Vagrants pitch tents in Newton Park
Concern and outrage over the number of homeless people moving into the Gqeberha suburb of Newton Park reached boiling point on Monday when two tents were pitched on a prominent street corner of the suburb.
And though the new campers on the stretch of lawn, outside a small shopping centre at the intersection of Cape Road and Fourth Avenue, were removed by municipal officials in the interim, some made their intention to return clear.
Despite being met with anger and disbelief from surrounding residents, the tent dwellers claim they have nowhere else to go and believe they have a right to stay on public land which is vacant.
“We are not strangers to Newton Park. Some of us lived in the park next to the bank before they fenced it in.
“Then we moved to the church gates and were removed.
“Some of us have been in Newton Park longer than some homeowners,” a 36-year-old tent dweller said.
Pictures of the two tents started circulating on neighbourhood watch and community chat groups at the weekend, but major concerns were raised on Monday morning when motorists passed the intersection on their daily commute.
The sight initially caused confusion.
At first glance the tents seemed to be in good condition and some passers-by thought a nearby business was displaying some camping gear it had for sale.
However, it soon became apparent that the tents belonged to a group of vagrants, some of whom had been seen in the area on numerous occasions in recent years.
The development drew a strong parallel to the situation in Cape Town, where the homeless at a site called “tent city” in Green Point face imminent eviction.
Some of the squatters in Gqeberha have been living in the area for close to a decade, initially staying at the park next to Nobili Street, then moving next door to take shelter at the front door of Absa Bank.
From there, they moved
across Cape Road to set up plastic and blanket shelters outside the perimeter wall of St Hugh ’ s Anglican Church.
“Security and police made life hell for us, always showing up and searching us, blaming us for this break-in or that robbery. So we left,” the tent dweller said.
“But we’ve been in Newton Park for years.
“For some of us, this is home. “We have jobs nearby and we have nowhere else to go.”
He said he worked as a car guard, while others worked as gardeners nearby.
According to the man, they have even been accused of stealing the tents they are living in.
However, he said they found one tent after a resident put it out with the rubbish and the other he bought second hand. “We are not doing any harm. “Why can’t people just let us be?”
Another person living in a tent on the site, aged 29, said they had experienced motorists shouting at them as they drove past, making rude comments and telling them to leave.
“One lady called us garbage, while another man told me to f**k off.
“Do they think I want to be living on the street?
“And, besides, what law says I can’t be here?”
Ward 7 councillor Brendon Pegram said he had referred the matter to the city’s land invasion team.
“This department is able to deal with such queries in a specific manner so these individuals are also provided with some form of support.
“One of our biggest concerns is still that many of the homeless are actually being encouraged to stay on the streets as the public continue to financially support them.”
Pegram said there was no easy fix and official figures showed there were about 4,000 homeless people across the Bay.
“We are also facing a massive crisis because of the lack of shelters across the metro, either privately funded or run by the municipality.”
He said he was in constant communication with the land invasion and social development departments to find ways to get homeless people off the streets and into shelters or other rehabilitation facilities.
Newton Park Neighbourhood Watch vice-chair Chris Wilke said they would keep a close eye on the area to see if the tents reappeared elsewhere.
“The argument remains homelessness is not a crime, but we can’t help but notice a coincidental increase in criminal activity with the increase of vagrant activity.
“What is also concerning is the attitude from these vagrants several people have reported them being confrontational and extremely rude, especially towards women and the elderly.”
Hurd Street resident Nico Louw said he was gobsmacked when he first noticed the tents.
“I thought some camping shop was using it as advertising.
“Then I thought it might be a prank or some publicity stunt by a political party ahead of the elections,” he said.
“Then I realised I’d seen some of those faces before and I realised these people are staying there.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes.” Though he felt bad for the less fortunate, Louw also believed the situation could spiral out of control if action was not taken.
“Tomorrow we see another tent, the next day two more, and before you know it we have an entire camping ground at our front door.
“We cannot allow it.” Charmaine Swartz, who has lived in Cecil Road most of her life, was less compassionate.
“They all had homes at some point. They come from somewhere, they have families somewhere.
“Why can’t they go back? Why are they becoming our responsibility?” Swartz said.