During the South African lockdown, food relief was largely delivered by civil society, after the government failed to honor its pledge to provide for the population. By taking a local food parcel initiative in a small rural township as an ethnographic case study, this article examines why the attempt to mimic government food distribution generated dissatisfaction and tension in the targeted community. At the heart of this argument is the way the local parcel project created ambiguous anticipation regarding the consequences for residents' experience of dignity, as it undermined an established binary understanding of economic dependency. This understanding clearly distinguishes between relationships within the community and those with the government. Proximity and intimacy increased the risk of public humiliation arising from indebtedness, while dependence on the government did not inevitably generate the same anxiety. Agency is identified as a key signifier to understand strategies for upholding dignity in the different relationships. This article examines different stakeholders' spontaneous and creative attempts to control the relational outcome of the distribution. It discusses how narratives about the distribution as a rightful share to the community's wealth emerged among potential recipients in an attempt to negate any notion of personalized reciprocity following the distribution.

中文翻译：

---

COVID-19 模棱两可的包裹：南非封锁期间食品包裹分发过程中的代理权、尊严和对合法份额的要求

在南非封锁期间，在政府未能兑现为民众提供食物的承诺后，粮食救济主要由民间社会提供。本文以一个农村小镇的当地食品包裹倡议作为民族志案例研究，探讨了为什么模仿政府食品分配的尝试会在目标社区中引起不满和紧张。这一论点的核心是当地地块项目对居民尊严体验的后果产生了模棱两可的预期，因为它破坏了对经济依赖的既定二元理解。这种理解清楚地区分了社区内部的关系和与政府的关系。接近和亲密增加了因债务而引起公众羞辱的风险，而对政府的依赖并没有不可避免地产生同样的焦虑。代理被认为是理解在不同关系中维护尊严的策略的关键标志。本文考察了不同利益相关者自发和创造性地尝试控制分配的相关结果。它讨论了如何在潜在接受者中出现关于分配作为社区财富的正当份额的叙述，以试图否定分配后任何个性化互惠的概念。自发和创造性地尝试控制分配的相关结果。它讨论了如何在潜在接受者中出现关于分配作为社区财富的正当份额的叙述，以试图否定分配后任何个性化互惠的概念。自发和创造性地尝试控制分配的相关结果。它讨论了如何在潜在接受者中出现关于分配作为社区财富的正当份额的叙述，以试图否定分配后任何个性化互惠的概念。