Auleria Wakudumo
KHORIXAS – A 62-year-old man from the Donkerhoek informal settlement in Khorixas, whose shack is made from old bed wires and springs as well as car parts, says community members do not respect him, while some use his shack as a public toilet.
Ellie Nabeb said apart from using his shack as a public toilet, they also use it for sexual activities, and steal his belongings when he is out eking a living. “I have lived in my wire house during difficult times like winter for the longest time,” he added. Although he is above the pensionable age of 60, he does not get the government’s old age grant because he does not have the necessary identification documents.
Nabeb stated that his sister lost his birth certificate, and since then, he has struggled to obtain a replacement from the home affairs ministry. He also lost his job on a farm because he is undocumented.
Losing his job marked the
beginning of his misery, leading him into extreme poverty, and making it impossible for him to find another job without identity
documents. “I am in this difficult situation because I don’t receive a government grant, and I do not have a steady source of income,” he lamented. With tears rolling down his cheeks, Nabeb said God blessed him with two sets of twins, but none of them visit, let alone assist him.
His children do not have decent jobs as they work on farms, but they are apparently also unaware of his existence.
“The community members treat me inhumanely because of poverty,” he
continued. Nabeb said he knows the people who steal from him and use his house as a public toilet, but there’s nothing he can do to them as he is afraid of them, and too old to defend himself.
“I go to bed frightened, wondering if I will make it through the night,” he said.
Contacted for comment, Kunene governor Marius Sheya said his office, if not himself personally, will assist Nabeb.