South African Homeless Get Moved For The World Cup
South Africa's obsession with presenting an impeccable image to the world during the Soccer World Cup is beginning to border on injustice.
Homeless people in a number of cities are being forcibly rounded up and moved to areas where they will be out of sight and virtually non-existent to the thousands of visitors who will be visiting the country. Already, approximately a thousand people have been moved from Cape Town and Johannesburg to other areas which have been described as dumping grounds infested with drugs.
A spokesman of a Johannesburg local council said: "Homelessness and begging are big problems. You have to clean your house before you have guests." Various charities have spoken out against the plan and have described it as a gross violation of human rights. Some are even describing it as bearing the the marks of the previous Apartheid Government's forced removals policy.
Seen within the context of the Government's inability to provide basic services to many poverty-stricken areas, and the immense conflict this is causing, Ruth Tanner, campaigns director at War on Want, said: "Rather than temporarily cleaning up for the World Cup, the South African government needs to tackle the problem of housing and improve living conditions for South Africans."
An interesting observation lies within the incongruity that exists in the condemnation of these forced moves. Many of the residents in outlying areas of these cities have voiced their irritation concerning the homeless and the so-called "blot" they bring upon the area, but have also voiced their opposition to the World Cup being staged in South Africa. Now suddenly, the human rights of the homeless, the very people they wanted kicked out, has become the flag they wave in opposition to the World Cup. Contradiction reigns in South Africa.
Still, no matter how it is seen, it is a human rights issue and this kind of heavy-handedness by the Government is unacceptable.
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