Clutching her seven-month-old daughter, Zimbabwean refugee Gloria Musindo stood next to her belongings heaped in the dirt beside a bare cement slab and a pile of torn iron sheets. (from IOL)
Her backyard shack in River Park, on the outskirts of Alexandra, had just been torn down by security company officers, accompanied by Joburg metro police.
Tueday's demolition brought back saddening memories of her experience during last year's xenophobic attacks.
A year after her Alex shack was pillaged, Musindo, 33, has been one of the foreign nationals paying between R350 and R400 to rent shacks erected on RDP-house stands in River Park.
This is illegal, according to council bylaws, which prevent the erection of any structure without approval.
On Tuesday, Musindo stood with a huddle of neighbours surveying the damage to a cluster of shacks.
"This morning I just thought of the xenophobia, nothing else. Even now I'm still shaking.
"It's just the same as last year; this is just the beginning."
She said they did not even have enough time to collect their belongings.
"When they came to take down the shack, they said 'You must go back to your countries. The shacks are not allowed'," Musindo said.
"They say there's no xenophobia, but it's back again," Kedibone Sukazi said.
After their home had been demolished, Musindo and her husband were given a Joburg metro police notice telling them to demolish their shack within 48 hours.
Explaining this, metro police spokesman Wayne Minnaar said the notice - which carried their logo - could be theirs, but the notice had not been signed out by any of his officers.
"We were there as an escort to a private security company contracted by the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP) to do the actual demolishing
"Our officers issued no notices, but the security company did.
"We normally give 48 hours' notice, but not after we have demolished the structure; we wait for the notice period to pass."
The ARP could not be reached for comment.
City of Joburg spokesperson Nthatise Modingoane said the backyard shacks were illegal and also against the government's plan to eradicate informal settlements.
More and more shacks are to be demolished in River Park in the coming days, which could leave hundreds of people homeless.
Her backyard shack in River Park, on the outskirts of Alexandra, had just been torn down by security company officers, accompanied by Joburg metro police.
Tueday's demolition brought back saddening memories of her experience during last year's xenophobic attacks.
A year after her Alex shack was pillaged, Musindo, 33, has been one of the foreign nationals paying between R350 and R400 to rent shacks erected on RDP-house stands in River Park.
This is illegal, according to council bylaws, which prevent the erection of any structure without approval.
On Tuesday, Musindo stood with a huddle of neighbours surveying the damage to a cluster of shacks.
"This morning I just thought of the xenophobia, nothing else. Even now I'm still shaking.
"It's just the same as last year; this is just the beginning."
She said they did not even have enough time to collect their belongings.
"When they came to take down the shack, they said 'You must go back to your countries. The shacks are not allowed'," Musindo said.
"They say there's no xenophobia, but it's back again," Kedibone Sukazi said.
After their home had been demolished, Musindo and her husband were given a Joburg metro police notice telling them to demolish their shack within 48 hours.
Explaining this, metro police spokesman Wayne Minnaar said the notice - which carried their logo - could be theirs, but the notice had not been signed out by any of his officers.
"We were there as an escort to a private security company contracted by the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP) to do the actual demolishing
"Our officers issued no notices, but the security company did.
"We normally give 48 hours' notice, but not after we have demolished the structure; we wait for the notice period to pass."
The ARP could not be reached for comment.
City of Joburg spokesperson Nthatise Modingoane said the backyard shacks were illegal and also against the government's plan to eradicate informal settlements.
More and more shacks are to be demolished in River Park in the coming days, which could leave hundreds of people homeless.
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