Tasmi Quazi
Local Durban blogger, Jenna Kelly, visited the Markets of Warwick Tours and captured her experience through a candid narrative and a strikingly studied array of images in her blog, The Girl with a Bum.
She writes:
If anyone had ever told me that one day I’d be prancing around the depths of Warwick Junction, brazenly flashing my beloved Canon SLR, I would have asked you what you were smoking.
…I had expected an environment of chaos and mass produced Chinese goods. What I got was a nine market extravaganza of traditional medicine, bead work, foods and crafts. The markets are a thriving metropolis of its own that I ignorantly turned away from for the entire time I’ve been living in KZN. Little did I know that this informal trade post is pretty much the pulse of the city centre and an integral part of Durban’s culture and economy.
…Warwick markets are surprisingly safe, due to the internal measures taken by traders. The crime affected them as much as the victims, so the community has since rallied up to deal with thieves, making crime minimal. I would highly recommend getting a group together and taking the tour. Only then will you truly know Durban and something this prominent, needs community support. Let’s stamp out some ignorance here kids!”
Click here to view the full article. To read more about the award winning Markets of Warwick Tours, click here. Better yet, to experience the tour for you or as a group of friends, colleagues or students, click here.
More about “The Girl with a Bum”
Jenna Kelly has a Law degree and is now working in the Marketing field. She has a passion for blogging about Durban and its hidden gems such as Warwick Junction. It was while she interned with the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) that she was exposed to the Markets of Warwick Junction. In partnership with Asiye eTafuleni, LRC has been involved in assisting “informal” traders with legal matters, for instance, through retaining their rights against ruthless police enforcement, halting of the building of a proposed Mall that would have displaced “informal” traders’ livelihoods, and in developing a case against the proposed Business Licensing Bill that could potentially hinder “informal” work.
