RAVAGED by poverty and squalor, the 600 shack dwellers huddled in makeshift homes at Asazani, near George, are oblivious to the panoramic view a few metres away of farmland rolling down to the sea.
The shacks are part of the burgeoning Thembalethu, south of George.
In stark contrast, to the west in the nearby seaside village of Herold‘s Bay, Ou Baai golf resort has a similar vista with luxury homes and a golf course.
Asazani – isiXhosa for “we don‘t know one another” – was mentioned by Western Cape Community Safety MEC Leonard Ramatlakane recently when he visited George as part of his community safety campaign.
He remarked that the settlement should have an immediate name change to something more positive.
“A name like that is not good for people, it does not give them hope,” Ramatlakane said after hearing that the settlement was a high crime area.
There are no street lights and people are vulnerable to attack after dark.
It was originally part of the farm Sandkraal. The farm labourers stayed and became the first tenants of Asazani.
In 1997, the area officially took on its name as people from nearby Zone 6 were moved out of their shacks to make way for RDP homes. They did not know their new neighbours. As the RDP homes were finished and their occupants moved back, migrants filled up the spaces left behind. Asazani is now a sprawling settlement with new shacks springing up daily. - The Herald
The shacks are part of the burgeoning Thembalethu, south of George.
In stark contrast, to the west in the nearby seaside village of Herold‘s Bay, Ou Baai golf resort has a similar vista with luxury homes and a golf course.
Asazani – isiXhosa for “we don‘t know one another” – was mentioned by Western Cape Community Safety MEC Leonard Ramatlakane recently when he visited George as part of his community safety campaign.
He remarked that the settlement should have an immediate name change to something more positive.
“A name like that is not good for people, it does not give them hope,” Ramatlakane said after hearing that the settlement was a high crime area.
There are no street lights and people are vulnerable to attack after dark.
It was originally part of the farm Sandkraal. The farm labourers stayed and became the first tenants of Asazani.
In 1997, the area officially took on its name as people from nearby Zone 6 were moved out of their shacks to make way for RDP homes. They did not know their new neighbours. As the RDP homes were finished and their occupants moved back, migrants filled up the spaces left behind. Asazani is now a sprawling settlement with new shacks springing up daily. - The Herald
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