South African Government Moves Poor Blacks Living Near Stadium to Blikkiesdorp, or "Tin Can Town"

South African government displaces poor black residents living near stadium to shanty-towns, where is the outrage?

I am not surprised that the South African government has chosen to displace thousands of poor residents living in corrugated-iron shacks near the stadium where star athletes train. They have moved these people to Blikkiesdorp, or "tin-can town," another shanty town, according the Washington Post. I recall a similar incident occurring on a smaller scale when I was attended high school in Jamaica and the Queen Elizabeth II came to visit. They moved all the insane people off the street. Instead of getting these mentally ill people medical attention, they were banished to another part of Montego Bay where the Queen would not have seen them. The same principle holds true for these displaced South Africans. Why marginalize them by banishing them to another shanty-town? Why not put programs in place that will help them rise from the shackles of abject poverty? I have long maintained that considering the myriad of social issues dogging South Africa, they did not deserve to be awarded the World Cup. You can't sweep high unemployment and murder rates under a rug.

Human rights campaigners say South African authorities have forcibly moved thousands of the impoverished to Blikkiesdorp and other settlements to present a good image of the nation during the World Cup, which begins Friday. Cape Town city council officials deny the allegations. What is clear is that the complaints have exposed the wide gap between South Africa's rich and poor residents 16 years after the end of apartheid.

President Jacob Zuma's government argues that the billions it has spent on building stadiums and improving infrastructure will create jobs, raise the standard of living and showcase South Africa's progress. Many of the poor, though, say the government has misplaced its priorities. They expect their lives to change little as a result of their nation holding the world's most-watched sporting event. In fact, they will be worse off, they say. Source

The billions that have been spent to host the World Cup was a waste of resources of South Africa, in light of the obvious problems the country faces. This upheaval is hardly nothing new. The same thing occurred at the 2008 Beijing and 1988 Seoul Olympics, where thousands were forced from their homes. But I find what has occurred in South Africa more disturbing, given the historical context in which this has occurred. Millions of blacks and coloreds were displaced to make room for whites during apartheid, to create a racially separate society. What has occurred today amounts to nothing more than shoving these poor people on concentration camps. The reality is that economic apartheid is occurring in South Africa and the playing field has still not been leveled. I suspect that it never will.