I am freshman at the faculty Civil Engineering & Geosciences on the Delft University of Technology. We have a study-association on our faculty and if you want to you can join one of the 20+ commissions. You have a freshman’s-weekend-commission, a party-commission etc. etc. I decided to join the camera-commission. So I have to take photos on all kinds of events which have to do with my study.

The first assignment was to photograph the inauguration of the new commissions.  In the mean time there are loads of time to join the party, and it is incredibly awesome  to fool all those students who drunk a little too much beer.
Here are some photos:

Me and my partner from the camera commission.

So according to the tradition, Sinterklaas came to town by boat from Spain to Holland while I was vacationing in Turkey -more about my trip later -

Not sure if I have been such a good girl to deserve a present, but perhaps Sinterklaas gave up waiting for me to come back to throw me in the sack and send me to Spain for misbehaving that he just left me some goodies in my shoes instead:

Well, my roommate -who is a sweetie- put my shoes next to our fire place (aka the heater) and left me a surprise

These shoes came in wrapped in a very cute Sinterklaas-themed wrapping paper and with some chocolate golden coins.

During this first visit, Sinterklaas leaves a small present for all kids who behaved properly. Next time, he will deliver the bigger present! Can’t wait

Het is de week van de bongobons. Bongo duikt steeds weer op, tot in mijn blog, meermaals zelfs.

Vorig jaar heb ik de bons gegeven op mijn werk, na 15 jaar ontrouwe dienst. Bij mijn afscheid kreeg ik zelf de bons, Bongo bons weliswaar: Ontbijt met bubbels, cultuurweekend, wereldkeuken….Een boekenkast vol. Ik heb meer werk met mijn bons dan ooit met mijn werk.

Gelukkig springt Brigitte bij. Ze is deze week naar Delft, samen met haar moeder. Ze is gaan kijken of Nederland wel echt bestaat. In één vloeiende beweging heb ik mijn vrouw en mijn schoonmoeder het land uitgezet. Toch een straffe uitvinding, zo’n Bongo bon.

Ik voel me de laatste dagen wat opgejaagd. Daarom is het hier zo stil, denk ik. Soms is het leven zo gulzig en snel en hol ik erachteraan als een laatkomer achter zijn bus. In werktijd vliegen de post-it’jes in het rond en krijg ik blauwe ellebogen van het typen of een warm oor van het bellen. Of ik begeef me in groezelige appartementen en schud vuile handen. Een huisbezoek noemen ze dat dan. Ik kribbel daar volledige schriftjes vol met belangrijke boodschappen van andermans leven. Ik klap doar soems eejl plat aantwaarps om me verstaanbaar te maken en ik dompel me onder in de zorgen van wel twintig andere levens. Beroepsoplosser ben ik in feite. Van problemen.

En dan is er die andere tijd. Ze noemen het soms ook ‘vrije’ tijd. Zo van ‘vul zelf maar naar believen in’. Klinkt goed, maar er zit een weerhaakje aan. Er zit namelijk heel wat druk op dat stukje tijd. ‘t Is in feite een blokje geperste tijd. Geperst tussen werkuren die altijd langer duren dan ze zijn.
In de week is die vrije tijd vaak een worsteling met vuile was en kruimels, met weerbarstige avondmaaltijden en gifitge luiers. Allemaal tegelijkertijd soms! Een ongelijke strijd. Vorige week moest Sven me nog bevrijden uit de wurggreep van zijn ongestreken hemden. Gisteren werd ik bijna in de afwasbak verzopen door een contraire schotelvod. En maandag viel ik van de trap met een piepklein zakje (st)oud papier dat ik naar buiten wilde brengen. Ik viel bijna flauw en mijn bil is nu helemaal blauwig groen.
Iedere avond val ik uitgeput neer in bed en volgens mij is het maar een kwartiertje later dat de wekker zingt.

Je zou denken dat een mens naar het weekend uitkijkt, niet? Maar ook weekends kunnen druk zijn. Soms is het een dwangmatig zinvol bezig zijn. Ik wil dan vaak per se gaan wandelen of iets gaan bekijken. Gewoon niksen lijkt zo triest. Bovendien ben ik van het soort dat zichzelf gemakkelijk verveelt en dan zelfmedelijden krijgt… Dus breng ik mezelf óf in drentelige niksmomenten die me stress geven óf in volgeplande weekendsituaties die prettig zijn, maar ook vermoeiend: vorig weekend naar Delft, dit weekend naar zee. Valiezen pakken, vroeg opstaan, camera opgeladen en memorykaartjes leeg! Er moet gefotografeerd worden! Gelukkig woont aan zee het schoonouderpaar dat voor ons kookt en dat digitale tv heeft en dat dolgraag een weekend lang het kleinkind platknuffelt.

Maar als ik terugben wil ik mijn vader bezoeken, moet ik griepbacillen verbeten van me afslaan, beslis ik na rijp beraad welke douchegel de beste is om aan te schaffen. Ik wil dan boeken lezen, naailes volgen, vrienden zien, naar de cinema gaan, batterijopladers kopen, lampen vervangen, mijn moeder bezoeken, de planten binnenhalen (die planten! Dat moet op het to do lijstje!), plannen maken enz. Ik ben trouwens ook zo moe!

En zo gebeurt het soms dat er niet geblogd wordt. Ik had de laatste week ook nauwelijks een streepje inspiratie. En dan wil ik me niet dwingen. Er moet al zoveel. Wat is de moderne mens in een welvaartstaat toch een gelukzak. Zoveel dingen om te doen!

