Homeless left out in the cold
Homeless persons living at the Khomasdal sports stadium - which was considered a temporary refuge by government due to the pandemic - are mourning their fate of hunger, cold and even death.One man died last Wednesday night, this reporter was told when visiting the stadium.
According to his tent mates, Willem Gariseb died of tuberculosis at the state hospital after calling the ambulance himself. Gariseb was allegedly housed in the big tent in the middle of the stadium, which has an open plan, along with other residents who did not want to appear on record or on camera.
One of the more outspoken residents, one David from Angola, says four people have died while he has been living there.
According to Petronella Masabane, head of the national immunization campaign task force, the persons living here, like all other Namibian citizens, are responsible for calling an ambulance themselves if they are ill and cannot get to a hospital themselves. “There are no special arrangements for them,” Masabane said.
She added that the social workers who were at the stadium when the homeless were initially brought to the stadium, were only a temporary arrangement.
Harold Akwenye, the City of Windhoek’s manager of corporate communication and marketing, said he was under the impression that government was still offering psychosocial support to the residents.
“I can no longer get food, because Harambee was withdrawn,” said Jacky Cloete, who said she lived under a bridge until government moved them to the Khomasdal stadium.
The residents complain that government stopped providing food and toiletries three months ago and that nothing has been heard from them since. Akwenye also confirmed the residents are no longer getting food from the government.
“We are just waiting until we are pushed back into the streets,” another female resident said, adding that it does not help to talk to the media anymore, because nothing improves their circumstances.
Cloete says government promised them land, which they are still waiting for. However, according to Akwenye, he is not aware of this promise. He also said that the responsible parties have not yet decided how long the residents would remain at the stadium.
Early in the Covid-19 lockdown, government along with the Windhoek Municipality and the Khomas Regional Council, began housing the homeless at the stadium and the Katutura Youth Complex.
According to a report from April 2020, Khomas governor Laura McLeod, was quoted by New Era that, “we are not going to tell them to go back to where they came from, because they have nowhere to go”.
When asked about this, McLeod said she does not know what will happen to the homeless because their welfare no longer falls under her jurisdiction.
In total, 240 homeless persons where moved to the Khomasdal stadium and the Katutura youth complex. In addition to sponsored tents, government and other community benefactors provided food and psychosocial support to the residents.
Those currently living there, say that many have moved on because they realized they would die if they remain at the stadium and instead went back to the streets to fend for themselves.