Thousands of homes destroyed in blaze near World Cup site
This weekend in Kennedy Road, a settlement located in Durban just a few miles from where Germany and Spain will meet for the World Cup semi-finals, 3,000 people saw their homes destroyed by a fire. The blaze left three people dead as it swept through many hundreds of homes in the settlement. This is the fifth time in this year alone that the Kennedy Road shack settlement has been devastated by a shack-fire.
This weekend in Kennedy Road, a settlement located in Durban just a few miles from where Germany and Spain will meet for the World Cup semi-finals, 3,000 people saw their homes destroyed by a fire. The blaze left three people dead as it swept through many hundreds of homes in the settlement. This is the fifth time in this year alone that the Kennedy Road shack settlement has been devastated by a shack-fire.
With the world’s spotlight on the floodlit football stadiums of Durban, Cape Town and other South African cities, nearby shack settlements have been literally left in the dark. In many shack settlements, where one in four South Africans reside, it is illegal for homes to be electrified. Without electricity, people are forced to use candles, paraffin and home-fires for light and to cook in crowded settlements made out of highly flammable materials.The Durban municipality sent no-one to assist residents, many of whom instead turned to Abahlali baseMjondolo, War on Want’s partner, for support. With the help of War on Want, Abahlali baseMjondolo works in shack settlements to raise awareness of the risks of shack-fires and actively campaigns for the provision of electricity and other basic services including housing. For more on Abahlali baseMjondolo's work please visit to their website.
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