Author Andrew Hutchinson, whose job involves the distribution of consumer goods to retailers, hosted a dialogue for aspiring authors on October 29.
Hutchinson’s books draw from his professional experiences.
His time as an auctioneer led to his published book Puff Adders in the Panicuum, which is full of the wisdom he learned about the antique trade.
His second book, Bread Bandits, is about the struggles of working-class people in Buffalo City who are exploited by spaza shop owners.
“The impact of spaza shops on this country, especially in our areas, is going to become evident in the next five to ten years,“ Hutchinson said.
“There is a lot of money that flows out of the country through these spaza shops and there are issues of bondage and slavery that these shops are engaged in.
“I experienced people who were locked into spaza shops with a price on their head for their release and these are people that have come from Pakistan to work here under false pretense, and that is human trafficking.
“For people who don’t have money for a taxi, the spaza shop is your only means to goods and so the spaza shops keep people tied to them through credit and other debt mechanisms.
“In my book, Bread Bandits, I illustrate how the greed of corporate and small businesses conspires against the average person on the street.”
The book also details the corrupt influences that inform the steep price of bread locally and uses a humanistic lens to argue that the economic interests of the few in power rely on the exploitation of many.
Bread Bandits is aimed at exposing the effects of corruption in the Eastern Cape and Hutchinson’s third book, Uncle! details the experiences of an immigrant who fled to SA to escape a crisis in their home country.
Both Bread Bandits and Uncle! are set to be published later this year or early next year.
Hutchinson, who said each of his books took about six months to write, added that highlighting local issues were important to him.
“We need more stories that are from this region because people are unaware of the challenges we face here.
“Aspiring authors need only to observe their surroundings carefully and listen to people around them because the truth of life in the Eastern Cape is all around you if you pay attention,” Hutchinson said.
Local researcher, Christopher Muller, encouraged local authors to donate copies of their books to libraries and the East London Museum, as historical records of contemporary life in Buffalo City.
“Authors must also remember that our collections become instantly more valuable if they donate books they have personally signed,” Muller added.
