Findings
Messina, South Africa
The town of Messina is situated in the northern region of Northern Province, by far South Africa's poorest and most rural province. It lies 530 kilometers north of Johannesburg, 18 kilometers south of the Beitbridge border with Zimbabwe and 545 kilometers south of Zimbabwe's capital, Harare.
Messina is the definitive example of an HIV-vulnerable context. It has an army base to patrol the porous northern border (Africa's "Rio Grande"), copper and diamond mines with migrant mineworkers, a vast trucking industry and a large sex work industry, attracting sex workers from the Northern Province and adjacent areas of Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
Population estimates range from 19,500 (Central Statistical Service extrapolation from last census) to 26,000 (Messina Transitional Local Council, based on municipal rates). An estimated 65 percent of Messina's population is female, reflecting male migration to the larger labor center in Gauteng.
Risk Environment Profile: Sex Workers and Truckers in the Four Border Sites
Sex work and trucking are interwoven in border sites. Informal "brothels" are situated near truck routes and truck stops, and their inhabitants acknowledge that their clients are largely drivers. Sex workers wait at bars, hotels and truck parks patronized by truckers, and truckers prefer bars and hotels frequented by sex workers. The managers of border bars and hotels often encourage sex workers to attract truckers.
Sex workers like truckers for many reasons -- primarily economic, but also because they smuggle coveted beauty and hair products and are usually tired and undemanding. The women often exchange sex for free transport. They usually negotiate such exchanges in advance, but sometimes they accept a lift for a fee, confessing to having no money at their destinations and offering sex instead. Experienced sex workers often travel on commercial routes by providing sex to drivers.
Truckers hire sex workers for both companionship and sex, picking them up at the outset, then having sex in the truck at the mid-point or end of an overnight journey. Sex workers are also the only affordable source of accommodation for truckers at borders.
Ethnographic analysis illustrates why trucking is linked to sex work. Truckers spoke movingly of the monotony and loneliness of their work and the strain it imposes on marriage and family life. They described interminable, hot days and long, dark evenings on highways, spartan, drab hostels or truck cabins, and the "anti-community" environments of depots, road stops or hostels dominated by males. They spoke wearily of only hearing adult male voices.
Boredom and loneliness notwithstanding, machismo, or exaggerated virility, was also evidenced. Monogamous drivers are described derisively -- called, for example, "impostor," in reference to a well-known prophetic Zimbabwean church. Drivers say it is impossible for them to forego sex.
The hazards that truckers face make AIDS seem a distant threat. Truckers described the dangers of accidents on the treacherous Lubumbashi Road, cerebral malaria and cholera on many routes, and sleeping in parked trucks amid gunfire in the Congo.
Many truckers keep their wives in rural homes because it is uneconomical to maintain family accommodation in town when they travel so often. Truckers' wives were also believed to have other partners, especially when truckers left them with insufficient money. The truckers reproached their employers, saying that their wages are too low to survive on without doing so much overtime that they seldom see their families. They also blame their employers for poor working conditions on the road.
The truckers acknowledged that STIs are widespread among drivers. Many -- particularly older drivers -- use traditional herbs to treat STIs.
Different strands of data confirm that truckers have high rates of HIV infection and illness. In one small sample of long-distance truckers in Johannesburg, 19 out of 24 (79 percent) were reportedly HIV-positive. One of Zambia's largest trucking companies, Dar Farms, has lost 39 out of 144 drivers in the last three years. Farm managers stated that it takes at least three years to train a driver for their large "man-train" trucks, and they have noted a steep increase in accidents. |
Messina has about 1,500 high-income houses (inhabited primarily by whites, Indians and black customs officials), 5,600 low-income houses in five areas (Nancefield and extensions 5 to 8) and 7,500 mkukus, or informal houses, constructed out of metal or asbestos sheeting. Average house occupancy in the low-income and informal settlements ranges from two to three people. Recreational facilities are limited in low-income areas, consisting largely of bars and pool houses.
