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Monday 18 August 2008

A SLICE OF LIFE IN SWAZILAND

One side for blacks, the other for whites

Times of Swaziland

18 August 2008

EZULWENI- It is common knowledge to regular visitors of The Gables shopping complex here, that there are two hairdressing and beauty salons – one for black people and one for whites.

They are owned by the same person.

Ask any of the tenants or security guards for directions to a salon and they will direct you to the one most suitable for you – or maybe it is the one you are most suitable for.

"The one for black people is on the other side," said a security guard approached by reporters from this newspaper for directions. The reporters had not informed him that they were working for this newspaper. They had simply asked for directions to any hairdressing salon.

Ironically, when the guard was approached, he was patrolling right next to the ‘whites-only’ salon. He said reporters could try their luck in there, but he was not sure if they would be helped. The reporters decided to visit the one said to be for white people only and confirmed that it did not give any assistance to people with curly hair.

"We only help white people here," a black assistant said to a female reporter who posed as a potential client.

She was directed to the other side of the building, where blacks got all the attention they deserved.

It has been established that the beauty parlours, trading under the name The Salon, are run by Ethel Leroux, who is trained to work only on people who have ‘straight’ hair. "I am not racist," she said when she was contacted for comment. "I would not be in Swaziland if I was racist. I am just not qualified to work on curly hair. This is not about race."

She said curly and straight hair required different expertise as well as different chemicals. She said the side of the salon on which she works does not stock chemicals for black people.

She was asked if this would not be possible.

"I get the chemicals from Johannesburg," she responded.

She said she did not stock relaxers, hair extensions and other stuff because "we don’t use them."

Ethel said she would mess up the hair of any black person if she could try to work on it because she was not qualified. She said that would not be fair to the person with curly hair.

She was asked why she did not stock the chemicals within her salon and hire people qualified to work on curly hair to assist her.

"That is why I opened the other salon," was her response.

She said she could not have operated a salon that catered for both black and white people because there was not enough space. "This is a space issue. There is nothing horrible about it. I mean, we are all people, aren’t we?" she said.

She later stated that she was in the process of selling the other salon to a lady she identified as Busi.

"I do my people and she does her people," she said. "It will not be for long that the salon will remain under one name." The issue had been brought to the attention of this newspaper by unhappy customers.

However, Ethel said she had never thought of this as an issue.

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