July 10, 2008 — vol. 43, no 48
In South Africa, evicted residents struggle
Residents of the informal Symphony Way settlement march for affordable and quality housing in Cape Town, South Africa. Tensions came to a head last Saturday, as officers with the South African Police Services, pepper-sprayed four residents. The protests underscore resistance to what some have called the persistent legacy of attempts to keep Cape Town’s impoverished black residents powerless under South Africa’s apartheid regime. (Toussaint Losier photo)
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| Paramedics attend to Charl Jacobs, an 8-year-old child who was hit by a motorist speeding past Jacobs’ neighbors’ shack on Symphony Way in Cape Town, South Africa. The incident further stoked residents’ frustrations, as provincial officials had previously promised to ensure the road would be free from traffic. (Toussaint Losier photo) |
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Tensions between police and residents of a shack settlement in Delft, a township on the far outskirts of this city, came to a head last Saturday, as officers with the South African Police Services pepper-sprayed four residents, beating one and taking him into custody following a nighttime operation.
Earlier that day, a speeding motorist struck an 8-year-old child outside of his neighbor’s shack on Symphony Way, a road that is officially closed but is regularly used as a shortcut to get from one end of the township to the other. The incident further stoked frustrations, as provincial officials had previously promised to ensure the road would be free from traffic.
“It’s not something we want to do, because we want people to see the conditions we are living in,” explained Francis Arnold as she wiped pepper spray from her eyes. “But we have to do this for the safety of our children.”
The protests underscore resistance to what some have called the persistent legacy of attempts to keep Cape Town’s impoverished black residents powerless under South Africa’s apartheid regime.
Efforts to keep Cape Town a white-only city under apartheid have left the city with an official backlog of 360,000 people in need of adequate, affordable housing. Yet current housing policies have not yet begun to meet public needs, even as the backlog continues to grow.
“Each year, this backlog increases by some 18,000 — but only 10,000 houses are built,” explained Martin Legassick, emeritus professor at the University of the Western Cape in an article published in February. “Each year, people on the waiting list have less of a chance of getting a house. No wonder they are desperate.”
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