Crises of Joko Tea Squater Camp Continues

 CRISIS OF JOKO TEA SQUATTER CAMP

Joko tea squatter camp is situated in Bophelong near Golden Highwayroad,in Vaal Triangle in Gauteng Province, South africa. The place was named Joko tea becase there was a first supermarket were people of Bophelong were buying croceries named Joko Tea during 1940s. According to T.F Makume and Intombizodwa mtambo the current residents of Joko tea,we were the ex-residents of different plots,such as steel valley,Linkholm,louisrus,Ruitkuil,Rosashof,Suiferpan.We were relocated by Steelvalley and Linkholm saying  all community of the above mentioned plots must leave the area immediatly because it  belongs to Arcerlor Mittal ,they promised to buy land for people who where reallocated in the area called Agri Village and they are going give them R9000 to pay for temporarely accomodation until they build houses for them in Agri Village. 

Arcelor Mittal turned the above mentioned plots the nature reserve while people don’t have accommodationand they have no jobs,and they are sick of their underground water pollution and they air pollution since 1940s till 2000 when they evict them.The bad thing ,there are three families who refuse to move and still living in that polluted  land ,and Mittal say nothing. They only thing that Arcelormittal is doing to this peoiple is to harrase them and their live stock. ArcelorMittal put electricty fence arround the house of remaining families to stop them and their cattles from moving arround.I inteviewewd a grandmother of age 76 who is still waiting for the land and R9000 and now she is sick by pollution,and staying in an illegal place were they share 3 taps collecting water miles and still using pit toilet and they are so congested,and when it ruins ,spring water comes out fill up the shacks ,with dirty water commes from pit toilets and the chemicals from the surrounding coporates ,the water comes in their shacks.

The Joko tea community says the empty promises of Arcelor Mittal brings them the disaster,and now they suffers from the respiratory deseas ,sinusis and their feet swollen.The most complain from the womaman is that when they are pregnant they miscarriages also TB.is the major cause in their daily lifes ,because they live with this bacteries with them ,and the is no one who cares or take their crisis into conciderration u,even the councilor of Bophelong they say they don’t know them ,even the community do not know ward concilors.

And the kids when it rains they playing and swim in this dirty water or you can say sewerage discharge because of this overflowing of the pit toilets ,and the waste which are not been removed ,because is services rendered.community ask Government to assist their kids are dieng of illegal place. 

Joko Tea Scatter Camp

Dumping crisis at the following squatter camp Joko tea

The above mentiond illegal shacks are stil situated nexto Bophelong and Movhango the RDP houses,in Gauteng Region,at Vanderbijlpark at the Vaal triangle. People dumps rubbish everywhere at the teniss court next to the houses and everywhere they see open space. There number of informal settlement arround the area that has been formed since 1994 till now 2011.

The informal settlement are called Tenis court that is situated next to Bonane and Movhango. the name Tenis court became ,because were Tenis court next to them,being used by the old Townshiop people of Bophelong,to play Tenis.The Donosa according to few people I interviewed they say that the were only man who worked by then so they they used to buy  woman to sleep with them ,so Donosa came because of that situation.

Many people who are staying in Joko Tea, Tennis Court and Donosa are they people who were removed from polluted plots by ArcelorMitta .Each name of this infromal settlements ,decide to stay were ever get space that is why the names are difference.

People live with dumping arround their houses ,also in their yards because some of them are waste.This dumping coused  by domestic and also by the cooporates came to dump what ever they like at this illegal shacks eg.Goverrnment,bring brings the mixture of slag and soil to this squatter camps,ssaying that they fix the passages or can say roads ,so that water can not stay.When the community ask what is this black soil ,they say is the crusher. There are aslo waste pickers in the area collecting things to sell and eat.

Last month this Municipality with their tractors came to offload this black soil to joko tea saying again they fix road ,and the is no roads at joko tea.

The community fear is that this  mixture crusher contains chemicals because is mixed with slag ,and kids became sick and also adults swollen legs,rushes all over the body ,and the other people take this black soil inside their shacks saying it will hold this spring water coming under the ground water in side their shacks.But they say they  sneeze a lot. People believe they are sick because of the soil.

A man says this dumping next to them brings him a tragedy that his kid of 4 years eat a poison to a dumping next to the shop called JokoTea,the kid was admitted at Sebokeng Hospital for about 4 days . He says this dumping which is are surround this squatter camps put their lives in dangers a lot ,they inhale bad smell ,flies ,from dumping to pit toilet, from there to the shacks.Also there is an open stream between the shacks community uses it as dumping sites ,because there is no services rendered.They ask for help to dose who have powers to take them out of the this place the is no future for them, if they can get proper land they will be more happy.