e now sleeping in the open, exposed to criminals and heavy rains. Johannesburg metro authorities and police are carrying out raids at night to evict people staying in disused flats and buildings in order to clean up Johannesburg.
Most of the Zimbabweans rent dilapidated and disused flats in Hillbrow, Berea, Doorfontein and Yeoville as they do not have income to pay rent in standard flats. The authorities are targeting these suburbs because of their proximity to Ellis Park Stadium, the official opening venue.
I have been staying in the open for a week after police raided the flat. We are surviving on food from a soup kitchen in central Johannesburg. I am no longer able to sell my sculpture because I am looking for accommodation, said Shuvai Matongo, mother of a child aged nine months. She added that they used to pay R200 for rent for a flat they shared, using curtains, with a family of four.
The Zimbabwe blind community was hard hit when authorities swooped on their flat in Hillbrow leaving more than 50 families homeless. Methodist Church Bishop Paul Verryn is frantically seeking alternative accommodation for them.
The situation is chaotic. We are back on the streets after Mugabe destroyed our homes. My son was arrested and has been deported. I was only left on humanitarian grounds but now I am stranded as I have no one to lead me, said one blind man.
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