Friday, June 6, 2025

Michael Wilheim Calitz, nicknamed ‘Willie’ is 26 years old and rents a room in Cinderella Hostel, Boksburg. He works as a street beggar to earn money to support his son, Dillan, who lives with his mother. He is desperate to make enough money and also offers himself for sexual acts with men. If he does not provide maintenance for his son he could go to jail. Michael says, “When I was 19 years old, my father passed away. Everything started going wrong in my life. I started taking drugs and became very depressed. I have tried to commit suicide three times”. Cinderella hostel was the migrant worker compound for ERPM Cason Shaft. It is one of many hostels around South Africa that was part of the migrant labour system under Apartheid. The hostels housed men from rural communities who left behind their wives and children to travel long distances to work on the mines. The conditions in these compounds were cramped with up to 19 men per room. These hostels still contribute to the spread of HIV related disease

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