An informal settlement in the centre of Boom Street in
Marabastad in Pretoria has become commonly known as ‘little Zimbabwe’ on
account of the number of Zimbabwean nationals living there.
Most of the people living there are undocumented and
because of this, they are unable to find work. Some live in shacks made from
board and plastic donated by well wishers while others live in shelters made of
old plastic sheets and cloth.
The conditions at the settlement are unhealthy as there are
no toilets or taps for water. Clusters of rubbish are strewn across the
settlement. There are puddles of stagnant water. Despite these conditions,
residents here say they would rather live here than pay high rents elsewhere.
Residents say metro police officers have regularly
demolished their shacks but they rebuild soon after. Some of their homes were
also destroyed in September during a wave of xenophobic attacks.
The more than ten Zimbabwean families who live in the
informal settlement survive through waste picking, asking for money or relying
on donations. They come from poor families back in Zimbabwe and say they are
better off in the informal settlement than back home.
Augustine Armando originally from Epworth in Harare is
blind. He came to South Africa in 2013 and lives off the change he is given by
people in town. His wife who still lives in Zimbabwe is also blind. When he
can, he sends money to her as well. He lives with his ten-year-old grandson
Nesbert who helps him get around. Armando brought his grandson to South Africa
a year ago in the hope of raising enough money to one day send him to school.
“If only I can raise money for my grandson to go to school,
but it seems impossible,” says Armando.
Manners Mdumeni, 40, is a waste picker who also relies on
piecemeal jobs. He came to South Africa in 2010 from Kwekwe. He spends most of
his time pushing trolleys around town looking for recycling material. He lives
alone. “My life is difficult because l live from hand to mouth. Coming to this
informal settlement made life easier because l could not pay rent where I used
to live,” he says.
Thomas Sithole, 29, from Mkoba in Gweru says he was
orphaned at a young age. He came to South Africa in 2008 when the economic
situation in Zimbabwe collapsed to even worse levels. To survive, Sithole says
he learnt to hustle on the streets to survive, moving from sleeping on the
street outside the Methodist Church in Johannesburg to an old building in
Pretoria from where he and others were later evicted. In 2011 he moved to
Little Zimbabwe.
“We live here because of suffering. We want to rent
apartments like other people but we cannot afford it.” Sithole says he survives
on buying and selling second-hand electrical goods and gadgets. He has a small
stall opposite the settlement where he sells cables, cigarettes and sweets.
“I came to South Africa thinking that l would find greener
pastures but things haven’t been easy. Now l do what l can to survive. Going
back to Zimbabwe is pointless as l come from a poor family and the unstable
economic and political situation worsens things,” he says.
Edward Magoche is also a waste picker. He was born at Renco
Mine in Masvingo and came to South Africa seven years ago. He lives with his
wife and two children. His wife helps by going around town asking for money and
food. He says his family often goes to bed without having had anything to eat.
“Our government in Zimbabwe seems not to notice our
suffering. If things were better we would go back home. People back home do not
know how poor we are here in South Africa.” Ground Up
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