The people who lived there did so because they had no choice. As often as not it was the only place that new arrivals could find—people who came into Gaborone from remote villages, lured by the promise of work and payment they could never find at home. Then there were people from over the border, from countries less fortunate—people for whom the small comforts that Old Naledi afforded, and its comparative safety, were paradise found. These people took what jobs they could, and were often exploited. They painted houses, fixed pipes, patched up roofs. They worked without complaint, and at the end of each month sent home what money they could spare, aware of the fact that every pula, every thebe they wired back to Bulawayo or beyond might be the crucial one that separated a full stomach from an empty one; that meant that a child could stay in school rather than be excluded for nonpayment of the tiny fee the schools required.

Fanwell lived in this place, but his lot was infinitely better than that of the migrants. He was a Motswana, a citizen, and thus entitled to the benefits that came with citizenship. He had been well schooled and had—eventually—completed his apprenticeship. He had a trade; he could get a job anywhere now, as there was always a call for qualified mechanics, even for those who did not have a great deal of experience. If he chose to continue working with cars, the fact that he had trained with Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni would stand him in good stead; already he had had an indirect, somewhat veiled offer from one of the big garages. “Ever wondered what it would be like to work in a proper garage?” they had asked. “Think about it, Fanwell. Good conditions. Big pay cheque. Latest tools. The lot.”

He had turned this approach down, resenting the implication that working at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors was somehow inferior. “I’m working with the finest mechanic in Botswana,” he said. “That is enough.” And it was—at least in the professional sense. From the monetary point of view, though, it was true that he could be earning more elsewhere, although Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni had raised his salary as much as he could. And it would certainly be useful for Fanwell to have more money at his disposal, given his family obligations.