- With schools opening in less than a week, Barcelona informal settlement fire victims are grappling with answers to get their children ready for the upcoming academic year.
- On Tuesday 2 January, the neighbourhood was engulfed with fire which destroyed at least 30 shacks and left over 100 people homeless.
- Most victims lost all their belongings including their homes and they are now appealing for assistance to get their lives back on track.
With schools opening in less than a week, Barcelona informal settlement fire victims are grappling with answers to get their children ready for the upcoming academic year.
On Tuesday 2 January, the neighbourhood was engulfed with fire which destroyed at least 30 shacks and left over 100 people homeless. While the cause of the fire remains a mystery, there is no doubt about the damage caused to people’s homes. Most victims lost all their belongings including their homes and they are now appealing for assistance to get their lives back on track.
One of the victims, who only described herself as Nombulelo, said she lost everything. At the time of the incident she was in the Eastern Cape, she added. “One of my neighbours phoned and informed me about the incident. I cried! I left one of my friends to look after my shack. But she (a friend) said she was in Site C when the fire started. I lost everything that was inside,” said Nombulelo.
Due to the fire, she had to cut her holiday short and return to Cape Town on Thursday 4 January to assess the situation.
While her priority is to get building materials to rebuild her shack, she is also equally concerned about her children’s education.
The mother of two told City Vision her 10-year-old child lost her uniform in the fire and is unsure how she will get a new one. She also needs a uniform for her seven-year-old who is set to start Grade 1.
Nombulelo works shifts in a street cleaning initiative and is currently out of work. These all weigh heavy on her shoulders. Thanks to a friend, she has a roof over her head. “I left my children at home (in Eastern Cape) because I wanted to come here and assess the problem. Now, I have a mammoth task to send money for them to come back to Cape Town before the schools open. I don’t know where we are going to stay,” she stated.
Nombulelo stated that some shack fire victims already started rebuilding their shacks. She urged local organisations to come on board and assist them.
The City’s Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Jermaine Carelse confirmed the incident and cited that the emergency call was received at 14:10 of structures alight in Barcelona. He said the crews from Lansdowne, Mitchell’s Plain and Kuils River were on the scene. “The crews managed to extinguish the fire by 16:30 which destroyed approximately 30 structures and left 100 persons displaced. The cause of the fire is unknown and no injuries or fatalities were reported,” said Carelse.