Inside Knysna's squitters camps

KNYSNA NEWS - The plight of homeless people has been thrust into the limelight again in the wake of Knysna Municipality's recent "cleanup operation" in the CBD of "vagrant hot spots".

While the municipality explains it is obliged to react to complaints and why such action is a necessary pursuit, various locals have voiced their concerns about it on social media and phone calls to Knysna-Plett Herald – one more salient point being where the over 200 vagrants are supposed to do their number twos without any loos.

The operation allegedly led to street people living in makeshift shelters next to the Waterfront being "arrested and harassed" by the Red Ants and municipal police on 7 August, according to a resident whose letter was published in KPH on 8 August under the pseudonym "Knysna serviceman". The writer added, "But in a town with no space for homeless people and a few who care for them, it all seems rather sad, and infuriating…"

'The day we lost our humanity'
More locals added their concerns on various social media platforms on the day. One such was Candice Ludick who said on Facebook, "I've just been told that Red Ants are busy evicting homeless people from their informal dwellings in Knysna as we speak. My heart is broken. How is this even possible? Do we really value property over people? Do you know what happens when you pay mercenaries to displace desperate people? Knysna, I cry for us. The day we lost our humanity."

Director of Red Ants security relocation and eviction services Theo Moses could only confirm that they were in town on instruction of Knysna Municipality.

Explaining what brought the operation about, municipal spokesperson Christopher Bezuidenhoudt said the number of vagrants within the Garden Route area has grown exponentially in recent years, and that Knysna has not been immune to this situation.

'Homeless were armed'
"The Red Ants … responded to a call to assist the municipality in a cleanup operation of vagrant hot spots, i.e. the cemetery at Costa Sarda, the Waste by Rail transfer station and the station at the Waterfront," Bezuidenhout said.

He added that two truckloads of waste were removed and the area cleaned.

Bezuidenhoudt said the homeless were armed with knives, other weapons and pit bull terriers and that the number of harassment complaints and the crime rate have increased in the areas where the homeless people settled.

He said the municipality has no option but to have regular interventions in town to prevent decay of the CBD area.

The burning question that remains, however, is where are these homeless people meant to go as there are no formal shelters for them in Knysna.

'No structures were broken down'
To this, Bezuidenhout responded as follows: "The municipality's Social Development Department is liaising with the Western Cape Department of Social Development to find solutions to this matter.

We must emphasise that no structures were broken down or any personal goods such as blankets or foodstuff taken, as was alleged."

Meanwhile, another local, Jill Mathiesen, who works towards easing the plight of the homeless, wrote to the publication advocating for them and highlighting their need to access public toilets. Mathiesen said there are about 200 homeless people in Knysna – a number gleaned from various soup kitchens and churches that are helping to feed street people.

Just like everybody else, homeless people need to use a toilet at least once a day, especially so since they often eat scraps of food from rubbish bins which can result in "the squitters" (diarrhoea), she said. "This is a human reality, not a political or debatable fact. We all need to go when we have to go, " she said.

Right to human dignity
Mathiesen went on to argue that the homeless also have a right to human dignity. "Where may I ask, is this dignity observed in Knysna when so many people are forced to defecate in the bush, your backyard or the lagoon?" She proposed that public toilets be kept open between 07:00 and 19:00, "considering the municipal excuse that they cannot afford for them to be manned 24/7". "And please don't tell me it is 'not in the budget'. This is an emergency that cannot wait until all the money is spent on higher salaries for officials. There is an emergency budget – please use it on this emergency."

When the municipality was asked to comment on this, Bezuidenhoudt reiterated that their Social Development Department is looking into the matter to find a holistic approach to addressing the homeless' situation. "Due to vandalism the public toilets are locked at night. It is open during the day for normal use. However, there is also a responsibility on the users of these facilities to be respectful to other users by keeping the facility neat after use."

Due to vandalism the public toilets are locked at night.