There are newborn babies in the tent who should be bathed in warm water every day
Cape Town - About 500 Paint City residents face a life without toilets and showers as the contract comes to an end today.
About three weeks ago the fence in Paint City in Bellville, where refugees live in a tent, was taken away and the 20 toilets and showers will now also be taken away.
One of the refugee leaders Hafiz Mohamad said the contractor gave them three hours to shower and not everyone was able to because they wanted to pack up.
He said this was bad because it was winter and having to bath in cold water would make their children sick.
“This is going to be like the last time where we had to make number two in plastic bags and throw them away,” he said.
Mohamad said toilets and showers are two of the most needed things for any human being.
He said what the South African government is doing to them is unacceptable, and they feel they are being forced back to the same communities they are running from.
“They talk about human rights but there are no human rights in South Africa, if there were we would not be treated like this,” added Mohamad.
Another leader, Mama Mary, asked how their children would survive winter without hot water.
She said there were a lot of newborn babies in the tent who need to be bathed in warm water every day.
She said what they would not be able to do is to go back to the communities they ran away from because they would be killed.
“All we want is to go to any country where we will feel safe, but God knows what he has planned for us,” she said.
South African Mobile Shower Solution’s Peter Sydow said the contract had come to an end therefore they were removing their toilets and showers from Paint City.
“We have been asking the Department of Home Affairs what they will do once the contract has come to an end, and what are they going to do with the people,” he said.
He said this was not the first time this had happened, the same thing happened last year.
He said what was being done to the refugees was terrible and he had been nagging the department for the past two weeks but nothing was done.
“It is out of my hands now,” said Sydow.
Department of Home Affairs spokesperson Siyabulela Qoza said the contract was to end today.
“The department remains committed to taking down the temporary shelter, as publicly announced by the minister following the conclusion of all applicable processes,” he said.
Weekend Argus