Money and Violence: Financial Self-Help Groups in a South African Township (Afrika-Studiecentrum Series)

"This ethnographic study reveals how financial self-help groups (burial societies and credit groups) are islands of hope for Xhosa migrants living in the townships and squatter camps of Cape Town, South Africa. Many are caught up in a sea of insecurity, unemployment, murder, rape, AIDS, and social conflict, entangled with apartheid politics as well as post-apartheid development. Particularly women create these depoliticized social spaces to feel secure and trusted, and know that money is subject to their control. This intimate account challenges romanticized views on urban poverty and solidarity groups. It explores the anxiety among members, the fragility of trust and solidarity, as well as the emergence of conflicts with kin, household members, and neighbours, over desperately needed money."--Jacket An ethnographic study that reveals how financial self-help groups (burial societies and credit groups) are islands of hope for Xhosa migrants living in the townships and squatter camps of Cape Town, South Africa. This work examines the urban poor's day-to-day struggles over money in post-apartheid South Africa This Ethnography Reveals How, Faced With Violence, Economic Insecurity, And Volatile Relations, Xhosa Migrants In Cape Town, South Africa, Establish Burial Societies And Credit Groups. It Examines The Urban Poor's Day-to-day Struggles Over Money In Post-apartheid South Africa.