Behind the Shutter: James Oatway on photographing South Africa’s Red Ants

This dramatic image shows a man​ carrying two small children by their arms during an eviction operation in Bree Street, Johannesburg. ​

The man is a ​major in the Red Ants​,​​ a private eviction and security firm based in South Africa’s biggest city​ recognisable by their trademark red overalls and helmets​.

"On arrival the Red Ants gave residents an opportunity to grab what they could and leave the building.

"Sikhumbuzo Dlamini, a major in the Red Ants, picked up these two shellshocked children and moved them away from the entrance. It looked as though they had just woken up​,​"​ James O​atway says of the photograph he captured in June 2017.

The scene was one of the many that Oatway witnessed…