Henry Pietersen, a homeless man from Sea Point, begged community members to help him leave the Strandfontein site.
Photo: Brett Herron
Henry Pietersen, a homeless man from Sea Point, begged community members to help him leave the Strandfontein site.
Photo: Brett Herron
The conditions at the Strandfontein homeless shelter in the Western Cape have been compared to those in concentration camps during the Holocaust.
More than 2 000 homeless men, women and children who usually occupy the streets of Cape Town and its surrounding areas have been bused to a sports field in the desolate, cold area and told that this will be their home for the duration of the nationwide lockdown.
But the site is severely under-provisioned, and the approach taken to helping the City’s homeless community is under immense scrutiny.
‘Herded like cattle’
The situation turned violent on Tuesday 7 April, when homeless people and the South African Police Force (SAPS), as well as veritable army of privately hired security agents, clashed. The group were demanding they be released from the fenced-in site.
The GOOD Party’s secretary-general and member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, Brett Herron, told the The South African that homeless people were bused to the site and lined up for processing “like cattle”.
“The whole situation is poorly thought-out,” he said.
“It’s an inappropriate site, with no facilities, it’s freezing, muddy, and tents are desolate with no furniture and no ground sheets.”
He said that the scene he saw when he visited the site earlier this week was heartbreaking, and harked back to scenes of humanitarian atrocities from history.
“Buses are delivering the homeless and making them stand in these queues for testing as if they are cattle.
“It’s like a concentration camp”
He said that the people there felt very much like captives, and condemned the City for continuing a “heartless attitude towards the homeless”.
“This is indicative of this [Executive Mayor Dan Plato] and [Mayoral Committee member for safety and security] JP Smith’s attitude towards homeless people. They want to clean up the streets, not reintegrate the homeless into the Cape’s communities.”
Site ‘a disgusting contravention of human rights’
Toni Tresadern, from the Thandanani organisation, said that when she went to visit a group of homeless people she cares for from Bothasig, she was horrified by what was happening.
She said that 35 of the Bothasig homeless whom she cares for had been accommodated in a tent with more than 120 other homeless people from Brooklyn, Macasser, Milnerton, Sea Point and elsewhere.
“They have no mattresses – they were given two blankets when they arrived. There is no basin in their tent.
“They had to write their names down and a picture was taken of each person. The explanation was that law enforcement needed the picture in case they tried to escape so they knew who to look for.”
‘No COVID-19 screenings’
Tresadern said that the group weren’t screened for COVID-19, contrary to the assurances that were made to the various homeless communities when they were collected and shipped to the site.
“They were not COVID-19 screened, nor have any of the folk that have substance abuse issues been given any medication to help them come off the drugs/alcohol as was promised.”
Indeed, Herron had said that the issue of suffering addicts was one that would inevitably lead to significant distress.
“There are people lying on the ground committing from withdrawals,” he said. “It’s a ticking time bomb.”
Tresadern said there is no toilet paper available to them, and said that ablution facilities are in short-supply, as well as food.
“There is not enough food being given to the people and they are very hungry. They begged me for food. There was a lot of crying and emotion displayed and all begged me to get them out of there.”
“They cannot sleep at night because the bright lights are on all night, and private security is guarding the camp from the outside. They are fully armed and all over the dunes behind the tents.”
“Each tent has an official in charge of the group. Their official was there when they arrived and has not been seen since. They are unable to air their grievances.”
Community angered by lack of consultation
The selection of the site in Strandfontein has also raised concerns from the community who live in the area, who have been challenging the city and threatened court action.
The Strandfontein Ratepayers Association said in a statement that they are not at war with the homeless community, but rather the City.
“We can assure the community that despite the blocking of information, consultation and involvement, this will not deter us pushing ahead.
“We request that as a community we stay focused. We are fighting a deadly virus and need to ensure the health and safety of our families.
“Please spare a thought for the homeless who are being brought into the area against their will. Our fight and frustrations continue, and remain focused and directed purely at the City of Cape Town, not the homeless or among ourselves.”
Rifts in City management
The ongoing situation has also exposed rifts in the management of the City, Democratic Alliance (DA) ward councillor Elton Jansen saying that he was not supportive of the decision to undergo the operation.
“I have said this before, and I will say it again. I was not part of this decision. I will once again raise my concerns [on Thursday 9 April] at the operational meeting, which I attended every day since they came here,” Jansen said in a statement.
“I am not happy about this situation and the decision to bring the homeless to Strandfontein, but we are in a disaster and what I like and how I feel is not important right now.”
City will deal with rule-breakers ‘accordingly’
Responding to the allegations of human right’s infringements on Tuesday, Smith said the the City would enforce it’s power to arrest people should they try to leave the site.
“While some of the group has since indicated that they will remain on site, the City would like to make it clear that, according to SAPS, any person who leaves the site will be in violation of the national lockdown regulations and will be dealt with accordingly.”
“The City remains committed to ensuring that street people are offered a place to stay for the duration of the lockdown, as instructed by national government, and to provide the necessary amenities.”
“We also need to reiterate to the public that as with any undertaking as complexed as this, there will be challenges; however, the City is geared to address these in conjunction with our partner organisations.”
The South African has reached out to Alderman Smith for a revised comment and will update this story when it lands.
