Mama Eva finally receives her house

Struggle vet rewarded

FROM NOW on, the Moshongana family will be sleeping in a newly built, solid home after living in a shack for close to 30 years. Eva Moshongana, affectionately known as Mama Eva, who served in the ANC’s military wing during the apartheid era, said the house that had been given to her family healed many wounds for them.

The Gauteng Human Settlements Department, together with Lekwa Engineering, adopted a house handover project for military veterans, and the time arrived for Moshongana to move out of her shack and into her new home yesterday.

Lekwa Engineering started building the three-bedroom house in Midvaal at the start of last year and completed it earlier this year.

Mama Eva returned to South Africa in 1990 after 13 years in exile.

The 16 Days of Activism campaign, which aims to raise awareness about the scourge of violence against women and children, had a lot to do with Moshongana’s emotional state yesterday.

She was not only a victim of abuse by her husband, she also said that during her time in the military, those serving were also exposed to abuse.

Mama Eva’s eyes filled with tears when she explained that for most of her time in service she was in hiding and in underground bases. “Because the Boers were going to take us to jail if they found us,” she explained.

“We were more like James Bond, like secret agents, because of what was happening in the country at the time. It was rough those years. We had the Boers coming after us and we needed to hide and serve our time underground.”

Moshongana explained how they were not allowed to wear uniforms, because they would be identified.

“That is abuse. We were not free. We were held hostage in our country. They defaced me, but now I am happy. Today I have a home. I call this home my military base, just without all the abuse. And now I am free.”

She could not hold back her tears when she spoke about how she was also abused by her spouse.

“My husband hurt me very, very much. Not just emotionally, but physically as well.”

Department deputy director-general Keith Khoza, who addressed the family, said the Moshonganas had a rich history in the liberation movement and gave away their youthful lives living on the edge, and sacrificed to make South Africa a better place.

“The sad thing is that most of them do not share in a better South Africa that they fought for, and what we see today would not compare to the sacrifice they made. It is the minimum of what they could have achieved if they had not been out there in foreign countries fighting for our liberation. To them we say thank you,” said Khoza. The family were hailed for their commitment. “Our freedom was not free. It came at a price. And somebody had to pay that price. And the price was that a couple had to end up staying in a shack,” said Khoza. @heidigiokos