John Jooste – Onthouers | Rememberers
John Jooste was born in Calvinia West in 1961 and lives there still. He never took much interest in story-telling and so does not have many stories to share.
John Jooste became involved in gang-related activities at a young age and was jailed for some time. He feels that Calvinia does not hold many job opportunities.
John Jooste was born in Calvinia West in 1961. He grew up and went to school there, but only until standard 7. When he dropped out of school he became involved in gang-related activities and was jailed until 1999. There are not many job opportunities in the area, so crime presents itself as an option – although it has dire consequences. He has never had much interest in stories and cannot tell any.
John Peters Jooste. I was born here in Calvinia… Born the sixth of the sixth month 1961. At the moment I’m 56 years old. I was born here in Calvinia West and this is where I grew up, all my years.
Look, it isn’t necessary to talk about what has been, is it?
What has been, where you went to school and so on.
Yes. I went to school here, here in Calvinia West. That is why I said I was born here, went to school here and I grew up here, everything here in Calvinia West. And this is where I still am today.
Have you ever heard stories about Dirk Ligter and those guys? About Jan Thomas? Do you know any such stories?
And ghost stories. Any stories, ghost stories?
There aren’t any that I could really tell you, because look, I actually have many stories. Look, mine are actually, I’m actually one who… Because, see, I was in prison most of my years.
And I came back home for the first time in ’99, and I’m still here at home. That is what I can say.
Any stories that you’ve heard about Calvinia, that the old people told you, your ma and them? Pa and them?
Look, man, it is… I say it is just another place, we are the disadvantaged in the community. And that is how I grew up. Thanks to everything that my ma and them and my pa and them did, I am what I am today. That I could reach that age.
I went to school up to Standard 7. There weren’t grades yet in those years, but it’s now Grade 9 and I went to that school up to Grade 9. And that is when I left school. And then I started linking up with gang activities. And through… that was actually the problem that took me out of Calvinia. I was in prison all those years, then I came back in ’99 and from ’99 I’ve been at home here. In Calvinia West. That is why it is… I think we don’t really have, there aren’t really, I think, many job opportunities for the youth. So when there is a job, then I have to take it, even though the salary isn’t what it should be. Or should I say, the salary scales are not what they should be. But… we have to accept it. Because we don’t know. To go stealing again, or carry… break into peoples’ homes, then you lose out again. So why do you do it? See. That is why we first use what we get. But I have nothing else…
Have you heard of paljas*?
Yes, Sir, but I say, not interested in those things, have never been interested in doekom* things [sorcery things]. No, I’m not interested in those things.
So you can’t remember anything about Dirk Ligter or Jan Thomas, or what people said they had done?
Yes, look, that is, did… at school about Dirk Ligter and them. Those people. At school we actually, and how can I put it, in other words, like a subject that we had, in those years. But look, like this year, you get subjects with different names, but if you, if you look correctly, then you can see, it’s like other things that happened. See. That is actually what it is about. But I learnt about them all at school. And look, it’s up here, the one who was named after Abram Esau. Look, that is, that is also a coloured who suffered over the years. The Boers* broke him down. See. He, how shall I put it… Look you couldn’t tell the truth. Not those years. One accepted that if that was what was said, then you had to accept that it was like that. It was what it was.
John Jooste is in 1961 in Calvinia-wes gebore en woon nog steeds daar. Hy het nooit baie in stories belang gestel nie, daarom het hy nie juis stories om te vertel nie.
John het op ’n jong ouderdom by bendebedrywighede betrokke geraak en was ’n tyd lank in die tronk. Hy voel daar is nie baie werksgeleenthede op Calvinia nie.
John Peters Jooste. Ek is gebore hier in Calvinia … Gebore sesde van die sesde maand 1961. Ek is nou op die oomblik ses-en-vyftig jaar oud. Ek is hier in Calvinia-Wes gebore en dis waar ek grootgeraak het, al my jare.
Kyk, dis mos nou nie nodig om te praat van wat gewees het, of wat nie?
Ja-nee. Wat gewees het, skoolgegaan het, en so aan.
