Newfields Village Anti-Eviction Campaign Press Release
Sunday, 2 August, 2009 – For immediate release
A few days ago, a well-off businessman named Abdul attempted to stab a member of the Newfields Village Anti-Eviction Campaign Community Representative Committee (CRC) when we went with other committee members to deliver a memorandum of understanding about Abdul’s corrupt and condemnable business practices in the Newfields Village community.
This is a sensitive issue, not because the community’s actions are in any way wrong or that Abdul’s practices are in any way acceptable, but because Abdul, a businessman who owns a large number of spaza shops in the Hanover Park area, also happens to be a Somalian. So we ask in advance that all journalists who would like to report on this issue, take care not to misrepresent the Newfields Village community.
Background:
Newfields Village, one of the public housing schemes controlled by the corrupt Cape Town Community Housing Company, is a tight-knit but poor community. Crime is relatively low in the area because, when residents moved in to the houses, they vowed to prevent any drug-lords, shebeens and gangs from entering the community. They have been able to do so because would-be crime bosses know the community is organised and know that they are not welcome. The Newfields Village community has vowed that if any unsavory or exploitative business enters the community (whether a drug house, a shebeen or a corrupt spaza shop), they will close it down. Read the rest of this entry »
Stumble It!
