South Africa - Cape Town - 12 December 2023 - Standalone - The Foreshore Freeway Bridge, also known as Cape Town's Unfinished Bridge, is an incomplete section of what was intended to be the Eastern Boulevard Highway in the city bowl of Cape Town. The Foreshore Freeway bridge has received the iconic name as the “unfinished bridge,” which has become the location of many movies and advertisement scenes. It has also become a hub for a homeless community sleeping next to a 20-meter sheer vertical drop. Photographer: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
As we approach a day in which “a Saviour was born in a manger filled with hay” and during which “we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ”, I wish people would take the time to reflect on what it is that makes the time significant for them. All around me, I see people acting in ways that do not reflect the teachings of Christ.
With this in mind, I would like to focus on the recently granted court order to evict those living at the homeless encampment in Green Point.
The mayor and the Sea Point ward councillor have, in court and in the media since the court order was granted, said they had alternative transitional accommodation for those about to be evicted.
The general public, eager to see the encampment disappear, are eagerly accepting the statements as the gospel truth. But those who are about to be evicted, and individuals, like myself, are challenging the City’s commitment to accommodating the individuals in sustainable accommodation.
I am sharing with you just a few of the past week’s WhatsApp messages I received from people living in our shelters and safe spaces as well as members of the public trying to assist people into the facilities:
“The Haven’s mission statement says that they will integrate you into a community of your choice. They let me leave Karl Bremer under false pretences as they told me there was space at Green Point for me. They placed me in Claremont.
“They didn’t care that I needed to get to Tygerberg often from Claremont. They didn’t care when I got a job as a bar manager in Long Street and had to work late nights. The auxiliary social worker told me I would have to wait out on the street till 5am after my night shift because none of the hosts would open for me. It was mid-winter and so I turned the job down because of the stress of having to wait on the street till 5am.”
“I saw your post on Facebook about Safe Spaces. They are trying to evict me and a few others at the moment because they say our time is up. Where are we meant to go? They say that is our problem.”
“Hi sir. My wife and I have been told to move from the tennis field. We have nowhere to go. They said last year there was going to be a better place opening in Green Point where we could stay as a couple but it hasn’t opened.”
“Carlos, we are being told to move and shown a court order. They say we must go before the cops come to break down the place. Where must we go? The places here and town are all full.”
“Carlos, it’s Emily. Why does everyone lie to us. They is saying we can go to new places last year. You also heard. Now they say the courts has decide we must go. Where do I go? At the shelter we forced to be outside all day.”
“Hi. Plse call me. Looking for shelter for elderly gentleman phoned all shelters and safe spaces. No luck.”
“Carlos, it’s Bongi. What happened to the lawyers? Why did they not tell us about this. Now we’re f ***** !”
“Kom sien ons asb. Dringend by Tony se tennisklub. Dringend.”
“Hi. Hulle begin alweer om ons te dreig. Hulle het nie plek vir ons nie maar ons moet ons goetes vat en loop. Kom hier asb. Praat met hulle.”
In 2019, the City said the 2 500 beds for the homeless in Cape Town were enough and that those living on the streets refused its offers of assistance.
The truth was exposed by Covid19 when the City was forced to find means to accommodate more than 4 000 people who were living on the streets outside the shelters.
When it was forced to close Strandfontein after six weeks, for human rights violations, we, as homeless people, took it to court and the City was ordered to accommodate us once Strandfontein had been closed.
Did the City accommodate us after closing Strandfontein as per the court order?
No! It dumped us on the streets with no services! Now, three-and-ahalf years later, it is trying to evict the same people it had been ordered to accommodate in 2020 and didn’t!
What will it take for people to realise that the City has no intention of accommodating those living on the streets? To the City, they are a convenient nuisance.
* Carlos Mesquita.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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