Cape Town - Residents at the Hadji Ebrahim informal settlement in Belgravia, Athlone, said they are tired of living in unsafe conditions and having to sleep outside with their children, as they struggle to rebuild their homes following last month’s blaze.
A month after the fire torched around 31 homes, leaving 124 people destitute and one person dead, residents are slowly rebuilding their homes.
Residents protested yesterday after law enforcement removed four shacks they had erected outside of the parameters of the settlement. Residents started protesting at around 5am, obstructing the Hadji Ebrahim Crescent Road with burning tyres. Police and the fire department were on the scene.
While protests were underway, those whose homes were destroyed in the blaze were putting up new structures given to them by Al Jama-ah and the ward councillor.
Quetucer Rowbotham has been rebuilding her home for three days, assisted by her 13-year-old daughter.
“(Ward councillor) Magedien promised us houses in January already. Magedien said put space between each shack so when people started to build there, Magedien went to fetch law enforcement to break it down. There isn't enough space for everybody so we decided to build at the back. He did go fetch law enforcement, it's not right.”
Rowbotham has been living in the settlement for over 15 years and raised all seven children from a one-roomed shack.
Resident and community leader Errol Toby said, “He told us we’re on the housing list, we’re not on the housing list. How can you lie to us all the time. Everytime he comes here and (says) ’Don't worry, you’re on the database’, people are not.”
Following the blaze, residents said children as young as four month old twins, and one and three years old have to sleep outside, in the settlement.
“We just want this four hokkies must stand here then there is space. If we bring this four hokkies back it's going to be trouble again. They broke it down. They broke the people’s TVs inside also. Food, everything is gone. They don’t respect nobody,” said Toby.
The settlement was without proper sanitation and electricity.
“We don’t have enough zinc to build hokkies. There’s no space between the hokkies. The people burn to death. There’s no electricity, people burn out with candles. That paraffin stove burns quickly. How many people died here? Must more people die? It's not reasonable, we’re tired now.”
Most children affected by the blaze could not return to school as they’d lost everything.
Ward councillor Magedien Davids said starter kits were given to those affected by mayor Dan Plato.
“Currently the settlement is on private property and awaiting communication from the owner who resides in Canada but I'm working through a personal friend of the owner who mentioned I will receive an email with a signature for council that we can proceed with water and sanitation, toilets and possibly electricity which the settlement requested.”
Cape Argus