Cultural Anthropology Blog

Chiara Abel

IHSS 

Mr. Roddy

September 3, 2021 


The Deferred Emergency of Occupation in Johannesburg


    

The article I chose to read was about the Deferred Emergency of Occupation in the Inner-City of Johannesburg in South Africa. The buildings that are used illegally are referred to as “hijacked buildings” or  “Dark buildings.”  All of these buildings were formerly occupied by white business owners but they started moving to the suburbs due to the number of Africans, who are black, moving into the Inner-City. Soon after, the buildings were still rented out but poorly maintained. The term “hijacked building” which is misleading, is often used because the people living in these buildings are criminals, foreign nationals, or people who have been evicted and have nowhere else to go. The people living in these spaces often experience eviction, even though they have legal protections. They also experience police raids, fires, accidents (which seem to be common), and lastly foreign nationals experience deportation. Since there is very little police protection the residents are frequently subjected to criminal violence and most of the time it is gender-based. It has also been noticed that these behaviors are inherited from South Africa’s violent colonial and apartheid past. In 2010 Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) estimated that around 50 to 60 thousand people had been living in these buildings and the conditions were worse than the standard international refugee camps. The 2011 census also indicated that there was a housing shortage for 30 thousand units in the Inner-City, many of these people were presently living in overcrowded and unlawful conditions. The MSF organization started to help the residents in the buildings, responding to a perceived humanitarian emergency, but soon they backed out after facing funding issues. Something brought up in the article was the post-apartheid law outlines. These laws are set in stone and also include a set of potentialities providing an idea of what it means to be human. In section 26, which talks about housing it states this: “(1)  Everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing. (2) The state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realization of this right. (3) No one may be evicted from their home, or have their home demolished, without an order of court made after considering all the relevant circumstances. No legislation may permit arbitrary evictions.” Many people in South Africa cannot afford adequate housing, in fact, many people live without a house and in poverty, which contradicts what section 26 states. Right now there is a need for change in the government so they can help provide adequate housing and protection to everyone, especially, those currently living in unlawful conditions. 


View of the City Otherwise: The DEFERRED Emergency of Occupation in INNER-CITY Johannesburg, journal.culanth.org/index.php/ca/article/view/4105/563. 








 

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