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It is estimated that on December 17, 2020 in Cape Town, more than 1,000 homes were destroyed by fire and fueled by strong winds in Masiphumelele. Helicopters and fire trucks were deployed to help put out the fires and the cause of the fire is not yet known. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)
The area, where more than 1,000 homes have been burned to the ground, still looks like a war zone. But the residents of Masi are used to surviving. Some will stay with friends or in churches. The community room will not be available due to Covid-19.
Early in the morning of December 19, 2020, two days later: the smoke that remained yesterday between the scattered piles of debris is gone. But this huge area, where more than 1,000 homes have been burned, still looks like a war zone. Against the strict advice of Cape Town officials, some of the 4,000 affected residents have begun to rebuild their huts, others still protect their space or the few belongings covered in ash. Mayor Daniel Plato promised to bring trucks today to clean up the debris over the weekend, but what about those who rebuilt without permission?
A community leader says: “We cannot trust the City. We have to take care of ourselves. ” Another recalls: “The fire started in section B of the informal settlement, then spread to C and D. Due to the strong winds, everything went so fast. I saw how many D-section men lined up along a canal to make sure the fire didn’t reach their huts. They all risked their lives to protect their families. Some were injured. It’s a miracle that no one died. ”
More than 40 firefighters, supported by a helicopter, did their best to extinguish the blaze, which started shortly after 4 p.m. on December 17 and lasted until after midnight, before control was gained.
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Masiphumelele is 30 km south of Cape Town and around 40,000 people, mostly IsiXhosa-speaking, from the Eastern Cape call it home. It is so densely populated that most job-seekers in the Western Cape have no choice but to sneak into the informal settlement, also known as the Wetlands, now occupied by more than 10,000 residents.
About a third of them have built their huts on stilts in the shallow waters at the edge of the natural wetland reserve. In some parts, there are no toilets or water taps, in others more than 20 families share a single toilet and clean water must be brought in from afar. Without a fire in the summer or floods in the winter, it is a permanent disaster area. Not only in times of Covid-19.
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Not far away, a A young mother with a baby on her back sits on a box and says defensively, “This is where our hut was… my husband is working. I have to protect this space … other people are already pushing, trying to steal space from us. “Only now, I see two small children sitting on the floor next to her. Also her children?” Yes, “she says.” We sleep the first two nights in blankets on the ground off Masemola Road. We’re not going anywhere. “
An old man is digging the garbage with a stick. “Everything is gone,” he says, “everything.” I ask him what he is looking for. “My passport,” he mutters, not looking up. “I’m from Zim … I’m nothing without him.”
On the way to our children’s house, which is just behind the nursery clinic, I met the assistant to our only GP in Masi. She is perfectly on time as always for the past 15+ years. This morning her eyes fill with tears: “There is nothing left, nothing … not a merry Christmas for my family.” Where he sleeps “A friend welcomed us. Now fourteen people in a hut. But the doctor will help me buy construction supplies today. “
A moment later, a mother arrives totally stressed at our children’s home: since the fire, her 11-year-old son is missing. “I gave him a bag with my ID and cell phone … and suddenly he was in all the chaos.” And his hut? “Everything is gone,” he says. How can we help you? “I urgently need my daily medication … it’s gone too.” One of us accompanies her to a local pharmacy.
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Whatever the government may or may not do: More than ever, Masi’s neighbors are there to help. Since the first strict closure in March, several neighbors have founded Community Action Networks (CAN). It’s up and running now, buzzing with activity on WhatsApp, such as CAN Clovelly or Noordhoek: to organize blankets and clothing, food and other support for fire victims. People with resources care about people with fewer or no resources. Madiba and Tutu’s dream of a caring society come true.
Others also remind us that these fires are totally avoidable: “They happen every year. The same ritual is about to be repeated. Charity and emergency relief will be provided, and new huts will be built densely over and over again with no access to land, adequate access to water, electricity and sanitation. But the old spatial arrangements of apartheid could be changed; the City owns lands adjacent to Masi ”. Activists in and around Masi have made such reasonable land demands for years. But those awarded by the City are mostly new construction sites for “rich developments.” Masi remains “locked up” like a refugee camp. When will these deep injustices finally be substantially addressed? When will the extreme differences between rich and poor be overcome for the benefit of all South Africans?
Still, everyone agrees out of sheer humanity that emergency help is needed. Living Hope, a church-based organization on Kommetjie Road, across from Masiphumelele, has built a professional trust to collect and distribute to those most in need. If you can, bring articles for fire victims to Living Hope, or donate through their website (“Masi fire”): www.livinghope.co.za.
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Yes, yesterday morning later, Mayor Plato arrived with several officials at the Masi community room. Explain that material for reconstruction can only be delivered once a request for local disaster funding has been approved, a new process. Not everyone who listens understands: “When did we receive the material?” Ward Councilwoman Felicity Purchase says, “I should be here in three days … Monday.” And until then? “Those who lost everything must register with city officials. Even those without a number of huts can do so by bringing a witness and submitting an affidavit. ”Long lines begin to form in front of the community room.
The residents of Masi are used to surviving. Some will stay with friends or in churches. The community room will not be available due to Covid-19. Hard life. Not merry Christmas.
A moment later, the mother returns from the pharmacy. You have been helped with enough of your crucial medication for a few days. And he has found his son. We know a place for both of us for the next few nights.
Still, not merry Christmas. Perhaps one day, when such fires are not considered inevitable. DM / MC
Dr. Lutz van Dijk is a Dutch-German writer, historian and human rights activist. He was not allowed into South Africa until 1994. In 2001, he became the founding co-director of the Hokisa Children’s Home in Masiphumelele (www.hokisa.co.za). His book “A History of Africa” (preface by Archbishop Desmond Tutu) is narrated exclusively with African voices.