Ja. Ek het hier skoolgegaan, hier in Calvinia-Wes, dis hoekom ek gesê het, ek is gebore hier, het hier skoolgegaan en ek het grootgeraak, als hier in Calvinia-Wes. En dis waar ek nou nog vandag is.
Oom het al stories gehoor van Dirk Ligter, van Dirk Ligter en dié manne? Jan Thomas-goed. Ken Oom so ’n storie wat Oom al gehoor het?
En spookstories. Enige stories, spookstories?
Daar’s nie wat ek jou rêrig kan sê, want kyk, ek het eintlik baie stories, kyk, myne is eintlik van dié, ek is eintlik ’n mens, want sien, die meeste van my jare was ek in die gevangenis gewees.
Oukei, vertel vir ons dit.
En dat ek nou ’99 vir die eerste keer weer huis toe gekom het, dat ek nou nog hier by die huis is. Dit is nou wat ek kan sê.
Enige stories wat Oom gehoor het rondom Calvinia, wat die oumense vir Oom vertel het, Oom se ma-hulle vir Oom vertel het? Pa-hulle?
Kyk, man, dit is maar, ek sê, dit is maar ’n plek, ons is in die agtergeblewe in die gemeenskap in. En dis hoe ek grootgeraak het. Deur alles wat my ma- en pa-hulle gedoen het, is ek darem vandag wat ek kan is. Dat ek daai ouderdom kan bereik het.
Ek het skoolgegaan tot standerd sewe. Daai jare is daar mos nog nie grade nie, maar nou graad nege en ek het daai skool gegaan tot graad nege. En dis waar ek uit die skool uit is. En daar begin ek my toe self loop koppel, met bende-aktiwiteite. En deur, daai is eintlik die probleem wat my weg uit die Calvinia uit. Ek is al die jare in die gevangenis gewees, wat ek nou ’99 weer terugkom en daar van ’99 is ek nou nog hier by die huis. In Calvinia-Wes. Daarom is dit so, ek sal sê, ons het nie eintlik, hier is nie eintlik, sal ek sê, baie werksgeleenthede vir ons tot die jeug nie. So as daar ’n werkie uitkom, dan moet ek dit maar aanvaar, al is die salaris nie daar soos dit moet wees nie. Sal ek sê, die salarisskale is nie soos dit moet wees nie. Maar … ons moet dit aanvaar. Want ons weet nie. Om nou weer te gaan steel, of dra-, mense se plekke te loop inbreek, dan is dit ook teen ’n verlies. So waarvoor doen jy dit? Sien. Dit is waarom ons gebruik eers dié wat ons nou kry. Maar verder het ek geen …
Het Oom al gehoor van paljas?
Ja-nee, Meneer, maar ek sê stel baie min belang in daai klas, het nog nooit belang gestel in doekom-goeters nie. Nee, ek stel nie belang in daai goed nie.
So Oom kan niks onthou van Dirk Ligter of Jan Thomas, of wat hulle gesê het hulle gemaak het nie?
Ja, kyk, daai is, het op die skool van Dirk Ligter-hulle. Daai spanne. Ons het eintlik op die skool, en, hoe sal ek nou sê, in ander woorde, soos ’n vak wat ons gehad het, daai jare. Maar kyk, soos nou dié jaar, kry mens mos vakke met verskillende name, maar as jy, as jy reg kyk daarin, dan kan jy sien, dis soos anderste gebeurtenisse wat gebeur het. Sien. Dit is eintlik waaroor dit gaan. Maar van hulle het ek almal geleer op die skool. En kyk, dis hier op, die ene wat genoem is na Abram Esau. Kyk, daai is, dit is mos ook ’n kleurling wat swaar gekry het in die jare in. Die boere het hom meer afgebreek. Sien. Hy, hoe sal ek sê … Kyk, jy kan nie gekom het met die waarheid vorendagte. Daai jare nie. Maar ’n mens aanvaar as dit so gesê is, dan moet jy aanvaar, dit is so. Dit is wat dit is.