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By staff reporter
April 30, 2020 (Ezega.com) – The Addis Ababa city government has demolished dozens of day laborer homes in the past three weeks, leaving at least 1,000 people homeless amid the COVID-19 pandemic Amnesty International said Wednesday.
Most of those whose houses have been recently destroyed lost their jobs due to continued COVID-19 closings, they told Amnesty International that they are now also having sleepless nights as authorities repeatedly confiscate tarp or plastic sheeting that they are using to protect against heavy rain.
“Having a home is essential to protect yourself from COVID-19, stop its spread and recover from it. Authorities must ensure that no one is placed in a position of greater vulnerability to COVID-19, including by leaving them homeless, “Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International Director for Eastern and Southern Africa
“Stranded families have told us heartbreaking stories about how their children sleep outside, exposed to rain and cold,” said Deprose Muchena.
According to authorities in the Bole district, the demolitions, which started in mid-February, targeted illegal structures in the area. However, the victims told Amnesty International that they had built their houses on land that they bought from the farmers in 2007. However, the authorities do not recognize this purchase and insist that the families are squatters because they did not buy the land from the municipality of Addis Ababa.
After the demolitions of their permanent homes in early April, the affected families attempted to rebuild temporary shelters made of tarp and tarp, but these were also removed and the police confiscated their materials in another round of demolitions that began on April 14. 2020.
“The ongoing demolitions are a terrible act of inhumanity when people have a lot to face: COVID-19, unemployment and heavy downpours. Authorities are making the situation worse by inflicting homelessness on people who don’t even know where their next meal will come from, “Deprose Muchena said.
Amnesty International said it has verified, using satellite image analysis, that nearly 40 newly constructed structures have been damaged or destroyed since April 6, 2020 near Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in the District 12 sub-district. Satellite images show Before and after images of area with and without missing homes, as well as the appearance of tents and other temporary structures instead of what had been permanent homes.
Most of the victims of these demolitions worked as casual workers on construction sites in Addis Ababa that are no longer operational due to the COVID-19 closings.
The families told Amnesty International that their houses were demolished without prior notice, and that the authorities had not involved them in discussions or consultations, as required by international human rights law, as some of the guarantees against forced evictions. Protection against forced evictions applies to everyone, regardless of whether they own, rent or occupy the homes or land in question.
A woman, a single mother, told Amnesty International that she was working on April 6 when her neighbor called to tell her that her house was being demolished.
“Now I cover myself and my four children under a tarp during the night and when it rains. We can’t even put up a makeshift house because the police are taking the canvas and the tent, ”he said. The woman asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation by local authorities who are arresting anyone who speaks in public or to the media on this issue, “the organization said.
“Authorities must immediately stop these forced evictions and ensure that people receive alternative housing as a matter of urgency. In the long term, they should begin appropriate consultations with affected families on what the problem really is, and then follow through on the due process. process in the agreed action plan, “Deprose Muchena said.
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