Active Waiting at the Mine Recruitment Centre: Youth, Unemployment and Everyday Contention in Bethanie
Kefuoe Makena
Bethanie, home to the Bakwena ba Mogopa community, is sitting on vast mineral deposits. In September 2018, a protest erupted, highlighting issues of unemployment, lack of service delivery and underdevelopment in the community. While protests have taken place in Bethanie before, 2018 saw a shift in repertoire with youth taking the lead. For many people, this protest was surprisingly militant. This working paper explores various protests and moments of contention that have manifested in Bethanie. More importantly, it takes a closer look at the job recruitment centre where the youth actively wait for employment. By introducing the concept of active waiting in Bethanie, this paper explores how young people’s shared consciousness, grief, loss, and mobilisation have been at the centre of raising challenges in the community. This concept is further used to explore the collectivisation of the youth and their individual social aspirations.