The major source of local employment is farming, with the large army base, the major mines and informal trading also playing a role. An estimated 3,700 people are economically active in urban Messina, and a further 4,000 are employed on farms around the town, earning salaries as low as US$50 monthly. The largest sources of formal income in urban Messina are the military, mining, food canning, catering, freight clearance, police, customs, immigration, the municipality, the postal services and some 160 formal shops. The largest source of informal income is street vending from spaza shops (kiosks). Most women in Messina run spaza shops or work as shop assistants or maids.
Sex work
|
Streets where sex workers seek clients
Bily Street
Hosea Kekane Street
National Road (N1)
Chris Hanna Street
Bandasingel Road
Squba Abel Road
Lawrence Kaunda Lane
Brilliant Street
Ham Street
Freedom Street
Stephen's Street
Patrick Macnaono |
Through careful observation, enumeration in bars and streets, and interviews with health workers and peer educators, research team members estimated that Messina may have at least 400 permanent, full-time sex workers and another 300 transient sex workers who visit the town at peak times. The youngest are age 15. Most sex workers stay in the informal settlements
or low-income suburbs and travel to the border to solicit truckers at the border truck stop. Some sex workers have poorly paid day jobs as shop assistants or maids and augment their income through sex work at night. Sex workers seek clients primarily at bars and nightclubs, followed by streets. Clients visit older sex workers at home.
Sex workers' major clients are truckers, miners and soldiers, whom they charge US$8 to $12 per session. They earn $250 to $300 monthly, which is relatively high for Messina, but live largely in poverty, with alcohol and drug use depleting income and impairing financial judgment.
Trucking
Trucking companies using the Messina route
| Associated Freight Services |
Autonet |
Bax Haulage |
| Bill Transport |
Botswana Hauliers |
Bretom Transport |
| Car Delivery Services |
CARS |
Chilly Charters |
| Colbro Transport |
Conan |
D & A Transport |
| Dunstan Transport |
Emco |
GDC Transport |
| Henroy Transport |
InterLink Carriers |
Jackson Transport |
| MAC Haulage |
Malala Transport |
MBS Carriers |
| Messina Associated Carriers |
Messina Shipping |
Minaar Transport |
| NT Transport |
PetroChem Bulk |
Preston Transport |
| Rainbow Investments |
Rauties Transport |
RCJ Transport |
| Sazam Carriers |
Stuttafords Removals |
Tanker Services |
| TM Haulage |
Tranne Transport |
TransHaul |
| Truck Africa |
Unitrans |
Whelson Transport |
| Zambezi Carriers |
Trucking companies with Messina offices
|
Cargo Services
CARS
Messina Associated Carriers
Preston
Transport Limpopo
Truck Africa
Wheels of Africa |
The researchers identified 40 trucking companies that use the Messina route and seven that have offices at the border.
Every month approximately 7,000 trucks cross the border at Messina, and more than 3,000 truckers sleep there.
On three random days in August and September, the researchers counted the number of trucks crossing the border. They also counted the number parked at the border -- a figure that does not include trucks parked elsewhere in Messina. The total number of trucks throughout Messina is thought to average 200 a night. The border is busiest at month's end, when the next month's imports are cleared.
The major destinations for truckers are Zimbabwe, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Malawi (four effectively landlocked countries, as southern Congo is isolated from the Congo's only port in Matadi). The average duration of journeys varies by destination. The major goods carried are maize, flour, foodstuffs, equipment and fuel to Congo, fruit, steel, polythene, chemicals and equipment to Zambia and tar, equipment and fuel to Malawi.
Trucks crossing and parked at Messina border on three random days
|
31 Aug. 1999 |
1 Sept. 1999 |
2 Sept. 1999 |
| Number crossing border |
121 |
134 |
179 |
| Number parking at border |
58 |
64 |
81 |
Truckers' destinations
| Destination |
Days spent away |
| Zambia |
7-14 |
| DRC |
10-21 |
| Malawi |
7-14 |
| Zimbabwe |
4-7 |
The places where truckers seek casual and commercial sex partners were also enumerated. Nine bars and several streets were associated with casual/commercial sex.
