Durban - The situation at the Isipingo interim camp has escalated from desperate to inhumane after the eThekwini Municipality dismantled marquees and left destitute foreigners on an open field on Friday.
The municipality had planned to move them from Isipingo to the Chatsworth camp, about 15km away, but they refused to board the transport provided.
“They came here and told us we had one hour and 15 minutes to pack all our belongings and board the truck to Chatsworth. Then they dismantled the marquees and the fencing and loaded the mobile toilets and showers. They disconnected the water pipes,” said a camp co-ordinator, Daniel Dunia.
The camp occupants have built makeshift structures using plastic, cardboard and blankets. About 70 of about 200 still at the camp are believed to be sleeping under the open skies.
Dunia said they were frustrated by the lack of engagement by the local government.
“Had they spoken to us, they would have known that that we did not want to go to Chatsworth,” he said.
Dunia, a Congolese, said the government was in a rush to claim the glory and boast that most of the foreigners had been repatriated or reintegrated with their communities.
“They might not have learnt anything from the 2008 xenophobic attacks but we did, and one of the lessons was that reintegration takes time.”
He said moving them from camp to camp would not remedy the situation.
Willie Chikuru said they suspected the municipality had told non-government organisations that the camp had been closed because they did not get any visitors at the weekend.
“We have three containers on the site with various things from donors, but the municipality closed them on Friday and denied us food, water and other things that were meant for us,” said Chikuru.
The father of three said about 600 immigrants from Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique had been repatriated, but immigrants from Congo and Burundi could not go because of political unrest in their home countries.
“The eThekwini Municipality has made us even more vulnerable by removing the fence,” he said.
Camp occupants gave numerous reasons for not wanting to move to Chatsworth. They varied from being closer to their place of work in Isipingo, to needing to fetch medication from a local clinic.
“I have South African friends here in Isipingo who often check on me and bring me food. What’s going to happen to me if I’m stuck in Chatsworth with no food?” asked a Burundian woman.
Another, Sheda Nzeyimana, said the nights were cold and she feared that her 3-month-old daughter, Mary, would catch pneumonia.
“The government talked to us for the first time since Friday, so we are hopeful that the situation will turn around because this is inhumane and we would like to be treated better.”
She said she did not even have water to bath her baby as all the water they collected went for drinking and cooking.
On Monday afternoon, the municipality opened the food container and people were able to get water and food.
*The city and the province also sent out a statement expressing their concern about the inhumane conditions at the camp.
The municipality claimed to have engaged with the foreigners who, it said, later turned back on their agreement to move.
The city said it was also aware that the situation “is now being politically manipulated by some parties seeking to score cheap political points”.
Engagements with relevant stakeholders are said to be continuing.
“Our biggest concern is that the environment they are living in is unhygienic and not safe, especially for women and children,” said the eThekwini mayor, James Nxumalo.
The Mercury