It is a long, colorful human ribbon that winds for several kilometers in the streets and vacant lots of a township located between Johannesburg and Pretoria, under the eye of the police and army armored vehicles.
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On Saturday, thousands of underprivileged residents of the Olievenhoutbosch district waited under the sun, at a regulatory distance from each other, to receive 2,200 tonnes of food and equipment (masks or hydroalcoholic gel) distributed by an NGO. " We slept there to collect this food, " said one of the beneficiaries, Ndaba Mkhwanazi, a 59-year-old unemployed man. " We slept here in the queue. It's long because there are so many of us, but we appreciate what the government is doing for us . ”
The residents of Olievenhoutbosch in Centurion await the transport of their food parcels. MARCO LONGARI / AFP
Residents of the township of Olievenhoutbosch in Centurion line up on May 2, 2020 for a food distribution organized by the South African charity Mahlasedi Foundation. MARCO LONGARI / AFP
The confinement ordered on March 27 by President Cyril Ramaphosa to his compatriots to fight against the coronavirus has placed millions of poor people, deprived of their odd jobs of subsistence, in situation of food insecurity.
In recent weeks, isolated incidents have broken out in several townships across the country between law enforcement and the angry population demanding the distribution of promised food packages from the government.
A woman sells masks to residents of the township of Olievenhoutbosch in Centurion as they stand in line. MARCO LONGARI / AFP
The containment has so far helped to slow the progression of the Covid-19 pandemic which, according to the latest assessment, has infected nearly 6,000 people and caused more than a hundred deaths. South Africa on Friday began very gradually easing restrictions on the country's economy, already in recession, and on the population. " Millions of South Africans are struggling to make a living and feed their families, " said Ramaphosa.
The distribution carried out Saturday in Olievenhoutbosch targeted 30,000 people, said Sfiso Msiza, of the Mahlasedi Foundation who was in charge. " We work in a different sector every day ," said Msiza. " We have already distributed coupons for food, people then have to come here (collect it) and then they can go home ."
A woman is taking her temperature. MARCO LONGARI / AFP
President Ramaphosa has announced an unprecedented economic and social support plan of more than 24 billion euros to absorb the shock of the coronavirus pandemic, including nearly 2.5 billion in social assistance to the poorest.
This aerial view shows residents of the township of Olievenhoutbosch at Centurion queuing. FERNANDA PESCE BLAZQUEZ / AFP