Group lends ear to all South End land claimants

A FRAIL grandmother from Uitenhage shuffled into the Chatty Community Centre in the hope that she would finally be compensated for the South End home from which she and her family were forcibly removed about 45 years ago.

Charlotte Prinsloo, 89, who had to be helped into the hall by her daughter, was among 250 land claimants gathered to find out how the Eastern Province Land Claims Voluntary Association could help them with fast-tracking their claims.

Public meetings to identify those forcibly removed from their properties, chaired by Chris Jordaan, are being held in Nelson Mandela Bay.

The association collects information from residents affected by forced removal and after a verification process Jordaan and his team of volunteers will submit them to the East London offices of Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti.

The association will lodge claims on behalf of these residents – some of whom are sickly or wheelchair-bound.

Saturday's meeting saw residents speak about the negative impact forced removals had had on their families and their hopes that the government would right the wrongs of the apartheid regime.

Prinsloo, who was accompanied by her daughter, Gameeda Lillah, said: "When we heard about the association, we decided to travel to Port Elizabeth to be part of the process. My family was forcibly removed from South End. I want to know what will happen now moving forward."

Lillah said she was born in South End 59 years ago but her family was moved to Pearl Road, Schauderville – an area her mother refused to live in. The family instead moved to Uitenhage.

"This is the first time we have attended something of this nature. The new association gives us hope after all the drama and trauma of families being uprooted by the regime. We went through a lot. No matter what the outcome may be, it gives us hope," Lillah said.

Judith Bruintjies, 69, said her family was forced out of their South End home in Victoria Street and sent to Port Elizabeth's northern areas.

"It was very traumatic. We did not know where they took us or what to expect.

"We used to sleep with doors and windows open in Victoria Street but things changed when we got to the northern areas. We had to close and lock all doors."

Bruintjies, of Gelvan Park, said she supported the association because it represented the aspirations of many who were disenfranchised.

"We need somebody to stand up for our community after we lost everything during apartheid."

Nomhle Lallo and her friend, Ethel Matebe, both 77, of Kwazakhele, read about the meeting in a report in The Herald.

"We are part of the community affected by the forced removal," Lallo said.

"I was still a young girl when my parents were forced out of South End to Korsten in the '50s. While still there, the family was removed to Kwazakhele."

Jordaan said the public meetings were to make people aware of their rights and whether they qualified to claim from the government.

"We want to make our people aware of their rights so that they can lodge a claim for what they lost in apartheid ... we do not want to leave anyone out," he said.

Jordaan did not know when the next gathering would take place because it was difficult to secure a public venue at this time of the year.

Five months ago, the government reopened the new window period for land claims with people now able to claim until 2019. - Hendrick Mphande