Processing the Lwandle Evictions from an Outsiders Perspective
4 June 2014 - 2 pm - The Bookery
I’m sitting in The Bookery, a non-profit operation focused on launching libraries public schools across Cape Town libraries. Their motto, perhaps unofficially, is one school, one library, one librarian. They are the de-facto drop off location for the relief effort that has been developing for the 800 individuals left homeless in Lwandle, following violent and unannounced evictions on Monday morning. A shared taxi is rented and arrives at 2 pm. Clothing, toiletries and blankets are boxed and loaded into the van and its trailer. The sun is out and the weather mild as we drive towards Lwandle.
- At The Bookery preparing for donation drop off
2:50 pm - Lewandle Migrant Labour Museum
I notice already - it's colder. A very orderly scene in the museum’s gymnasium. Ten officials from SASSA (South African Social Security Agency) are closing down their portable work stations. Laptops, printers, folders - it’s a mobile office. The scene is calm. Less than two dozen mothers chat in the middle of the open room together, babies blanketed on their backs. Young children are so well behaved that it’s hard to comprehend. This SASSA team stacks chairs and heads for the doors at the top of the hour, the end of their seven-hour work day. The Equal Education (EE) team arrives by bus and tells me that we’re moving on.
- Lwandle Migrant labour Museum
A short drive away, we reach a church where we will be unpacking supplies. I don’t get any time to take in the situation, as Pharia, a twenty-five year old journalist for Ground Up, approaches me and asks me if I would like to go to the site of the evictions. I do, and so we hop in the car and drive through the township to the Community Center, where 300 of those evicted are staying for the time being.
- The Lwandle community centre
The acoustics in the gymnasium are terrible, and the children’s voices bounce deep against its bare walls. As do large rubber toy balls, which keep the boys entertained throughout the evening. Despite the uncomfortable noise, and the distress that has been felt by this community, there is a calm energy in the gymnasium. Women serve food out of large pots. Families and friends huddle in small groups on plastic chair.
A jolt to the room occurs as twelve men with sticks enter the hall. They parade diagonally through the crowd to a back room. They wear smiles, but this is not a joyful event. The man leading the procession, in a light blue sweatsuit, was caught the day before stealing communal building supplies and is being punished. I am told that he is being beaten in the side room off of the gymnasium floor.
Pharia interviews two women, both mothers, about Monday’s events. She learns more about the alleged killing of a child during the eviction. As an intern with the community journalism organization, she aspires to get the story that hasn’t been told. She teases me with a hint of insight into the unfolding of events on Monday, but I will have to wait and read her full account later.
She asks for my help in photographing the women and their children. I assist, but find it very difficult to communicate with them, or any of those affected by the evictions. I am an outsider and race and language barriers are too large to overcome in this environment. Where I can connect, I do, but there has been too much shock to this community for any attempt at connection. These people need the basic necessities.
- Lovely and very kind women who are providing food for those evicted.
Besides a single empty ANC truck outside, I hesitate to give the government much credit in these provisions. Neighbors, a small consortium of NGO/non-profit’s (including EE, SJC, The Bookery, Ndifuna Ukwazi), and the community themselves are doing the heavy lifting.
- The site of the Lwandle evictions
- Mother and her two boys, homeless by the eviction action.
4:30 pm - Site of the Evictions
Pharia and I drive to field where the evictions have taken place. It's two days later and the field has been cleared. Four or five shacks remain standing, which is odd to me as I don't understand what would have led to their salvaging. I'm told that they "had papers". It's a wreck, and I imagine that anything of value has been retrieved since the eviction. We don't stay long as it is getting dark (safety) and there is nothing much to do but take photos, take it in, and head back to the community center.
5:00 pm
Back at the Center, community leaders meet in a closed room. Provisions are brought into the hall. Food is served. The community listens to speakers who advise in Xhosa as to the plans for nightfall.
- Community listens to a speaker who provides much needed information on the day's events.
7:30 pm
It’s nightfall and at this point I am just an observer, providing nothing of value. It is cold outside and they say that it might snow. The question as to why this needed to have taken place during such a cold week has been asked repeatedly. Sure, I agree - it’s cold and that does seem unnecessary. But more so, why the eviction in the first place. Secondly, if there needs to be an eviction, why the callous and cruel method - unannounced and violent?
The food provisions by the city are rumored to last two to three days. Shelter - temporary at around five days. Rights that are deemed universal by the South African constitution seem to be served at an increasing rate by non-profits and private corporations in this country. Who will ensure that these 800 individuals do not fall through the cracks in a week’s time? And the millions that are living in townships and also must endure tonight’s winter cold - what about their opportunity and their future? All questions which run through my head as I head back home into the central city, where I can enjoy the benefits of the centre city.
EE/SJC/NU just jointly posted their position on the evictions. It's quite telling and affirms the reason why I came to South Africa to study land use. Their compassion for the people and fluency with the law are a powerful mix. Our work history is young, but I will stand by those who support the marginalized.
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Dustin Kramer @Dustin_Kramer 4m
We condemn destruction of homes and lives in #Lwandle. JOINT STATEMENT: http://www.equaleducation.org.za/article/2014-06-04-we-condemn-the-destruction-of-homes-and-lives-in-lwandle-cape-town-1 … @CapeTimesSA @TheCapeArgus @ewnupdates
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