CT to close Harmony Park camp
2008-10-17 20:13
Johannesburg - The City of Cape Town will close down one of four remaining xenophobia shelters in the province on Friday, a spokesperson said.
Harmony Park shelter, where there are about 200 people left, will be closed, said Pieter Cronje, spokesperson for the provincial task team on displaced people.
Out of those, 100 will be moved to another shelter.
Youngsfield shelter will be closed next week and two sites at Blue Waters will be closed on October 31.
Some 60 people who have indicated that they want to be repatriated will be accommodated at Blue Waters.
"From an initial total of some 20 000 displaced people in five safety sites, community halls and other private shelters, numbers have steadily declined.
"Youngsfield has 608 people and the two sites at Blue Waters 443 and 420 respectively. There are no displaced people in community halls," Cronje said.
Most people will reintegrate into their communities, assisted by the UN agencies.
The shelters were opened in May when a wave of xenophobic violence swept through the province claiming 62 lives, leaving hundreds injured and tens of thousands of foreign nationals displaced.
- SAPA