Informal traders
Many Zimbabwean and Zambian women rely upon informal cross-border trade for survival. They either export items (usually handicrafts) for resale in South Africa or import consumer goods for resale. However, the import trade has declined steeply since the 75 percent drop in the value of Zimbabwe's currency and an increase in import tariffs, which made many imported goods unaffordable.
The researchers counted about 200 informal traders crossing the border on three random days. The numbers of traders sleeping at the border on those days ranged from 15 to 78 and did not include traders sleeping elsewhere in Messina. Informal traders sleep primarily at the border and the railway station. During the day, they can be reached at the railway station and taxi ranks.
Informal traders crossing and sleeping at the Messina border on three random days
|
31 Aug. 1999 |
1 Sept. 1999 |
3 Sept. 1999 |
| Number crossing border |
218 |
198 |
204 |
| Number sleeping at border |
15 |
78 |
27 |
Health services
Messina has a district hospital and two clinics. Situated in the formerly white center of Messina, the Messina District Hospital has 80 beds and an average of 15 outpatients daily. The Messina Municipal Clinic, which is also located in the center of Messina, serves about 20 outpatients daily. The major clinic is in the former black township of Nancefield. STI cases are referred to Nancefield Clinic, where staff members see more than 100 STI cases monthly.
Staff members at the clinic have been trained in syndromic management of STIs and receive STI drugs, albeit erratically, but they see few sex workers and truckers. Messina has large private and traditional health sectors.
Education
Messina has three primary schools, offering grades 1 through 7, with an estimated 1,500 pupils. The four high schools, offering grades 8 through 12, have about 2,000 pupils. Only one of the high schools is in a low-income area.
|
Messina schools |
Eric Louw
Messina Primary
Nehimiah Christian
Hosiah Kekane |
Jan Smuts
Nancefield High School
Johannes Kruger |
NGOs in Messina
The only development or health NGO reported to be working in Messina is an AIDS NGO, the Centre for Positive Care (CPC). CPC's headquarters is in the capital of the northern region, Thouyhandou in former Venda, but two of its staff members are based in Messina.
Condoms
Every month Messina Hospital distributes about 1,000 condoms, and Nancefield gives out approximately 5,000. The CPC's sex worker peer education project distributes about 50,000 condoms monthly. There is no condom social marketing in Messina, but there is limited commercial distribution. The researchers identified five commercial and five public sector condom outlets in Messina. Four brands of condoms are available: Durex, Sega, Kenzo and government unbranded condoms.
Condom outlets in Messina
| Public |
Private |
SANDF Army
Centre for Positive Care
Messina Hospital
Messina Municipal Clinic
Nancefield Clinic |
Jan Naude Pharmacy
Messina Pharmacy
Spar outlets
Venetia Mine |
HIV/AIDS data
HIV prevalence in Northern Province is 11.5 percent. In surveillance underway at Nancefield Clinic in Messina, however, 20 percent prevalence is reported -- the highest rate in Northern Province. In 1998, 211 out of 397 (53 percent) of STI patients tested at Messina Hospital were HIV-positive.
As noted, soldiers are among the major occupational groups in Messina. Unconfirmed reports, which are contested by the South African National Defense Force (SANDF), suggest that 40 percent of South African soldiers may be infected with HIV.
HIV/AIDS prevention activities
HIV/AIDS activities in Messina are limited. Health workers have been trained in syndromic management of STIs, and a handful of projects address HIV among the military, mineworkers and sex workers. There are few activities for truckers, employees in other workplaces, and youth.
The SANDF workplace peer education project is part of a nationwide army program. Another workplace peer education project, carried out by the De Beers group's Venetia Diamond Mine, is based on the company's famous Namdeb Project at Oranjemund in Namibia.
