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By Shakirah Thebus 
2h ago
Cape Town: A group of queer activists currently occupy a residence in Camps Bay as a safe space for queer people.
Seven artists and creatives from the Queer Radical Feminist Activists Collective have occupied the splendid house that has six bedrooms, a jacuzzi and a pool overlooking the beach.
Forcible entry was not used to access the property, but the group had initially booked it for a three-day stay, as the house was listed as vacation accommodation on a popular booking site.
The group moved in on Friday afternoon and informed the owners that they would be occupying it starting Monday.
Kelly-Eve Koopman, 30, said planning for this action began two to three months ago.
“Many people see this action and are scared, and think that I worked hard for my home and that I have a right to live here, but we were very deliberate in shaping ourselves and placing ourselves in a space where we are looking at high-net individuals.
“We know that South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world, but that means there is a ridiculously small percentage of people who have several million to spare, so this house is used as a real estate investment and used to generate income, but most of the time it’s vacant, ”Koopman said.
“The intent was not to rob someone of their livelihood, this is an asset of someone who owns many other spaces like this that may be appropriate for what we are trying to use for now, which is a safe space for queer people who have been displaced and removed and have not been able to find housing or support during this time. “
Koopman explained that the response to illegal land occupations was often to paint people as invaders, criminals, and opportunists, when they move onto vacant lots, without adequate sewer, water, or electricity.
He said that the collective and its actions were in solidarity with other land occupations.
“We have done extensive research on this place and what is our historical imperative to be here. How the equality scale looks, it is feasible to ask that spaces like these be reappropriated by citizens.
“We come from trauma, we are not here to suffer more trauma. We don’t want to become violently involved with ourselves.
“We see this as a healing action, both for ourselves and for this space, and our queer character and our feminism is central to this,” Koopman said.
Wewe Ngidi, 47, said that as part of the poor working class, choosing this space was to show that no person deserved to live in a place like a shack.
“When there are places like this, which is available that no one is using it during the pandemic, we are just highlighting that there are places that already exist,” Ngidi said.
He said the government was not providing adequate support to people affected by the pandemic.
Vatheka Halile, 32, said that due to Covid-19, she lost her job and was unable to pay her rent. She was forced to stay with friends and felt that, as a queer woman, it would not be safe to illegally occupy city land.
“It is as if we were in two different countries in one. We have this rich class and the poor class and this is supposedly a rainbow nation, but seeing black people here is rare.
“Maybe you can see the people who are working here, the gardeners, the security, the cashier, the gas man, but it’s not supposed to be like that. They have told us that there was no land for us, but there is a lot of land here. “
The collective said that they intend to stay in the residence as long as possible and that they cannot share information about the owners of the property as sensitive discussions are taking place and they did not want to put him in danger so soon, and have asked the public to show solidarity during this time.
Cape Argus
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