Scenes of Anarchy in
Somerset West
https://www.sapeople.com/2019/04/11/scenes-of-anarchy-in-somerset-west-and-strand-land-grab-south-africa/
“Violent protestors are blocking the N2 between
Somerset West and Cape Town, as they carry out a “land grab” on a private piece
of property, opposite a school in the area. The illegal
land invasion began last Tuesday when people began knocking posts into the land
to stake their claim on it.”
Dear Friends,
The above headline describes a situation all too
common in South Africa. This particular episode happened to be right here where
we live. “What are the people protesting?” you may ask. As is the case
throughout history, desperate people turn to desperate measures, and in South
Africa, people have become conditioned to believe that they will only be
listened to once they take action, often violent, that demands the attention of
those in power and authority. These protesters usually live in impoverished
communities, residentially over-populated and under-served by city utilities.
Government-imposed electricity blackouts (to reduce load demand) often affect
their areas first and for longer periods of time. Broken sewage systems take
longer to repair. Polluted streets and alleys never get cleaned up. Protesters
decry the unjust conditions in which they live by forcing drivers on the
national highway to be delayed (or in some cases endangered), and requiring
municipal crews to come deal with their disruptions.
In the case described
above, frustrated individuals were attempting to lay claim to vacant land which
lies right next to their over-flowing community and the freeway. The land is
government owned, but remains there empty, day after day, insulting those
without adequate housing and tempting them to claim it and make living use of
it for themselves. It’s a harsh reality and is just one of the many symptoms of
modern-day South Africa which contributes to the complexity of creating just
living situations for all. The photo above (taken by Kathryn) shows the
intersection where this protest happened. On the right you can see the open
land with bright yellow wild flowers. On the left can be seen the Aquatic
Centre for one of the most expensive private schools in the region, sitting in
stark contrast to the shack-strewn, over-crowded township literally a stone’s
throw away.
In a sermon given recently by Kathryn to the local
Unitarian Fellowship, she described a related incident to the situation above
and how SADRA had a hand in non-violently addressing it. She writes:
History has taught people in townships that
destruction gets attention, which gets things done, and part of what SADRA does
is train community leaders in non-violence and mediation, so they can help in
constructive ways forward. Here’s an example of an intervention several months
ago: Residents of two neighboring settlements, Pholile and Desert, in our local
township, Lwandle, got into a dispute. Pholile has no electrical service and appealed
to the residents of Desert, which is serviced, to allow for electrical
connection to be made via their poles. The Desert residents felt sorry for
their neighbors and agreed, so long as it didn’t cause disruption to their
power. However, as more and more shacks were added to the power lines, this
caused an overload and power surges whereby the poles and transformers burnt
up. This also caused damage to the connected appliances owned by the Desert
residents. They were very angry and threatened violence against the Pholile
residents.
The Ward Councilor was called in and he
invited our local SADRA trained mediators to assist. They convened a
meeting with residents of both communities and heard all the complaints and
issues. They also got them to agree not to harm one another. The mediators then
went to the Municipality to impart what they learned to the Services office.
The Municipality was prepared to provide electricity to Pholile, but the land
was owned by SANRAL (South African National Roads Agency Ltd.), so they needed
SANRAL’s written authorization first, which is why this action had been delayed
for so long. The mediators then went to SANRAL themselves and called another
meeting including residents, the mayor, Municipality officials and SANRAL
agents, which finally resulted in SANRAL giving their permission for the electricity to
be installed in the informal settlement. The municipality began the work
promptly and good relations were restored between the two communities. The
mediators were even able to get the Municipality to agree to assist the
residents with insurance claims for the loss of the damaged appliances.
SADRA continues to
train community and church leaders, such as Pastor Anele Paliso and Pastor
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Kathryn with
Pastor Paliso (left) and Pastor Makasi (right), two
of the trained
Mediators who helped with this conflict settlement.
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The challenges
facing South Africa are great. Even this year there have been more incidents of
xenophobic attacks on foreigners. This is why the work SADRA does is so vital.
Peace comes through individuals listening to one another and overcoming the
walls of hostility by building new relationships, as well as addressing the
material injustices.
Thank
you for all the support you’ve given allowing us to work with SADRA Conflict
Transformation these last four years.
Peace,
Dan &
Kathryn
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Field where protests and attempted land-grabs took
place being guarded by a private security company
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