Walvis fire exposes deeper realities

LEANDREA LOUW

WALVIS BAY

Informal living conditions key catalyst in fire spread

· No fire hydrant in Twaloloka

· Landless in land of plenty

· Lack of social order

· Poverty hampers proper housing



The absence a fire hydrant in the inferno-prone Twaloloka informal settlement in Walvis Bay, in which a baby died on Sunday evening in a massive blaze that left an estimated 150 families homeless, underlined a myriad of the life-threatening challenges endured in the country’s informal settlements.

As of 2018, there were 308 informal settlements in Namibia, with a staggering 228,000 shacks accommodating about 995,000 people in urban areas. These numbers could have increased over the past two years.

Limited basic services, such as water which is accessed through communal taps, and overcrowding characterise a typical Namibian informal settlement.

The Twaloloka inferno on Sunday also exposed lack of adequate safety, after clashes ensued between some people at the scene, with alleged snatching of phones reported. This in part is due to lack of police presence in the area.

With unemployment generally higher in the poverty-stricken informal settlements, the 150 families who shacks were reduced to ashes start an uphill battle to have a place to call home again.

The issue of general landlessness thundered loud again on Sunday evening, when residents claimed their persistent cries for proper erven landed on deaf ears.

A one-year old boy died and more than 1 000 residents were left homeless by the devastating fire that started in the settlement at around 19:00.

The Walvis Bay fire brigade rushed to the scene and battled for hours to get the flames under control. However, the absence of a fire hydrant in the area hampered efforts to contain the blaze, while the absence of any wind played in favour of the attempts to smother the flames.

While the flames consumed the settlement, the situation escalated into one of tension when certain individuals started to hurl stones at police reservists, the fire brigade, members of the media and municipal vehicles.

Emotions flare

Rubber bullets and teargas had to be used to get the situation under control.

Olga Birisamus, a committee member representing the Twaloloka residents, said it was not the residents of the settlement that resorted to violence.

“It’s guys from the location who started throwing stones. They even robbed some of the people, snatching phones and taking belongings of the fire victims while people were trying to save whatever they could. We are extremely angry that they took advantage of this terrible situation.”

People who were left homeless were given temporary shelter in tents.

Toddler’s body found

Yesterday morning people searched through the ashes for any items that might have been spared from the flames.

At the edge of the settlement, a white blanket was the only sign that a one-year-old boy had died in the fire.

The boy’s father, Nasimane Maanda, said he was with little Filip the entire day.

“His mother was at the shop and when she returned I left her with Filip and his sister Ndahambelela (7). She cooked for them, while Filip slept on the bed.”

The mother, Ndilimewawa was visiting neighbours when her daughter called for her. “She came running to her mother shouting ‘mama, mama, there’s fire under the bed’. By the time they arrived at the shack, everything was engulfed in flames,” a distraught Nasimane recounted.

Indications are that the fire may have started in the shack where the little boy died. However, the police are still investigating the probable cause.

The deputy minister of labour Hafeni Ndemula, accompanied by the deputy minister of safety and security Daniel Kashikola, Erongo governor Neville Andre, Walvis Bay mayor Immanuel Wilfred and regional and local councillors visited the site yesterday morning.

The governor conveyed his condolences to the family who lost their little boy.

“What happened last night is very unfortunate. We are saddened by the loss of life. We are here to assess the situation on the ground and to see how we can assist those that have been affected by this fire. We feel your sorrow. Government will definitely assist you during this time. This is government’s responsibility and we will step in, every way we can.”

Pleas falling on deaf ears

Members of the Twaloloka committee expressed anger and disappointment.

“We have been here for five years. Throughout those years we have been asking the council to move us and to give us each an erf. Look what happened now. Parents have lost a child; people have lost everything. They only have the clothes on their back. Something needs to be done to assist our people and it needs to be done now,” Birisamus said.