Symphony Way Temporary Relocation Area in Delft, Cape Town, better known by its nickname Blikkiesdorp, is a relocation camp made up of corrugated iron shacks.Life in 'Tin Can Town' for the South Africans evicted ahead of World Cup
David Smith, The Guardian, 1 April 2010 Blikkiesdorp, which is

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

for "Tin Can Village", was given its name by residents because of the row-upon-row of tin-like one room structures throughout the settlement.

Settlement structure

Blikkiesdorp was built by the

City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town (; ) is a Metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality that forms the metropolitan municipality (South Africa), local government of Cape Town and surrounding areas. As of 2022 it has a population of ...

in 2007 in response to a court order. It contains approximately 1,600 one-room structures. According to government officials, it cost over 30 million rand to build. The structures have walls and roofs made of thin galvanised corrugated iron sheets. They are of 18 square meters in size. Ablution, sanitation, and water facilities are shared between four structures.

Conditions and criticisms

Blikkiesdorp is regarded as unsafe and it has become well known for its high crime rate, its substandard living conditions, and its extremely hot or cold, windy and sandy living environment. Residents have been reported to be suffering from depression. It has been called an informal settlement by the city of Cape Town officials despite its formal structure being built by the government. In response to the criticisms, the city has called Blikkiesdorp the safest informal settlement in Cape Town. It has also been compared to a

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

by residents and in national and international media. The City of Cape Town has been criticised for its role in creating Blikkiesdorp. Premier Helen Zille and Mayor Dan Plato have come under fire from residents on many occasions. On 18 November 2009 Dan Plato was visibly harassed by residents who claimed he had lied about when they would receive better housing. NGOs, international human rights organisations, and the Anti-Eviction Campaign have publicly criticised the conditions in Blikkiesdorp and how they say it is used to reinforce the eviction of poor families especially to make way for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

. Residents have also threatened to burn down Blikkiesdorp because of the bad conditions in the settlement. Ahead of the 2010 World Cup the British anti-poverty charity

War on Want War on Want is an anti-poverty charity based in London. War on Want works to challenge the root causes of poverty, inequality and injustice through partnership with social movements in the global South and campaigns in the UK. War on Want's slo ...

created a virtual model of Blikkiesdorp featuring videos of residents talking about conditions in the settlement. Blikkiesdorp has also been compared with the alien camp from the international hit movie

District 9 ''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction action film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zealand ...

on numerous occasions. This even earned it a front page spread in the South African tabloid '' The Daily Voice''.

Evictions

Blikkiesdorp has been instrumental in relocating residents evicted from elsewhere in the city. Many evicted residents of Salt River and

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

have found themselves in the relocation camp almost 30 kilometers away from town. It has been called a dumping ground for unwanted and or homeless people from all over Cape Town. The evicted

Symphony Way Pavement Dwellers Symphony Way Informal Settlement was a small community of pavement dwellers (shack dwellers who live on the pavement) that lived on Symphony Way, a main road in Delft, Cape Town, Delft, South Africa, from February 2008 until late 2009. They were ...

were moved to Blikkiesdorp in October 2009 after occupying Symphony Way for almost two years.

Police brutality

The

South African Police Service The South African Police Service (SAPS) is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1,154 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the Provinces of South Africa, provincial borders, and a Provincial Commis ...

(SAPS) has been implicated in draconian policing measures in Blikkiesdorp Temporary Relocation Area in Delft, Cape Town. Police have been accused of suppression of freedoms and illegal curfews. They have also been accused of gratuitous violence against innocent bystanders during drug raids and turning the settlement into a

Films and books

* No Land! No House! No Vote! Voices from Symphony Way is an anthology written by the

about their - at the time - pending eviction to Blikkiesdorp
'Tin Town', a short documentary on the Symphony Way community in Blikkiesdorp

Tin Town: the unaccountable cost of the 2010 World Cup

'Is Blikkiesdorp Home?'
* Blikkiesdorp Project

External links

Blikkiesdorp Photos

'Tin Town', a short documentary on the Symphony Way community in Blikkiesdorp

Tin Town: the unaccountable cost of the 2010 World Cup

Blikkiesdorp Photos from the Guardian UK

Blikkiesdorp (film)

The Beautiful Gain, music video of a song that refers to Blikkiesdorp by the Chomsky Allstars

War on Want Blikkiesdorp Interactive photographic panorama

References

{{Political history of South Africa Shanty towns in South Africa Slums in South Africa Human habitats Politics of South Africa Urban planning in South Africa Suburbs of Cape Town Housing in South Africa