stem car break-ins that are rampant in South African cities. Jackie Holmes is one of Serge's regular customers.

JACKIE (on tape)
What we really like is we get to know his name, and we get to know him, and we know he's going to look after our car. If Serge wasn't here, then there would be, I think, a lot more break-ins.

NISHAT
Car guarding itself is technically illegal. Immigrants pretty much invented this job about a decade ago, because they found it difficult to secure "real" jobs in South Africa as they were learning English.

SERGE (on tape)
Serge: Always busy...so can I wash your car sir?
Nishat: Nobody wants their car washed today?
Serge: Nobody. Keep going keep going keep going!

NISHAT
Serge is full of charisma, keeping track of his clients' vacation plans, and recent car repairs. He’s even socialized with customers, going to dance clubs with them after watching their cars all day.

SERGE (on tape)
So I’ll see you again? I don’t want to keep you waiting. Thanks for the tips and everything.

NISHAT
It's all good business practice. Refugees aren't eligible for government grants, and Serge is hoping this job is his ticket to college. He wants one of his customers to become his patron because he knows other young men who have been sponsored by wealthy Cape Town residents. And Serge is a believer.

But Serge's friend Rafa Klala worked as a car guard too, when he first arrived here, and he felt it was a dead end job. Now he's working as a security guard, paying for his own college education. Rafa wants to convince Serge that getting a patron to pay for college would be like winning the lottery.

RAFA (on tape)
Serge’s situation is a very critical situation. If he spends his years like this, just parking cars it’s not good, it’s not good at all. Obviously, he has to find something else. He can't get married with this kind of job, he can't have a kid with this kind of job because he can't guarantee them any kind of future.

SERGE (on tape)
I always take his advice. But the thing is, it is very difficult for me to get a job.

NISHAT
So Serge keeps guarding cars, convinced it'll pay off.

SERGE (on tape)
I know one day, I will have a life, I will be educated, I will have a good job, and I'll be proud of myself because I learned from the hard way.

NISHAT
That hard way includes meeting people Serge says hate immigrants. They tell him he's stealing money from whites because his job is illegal. But to get what he's looking for, Serge says he has to be humble, accepting everything people dish out, even if it hurts.