Unite Behind Radio

Unite Behind Radio reports on state capture, and its’ impact on people.

COMMUTE (December 2017)

COMMUTE is a podcast on Cape Town's increasingly unreliable, unsafe and undignified commuter rail service. In two short episodes we explore how it affects us, why it collapsed, and what must now be done to #fixourtrains.

Episode 1

In this episode we meet Zukie Vuka and Adiel Hanslo as they each embark on a commute.

Adiel is an administrator responsible for opening and closing one of Cape Town's most important clinics. He has been riding trains for 30 years and still uses them regularly to get to and from work. But lately, unreliable trains are making Adiel's commute much harder. Not only does this impact on Adiel and his family, but also hundreds of patients at the clinic. We meet Adiel at the end of a long week, to join him on his commute home.

Zukie is a young activist from Delft, and a new leader in #UniteBehind. We meet Zukie as she risks arrest, a criminal record and more, by joining a protest against the causes of our commuter rail problems. During the course of the podcast, Zukie describes how her experiences over the past six months have brought her to this moment.

Episode 2

In this second and final episode we meet transport engineer Yusry Frizlar and journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh, who help us understand why our commuter rail service is falling apart.

We attend a #UniteBehind community forum, where more commuters share their experiences, and together discuss what is needed to #FixOurTrains.

Finally, we reveal what happened to Zukie and others at the protest, following the arrival of the police and threats of arrest.

Produced by Gavin Silber. Storytelling by Zukie Vuka. Produced in collaboration with Sound Africa.