Shelley

This is where Shelley comes in. The more I travel across South Africa the more I’m taken aback by the powerful matriarchs which exist in our society fighting for justice whose stories are often untold.

Shelley (pictured last) was born to an Irish mother and Dutch father, is a PHD in philosophy and self-proclaimed anarchist with a masters in fine arts and a host of other degrees in engineering. She had been working on a social upliftment project as an engineer (her current occupation) in order to provide housing to those displaced by colonial rule in Kimberly during apartheid.

This is where she came into contact with the miners on her land, initially pursuing court action to remove them so that her project could come to fruition. However, after learning of the inhumanities practiced against such artisan miners she put all her time and effort into legalising the practice and was responsible for acquiring nearly 260 hectares of land from the mining magnets in order to allow these miners not only access but government recognised permits in order to practice this craft.

As a result there have been multiple attempts on her life (3) and she still lives in fear of retribution from the seedy mining underworld in Kimberley. Yet she continues to push forward with her projects as she is now focused on achieving the same outcome for a group of predominantly female gold miners in another undisclosed location.

I salute and stand in awe of her bravery and courage and feel lucky to live in a country where the marginalised have the support of people with the integrity and courage to risk everything for what they believe in.
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