CPC's sex worker project in Messina is part of a larger network of sex worker projects in Njelele, Louis Trichardt, Thouyhandou and Mutali in the northern region of the Northern Province. These projects are funded by Oxfam and NORAD and receive technical support from the Mpumalanga Project Support Association and the University of Zimbabwe.
|
Risk Environment Profile: Messina, South Africa
Messina is Africa's busiest commercial border. It is situated in the poorest region of the poorest province in South Africa, bordering poverty-stricken areas of Zimbabwe and southern Mozambique.
Almost 70 percent of South Africans living in poverty are black women in rural areas and small towns, and the women of Messina are no exception. Whereas men tend to migrate beyond the area, many low-income women migrate to Messina for vending and sex work, resulting in a disproportionate percentage (approximately 70 percent) of residents who are female. Nearly all of these women are employed in paid domestic or retail jobs, vending or sex work. In this context, reliance on men for income and formal and informal sex work flourishes.
Few societies juxtapose poverty with as powerful and pervasive a consumer and media culture as South Africa's. Young South Africans' material aspirations lead many young women to seek older clients or partners. The involvement of young women in sexual relationships with older men, usually for overt or discreet financial gain, is striking. Schoolgirls openly solicit truckers and taxi drivers in and around Messina.
Although people in Messina have significantly higher incomes than those in neighboring Mozambique or Zimbabwe, poverty among women in the area is acute. Messina has a critical shortage of low-income housing, and many people live in informal settlements. The most crowded informal settlement is called Rwanda. Many sex workers live in Rwanda, and many men visit this settlement in search of sexual partners.
Bars and shebeens are a major source of recreation and sexual interaction. Messina has five bars and at least 30 shebeens. The bars are open from 0800 to 2300 during the week and until 0200 on weekends. They are relatively quiet during the week. On weekends, however, over 200 sex workers can be counted in major bars. During the week, when sex workers seek trucking clients on the highway, more than 100 sex workers may be counted each night on the highway.
The majority of sex workers' clients in Messina are truckers, soldiers, miners and customs officials. According to sex workers, truckers are most popular, because they pay well and bring beauty products from Johannesburg. Miners are also popular; soldiers are considered unreliable and abusive. Customs officials seldom pay cash, but exempt women from customs duties for sexual favors.
Although sex work is their primary source of income, many sex workers engage in other activities during the day. They work in shops, salons or markets or conduct cross-border trade. They get free lifts with truckers and rely upon assistance from truckers or customs officials to avoid customs duties.
About 90 percent of informal traders in Messina are from Zimbabwe. They bring Zimbabwean handicrafts to sell in South Africa and earn more than Zimbabwean nurses or teachers. These traders typically travel to South Africa three times a month, unless they have problems at the border. Some supplement their incomes by engaging in sex work at night, especially with truckers.
Messina sex workers recognize that truckers bring opportunity and danger. "We are living well because of truckers," they say, but add that truckers are loaded with "rands and STDs." They prefer to seek STI care in the private or traditional sectors.
While there is a highly explicit sex industry in Messina, focusing primarily on truckers, soldiers and miners, there are also ill-defined and discrete forms of sex work concealed behind many gradations of girlfriend relationships. The subtlety of such sex work and the resulting difficulty in identifying those involved in such relationships makes it particularly important to reach accessible, well-defined male groups such as truckers through workplace peer education while reaching women with community-based interventions.
Truckers in Messina are typically about 30 years old and have been driving for 10 years. Most acknowledged seeking sex workers. They complained that Zimbabwe customs are so slow to clear goods that they are forced to seek sex workers to alleviate accommodation costs and loneliness. On average, they spend about 14 to 20 days a month away from home. No truckers travel with their wives, but many stated that they have regular partners in all the countries they visit. Attitudes towards condom use varied, but were significantly more negative among drivers from South Africa than among Zimbabwean or Zambian drivers. Truckers seldom use public health services, preferring private or traditional providers.
STIs are largely seen by private and traditional practitioners. Tuberculosis is common, well-known and of great concern. The link between tuberculosis and HIV offers an important entry point for community dialogue on HIV/AIDS.
In summary, Messina is a town inhabited largely by low-income women and traversed by mobile men, including truckers, soldiers and miners, which creates an optimal context for HIV transmission. |
