Letter: They are fellow citizens

Tony Kruger of Sandra Road writes:

The dictionary definition of the word “Invader” is an army that enters another country by force to take control of it.

The use of this alarming word in your front page heading on June 11, and elsewhere in the accompanying article, raises mental images of violence and destruction.

READ: For as little as R1 500 you can buy a shack and squat rent free

It turns out however, that a group of destitute people suffering economic hardship have erected ramshackle dwellings on an unused piece of land in the Ballito area.

The news report states that these poor (literally and figuratively) people have “flocked” to the area, and that “since the coronavirus pandemic there has been a staggering rise (my italics – no proof of this provided) in land invasions in the region”.

Two of the shack dwellers give their reasons: Sipho says he “lost his job and income when the country went into hard lockdown… and could no longer afford to pay his rent”; Hlengiwe says she had “nowhere else to live” and that she just needs “help to live in peace”.

This is hardly the stuff of an invading army!

These are not dangerous enemies, to be loathed and feared.

They are fellow South African citizens, who happen by birth and circumstances to be on the other side of the fence.

I’m absolutely certain, looking at the pictures of the shacks in the article, that these people existing in hardship are not doing so by choice, but out of desperate necessity.

Let’s not forget, these are not lesser people, they are equal citizens, with families and dependents they are trying to provide for.

Perhaps the proximity to “an upmarket eco-estate” concerns the upper middle-class occupiers thereof.

Perhaps they are hoping the shacks and the squatters can just disappear – even if made to do so by force.

If so, where will these people be forced to go?

Or, is this not a problem one should be concerned about, secure behind security walls in guarded estates?

Out of sight out of mind.

I do understand that there are proper concerns here if the issue is not sorted out.

But whatever the solution it needs to satisfy not just one of, but all the parties.

The KDM’s threats and use of force through court orders and public order policing cannot be where it begins or ends.

Our elected local officials must show they are working 24/7 to find mutually beneficial solutions.

Please can KDM give regular feedback on what is being done, starting with genuine engagement with the whole community, squatter residents and upmarket residents alike.

END OF LETTER

The OED further defines ‘invasion’ as ‘an incursion by a large number of people or things into a place or sphere of activity,’ such as a pitch invasion, or ‘an unwelcome intrusion into another’s domain,’ such as an invasion of privacy.

It is very difficult, if not impossible, to produce proof of the increase in shack dwellers in numbers.

But if you take a drive around the area or even better, a microlight flight, you will get some idea of the huge number of informal houses that have sprung up in the 20km between Ballito and KwaDukuza.

There is a need for housing.

The question is, should it happen in a controlled or uncontrolled manner? – BS.