Mthatha, a scene of grief and trauma

It’s been two weeks since deadly floods ravaged Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, but the grief and trauma that the tragedy brought is still palpable. Walking this week around Slovo Park in Mthatha West – one of the worst affected areas – rescue teams and humanitarian aid organisations could be seen still busy.

Speaking in hushed voices, residents who spoke to Elitsha said the tragedy will be etched in their minds for some time to come. Never in the history of the town – once home to Nelson Mandela – has such a disaster struck.

Nosakhele Payile (46) has been accommodated at the local hall in Slovo Park since the waters engulfed her home. A street vendor in Mthatha, Payile had been living with her two teenage daughters in a backroom but she took a decision early this year to send them away to live with their grandmother in her rural home in Ngqeleni to attend school.

Today, she believes it was a decision that saved their lives. “The entire room I had been renting was engulfed by floods. Had it not been for a male neighbour who broke down the door, I am not sure if I would be alive today. By the time we got out, the water was above my waist but luckily we managed to get to safety,” she said. Having lost everything, Payile is grateful for the donations of mattresses, food and clothing items collected at the local hall which she now calls home. “I am grateful for all that the good Samaritans have been doing for us. At least we were also assisted with re-applying for ID documents and I am hopeful that our lives are gonna get back to some sort of normality soon,” she said.

There is pushing and shoving at the local hall as Abathembu Queen, Nokwanda Dalindyebo and some of her aides, dish out food to the refugees. The Abathembu queen has for the past week made it her mission to prepare food at her Nkululekweni Palace and deliver it to the residents around lunchtime. Addressing the impatient crowd, the queen urges them not to push. “We know and understand your plight and that is why we are here for you. All I’m asking is a little bit of patience. We won’t leave here until everyone has been fed.”

Sitting on a crate and smoking his pipe, Mthatha West resident Zanekhaya Hobongwana (72) said June 10 “is a day that I will never forget.”  Likening the floods to the biblical “uNogumbe”, Hobongwana said when heavens first opened up that night he thought nothing of it and that it would soon subside. “I was just bothered by the thunderstorms. Eventually I managed to fall asleep, only to be awoken by vukani!vukani! [wake-up] screams in the wee hours of the morning. What I witnessed when I stepped out of my homestead shocked me to the core – houses swimming in floods. Fortunately my home is in an upper area and we weren’t affected at all,” said the father of four.

On Thursday, 26 June, Eastern Cape provincial government spokesperson, Khusela Rantjie said damage to infrastructure due to the floods was estimated at R5,1-billion. The death toll stood at 101 and rescue and recovery teams were still out searching for more bodies.

Walter Sisulu University also stepped forward, with Vice-Chancellor Rhushiella Songca telling Elitsha that as the university they couldn’t fold their arms and do nothing. On Wednesday, 25 June, Songca led a university-wide donation drive – anchored in compassion and solidarity with the local community. Songca said the university’s call to action, now gaining momentum across all WSU campuses, urges staff, students, alumni, and the public to donate essential non-perishable items such as clothes, shoes, tinned food and blankets.

“As the university, we are not just an academic institution, but a committed member of the Mthatha community. We believe that some of the people affected by the floods are either our database employees or students. We need to be there for them and give them hope,” she said.

And, hope is something that Payile and other survivors of this disaster live by everyday as they try to pick up the pieces.