The villagers affected are of Chadibe Machaneng, Mathako and Sefhare. Shelter being a basic survival need, to eject people out of it is to deny them survival. To tantalise them by offering it and then tossing them abroad is the particularly thoughtless, vulgar and insensitive.When such cruelty is aimed at the poor and downtrodden, it is especially barbaric. When the perpetrator is one with such a noble name as Habitat for Humanity, it takes on an extremely incongruous aspect, for it cannot be what might have been expected to happen. Presumably, Habitat was predicated on Christian values, among which is extending kindness to one another. For it to turn poor people out of their houses is to spit in the face of the Christ and crucify Him again. In one word, it is to f**k the poor.While we do not encourage anyone to disregard their obligation to repay loans, we are convinced that there might have been another way, especially that the outstanding amount is a mere P1.8 million, a measly figure for an organisation of Habitat's profile.
Habitat for Humanity builds low-cost houses for low-income people. If the figure stands at P1.8m, it means many of the 'beneficiaries being poor by definition, they could not afford their instalments, which should have called for re-scheduling. Even so, if the defaulters were informed of their obligations right from the onset, it was incumbent for them to negotiate for a longer grace period and lower instalments. Habitat argues that some of the defauters have a regular income and therefore cannot plead inability to service their loans. We do not quite agree because we expect Habitat to understand the dynamics of poverty, that being the condition of its 'beneficiaries'. This is a desperate situation for those concerned because the despicable conduct of Habitat is visited upon the poor and downtrodden in the middle of the wet season, exposing their paltry possessions to rain. Not that another season is ever ideal to toss people to the vagaries of the elements, but a little sensitivity might have resulted in a more clement climate. But then such crudity happens because the broader context of Botswana is about ever widening disparities of glut and want, of possession and dispossession. So f**k the poor, even if the perpetrator of such wickedness should be Habitat for Humanity!
