Evicted women had no reason to celebrate Women’s Day
MIDRAND – 'I cried and went on my knees begging for my shack back from the police.'
Displaced women, evicted for illegally living on land in Austin View, said they had little or nothing at all to celebrate on Women’s Day.
“What is there to celebrate while we suffer with our children? Poor people like us are treated like toilet paper. We are used to get votes then dumped after elections,” said 65-year-old Zandile Mancutusi.
The women were part of scores of people who were removed from the land by Metro police in July after the Department of Housing had opened a case of illegal land invasion at the Rabie Ridge Police Station. Eighty shacks were demolished leaving many families destitute. “I applied for an RDP house in June 1996,” added Mancutusi.
“I have been to the provincial housing department countless times, and each time I was referred from pillar to post. I am a pensioner now and on chronic medication. Where will I get money to pay rent?
“My child died and I didn’t even have a home to hold a funeral. Is this the price I have to pay for being a poor mother?”
The pensioner now lives with six other women in a shack they had erected after last month’s demolition. When Midrand Reporter visited the area on 8 August, the women were seated outside the shack contemplating their bleak future. “I have nine children and am unemployed,” said 50-year-old Nolitha Mangisa.
“Some of my children are in school and I have asked friends and relatives to take them in because we are homeless. I applied for an RDP house in October 1996 but to date, I am yet to see that house. It is very painful to be a poor woman in South Africa because you will struggle with your children.”
Nokhululekile Nkori (58) said she yearned for the freedom that was ‘sold’ to them when the democratic era was ushered in.
“I cried and went on my knees begging for my shack back from the police but what I remember is being pushed to the ground, losing consciousness and waking up to a crowd surrounding me. My child was next to me crying. My shack was gone and so were the police. Is this the freedom?”
Metro police spokesperson Edna Mamonyane confirmed the eviction. “I can confirm that there was a joint operation between the Metro police and the local police where shacks were demolished.
“Anyone with allegations of ill-treatment may lodge a complaint with the internal department of the Metro police.”
