Luthando* is very, very tired. His mouth, usually quick to soften into a lopsided, matinee-idol grin, is a hard, tight line, and there is no banter with his regular customers. 

He has many reasons to be exhausted. He and his partner had a baby girl some months ago. He has to wake up at 4am to get to his job on time. The restaurant where he works is always short-staffed. 

But Luthando usually takes those in his stride. Today, he is close to breaking because he and his little family live in a failed state, owned by warlords, 10km from Cape Town’s safest suburbs. ..