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Abahlali baseMjondolo Western Cape press statement

'We do not accept that shack fires are natural disasters. Shack fires are the result of the social abandonment of the poor. We will continue to politicise shack fires and we will continue to fight for our full social inclusion in this society.'

Abahlali baseMjondolo Western Cape press statement
Wednesday, 08 December 2010

Up To Five Hundred People Left Homeless in the QQ Fire Last Night

The fire that raged through the QQ Section shack settlement in Khayelitsha last
night has destroyed up to 100 shacks leaving as many as 500 people homeless.
Most people have lost everything including ID books, work clothes, school
uniforms, medication and family photographs.

The community built and run crèche has also been destroyed.

We are appealing for immediate help for the people who have been left destitute
in this fire. As a movement we are struggling for justice and not charity but
in a time of crisis we embrace the generosity of others.

It is rumoured that this fire was started by a self-organised electricity
connection. Our movement has been organising around the questions of
electricity and fire in Durban for many years. Our position is that:

1. The major cause of shack fires is the fact that shack settlements are not
electrified and therefore, as a matter of urgency, all shack settlements must
be electrified.

2. When the state fails to electrify shack settlements or simply refuses to
electrify them at all then people have a right to electrify their own shacks.
However it is essential to draw a clear distinction between badly made and
dangerous connections installed in an ad hoc manner and well organised, well
made and safe connections. A well organised community structure can electrify a
settlement safely.

We do not accept that shack fires are natural disasters. Shack fires are the
result of the social abandonment of the poor. We will continue to politicise
shack fires and we will continue to fight for our full social inclusion in this
society. That means that while we fight for land and housing we are also
demanding the immediate electrification of all shack settlements as a matter of
extreme urgency. Where the state fails to respond the shack fire crisis
adequately – and an adequate response must include immediate electrification
– we will encourage all communities to organise their own connections in a
collective, disciplined and safe manner. Neither the struggle for justice nor
the self organised responses to surviving injustice can move forward without
proper organisation. We are encouraging all communities to democratise their
settlements and to elect accountable and recallable leadership outside of party
structures so that the collective, bottom up and responsible self management of
settlements and the struggle for the full right to the city for all can be
taken forward.

For updates and comment from QQ section please contact:

Mr. Qona 076 041 0057
Mbongeni 076 981 6945
Mzonke 073 256 2036

--
Uyishayile!

Abahlali baseMjondolo, together with with Landless People's Movement (Gauteng),
the Rural Network (KwaZulu-Natal) and the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign,
is part of the Poor People's Alliance - a national network of democratic
membership based poor people's movements.