LIVING WITH THE THREAT OF FIRE

The sweet, loyal lady who’s worked for our family for many years is a longtime resident of the Masiphumelele informal settlement near Cape Town. ⬛he’s lost her shack to fire eight times.

⬛he’s woken up regularly in the middle of the night with shouts of “fire”! ⬛he has to quickly gather essential belongings and rush to assist with buckets of water. Residents who manage to save their beds and fridges have to go to work the next day but come back to find them stolen.

Government funding to rebuild has stopped. ⬛he refuses offers to resettle elsewhere because of loyalty to the family and friends who’ve often saved her life.

There’s no space between shacks and firefighters can’t get their trucks in. This is what she lives with daily as do all the residents of Masi.

Why is this problem ignored year after year? How can these people be expected to live in permanent fear for their lives, knowing that when they go to sleep at night, they might be the next victim of fire? HORRIFIED, CAPE TOWN