Firgrove residents want their land back
Two thousand residents removed forcefully from Firgrove, Somerset West, between 1971 and 1975 under the apartheid Group Areas Act, want their land back. ‘Blacks’ were moved to Mfuleni and ‘coloureds’ were moved to Macassar.
“We were told that in two weeks we should pack all our belongings and leave, no explanations were given. Then numbers were painted on each house in red paint, this was some sort of a mark which showed that you were meant to leave,” recalls Violet Mnyimba, former Firgrove resident and chairperson of the Concerned Citizens of Firgrove, a steering committee for those who want to claim their land back.
Mnyimba is one of about 2000 claimants who have vowed to fight to get back their land in Firgrove.
“We had a gathering on Sunday as the committee … What government needs to understand is that we do not want money. We want our land back so that we can decide what we want done on that land. We were forcibly removed from Firgrove where we had the best, and moved to places that did not even have proper roads, electricity or health care,” said Mnyimba.
Former Firgrove resident Maggie Melcom, who is 70 years old, recalled how it was back in the day.
“Firstly, I want to say thank you for forming this committee. I was a young girl living in Firgrove and that is where I grew up. It was an amazing place to live in. Everyone knew everyone, we were like family; there was no trouble amongst us. My family and I were moved from Firgrove to Macassar in 1975. We lost our rights during that time and we want them back. We are not after the money, we just want our land back.”
87-year-old Kathy Brink, who was moved to Mfuleni, said she remembers the day they were told to leave as if it happened yesterday. “I had a very stubborn mother. I am the one who told her when the time came that we had to move. She blatantly refused. She told me that she was not going anywhere; she wouldn’t hear of it. I sat and I spoke to her, I said, Mama, we have to move because the boere said so. It was a sad time for us leaving our home and our neighbourhood, but we had to leave”.
“We know that there have been developments on the land,” said Mnyimba. “We use St Joseph’s Pre-primary School for our annual reunion as Firgrove residents, held every third week of November. All we want is what is left of the land, just like what they did for District Six residents.”
The Concerned Citizens of Firgrove are now planning to set up a meeting with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform to present their testimonials and land claim forms. They say they will not stop until they have their land back.
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