Een Delfts kind in een Delfts huis:

Deze Delftenaren kunnen mooi schrijven, maar ze zijn wel de e vergeten:

En Delft heeft – naast hun eigen scheve toren – ook een grappige vierkleurentoren:

50 people have been evicted from Blikkiesdorp “O” Block today, November 6, 2009, and are now living and sleeping on the pavement at the entrance to Blikkiesdorp in Delft. “My child is one year and six months old – I am not going to sleep outside again” said community resident, Iris Davids, who was part of the eviction. Another resident, Sadica Abrahams stated “The people are cruel to make us sleep outside like this.”

The community was originally living in Beacon Valley in a tunnel under the R300 bridge. Three weeks ago, they were moved by the City and Law Enforcement from the Beacon Valley tunnel and relocated to Blikkiesdorp Temporary Relocation Area, but were never given papers regarding their move. When the city put them in Blikkiesdorp TRAs there were 8 families moved into 1 shack, although there are a number of empty shacks in Blikkiesdorp. “We were under these bridges and they put us in temporary accommodation – now temporary is throwing us out” says affected resident Iris Davids.

Today the Land Invasions Unit, a unit of Law Enforcement, decided to evict them from Blikkiesdorp illegally. The evictions from Blikkiesdorp did not happen under a court order and are therefore illegal.

Many people are sick and were never warned about the eviction. The Williams family (contact Clement Williams 0764076692) – one family affected by the eviction – was initially illegally evicted from the N2 Gateway house they were renting. The family then went to live in Beacon Valley underneath the bridge. They moved to Blikkiesdorp by the city and now are being evicted again. They say they have lodged three cases of fraud and illegal eviction with the provincial housing department with regards to the N2 Gateway house of which they were evicted. Each time they had gone to check on the case, it had been closed without an investigation happening. The N2 Gateway House where they were evicted from is still standing empty because the owner they were renting from has a second home.

The community of Blikkiesdorp is mobilizing to support the evicted residents. The community will try to put them back into the Blikkiesdorp TRAs.

For more information please contact Jerome 0730850940, Auntie Jane 0784031302, Auntie Badru 0728228109 and/or Stephen Malo 0730621309.

Meer verkiezingsborden in campagneoffensief Delft

RTVWEST 05.11.09 DELFT - Inwoners van Delft kunnen er volgend jaar niet meer omheen: de gemeenteraadsverkiezingen. In de maanden voorafgaand aan de verkiezingen plaatst Delft honderveertig extra verkiezingsborden.

De borden zijn bedoeld voor politieke partijen die zich in verkiezingstijd willen profileren. De honderdveertig borden komen boven op de tweehonderd die er normaal al staan. De gemeente heeft verder besloten voor het eerst niet mee te betalen aan de reclames.

Politicus Martin Stoelinga is al begonnen met campagnevoeren voor partij Onafhankelijk Delft. Zijn typische snor prijkt op affiches met daarop ook het kunstwerk Het Blauwe Hart.

Op 13 november 2009 om 17.30 uur presenteert het Gemeentemuseum de vernieuwde interactieve website www.delftsaardewerk.nl én de daarbij horende tentoonstelling Delftsaardewerk.nl (besloten bijeenkomst, voor info zie onderaan dit bericht). De tentoonstelling toont een driedimensionale versie van de website, die is opgezet als onafhankelijke expertisesite en door iedereen kan worden uitgebreid.
De website is instellingsoverschrijdend en besteedt aandacht aan alle facetten van de fascinerende wereld van het eeuwenoude Delfts aardewerk. Van de fijnzinnige bewerking van het materiaal tot en met de grootse handel die ermee gepaard gaat. De gekleurde tulpenvazen, potten, kannen, schalen en sierobjecten zijn onlosmakelijk verbonden met het zeventiende-eeuwse Hollandse Delft. Delfts aardewerk is een belangrijke pijler van de Nederlandse cultuur en identiteit en Delft is daarmee (en met Vermeer en zijn vriend van Leeuwenhoek natuurlijk) wereldberoemd.

De bezoeker kan intussen helpen met het uitproberen van de nieuwe website. In de toekomst zal het mogelijk zijn om eigen voorwerpen van Delfts Aardewerk op de site te publiceren en te beoordelen. In de komende maanden het Gemeentemuseum deze functies goed testen met echte voorwerpen en toekomstige gebruikers.
Heeft u een voorwerp van Delfts Aardewerk waar u meer over wilt weten? Meld u aan voor de testgroep via info@gemeentemuseum.nl dan ontvangt u binnenkort verdere instructies.

Voor meer informatie: afd. Voorlichting & PR, Emma van Proosdij 0703381121 evproosdij@gemeentemuseum.nl

There’s nothing better than having some slow time on your hands. Many years ago, in late spring, with my university exams finished and the party and vacation mode not yet begun, I bought an art print that perfectly summed up my mood.

It shows a red brick house with step gables. A woman sits sewing in an open doorway while another works at a washtub in an adjoining alley. Children kneel on the street, possibly concentrating on a game of marbles. Warm light floods the scene, and everyone looks completely relaxed and comfortable; like students who don’t need to study any more, I thought at the time.

The painting is Johannes Vermeer’s The Little Street, painted in 1658 in Delft. Having a spare day in Holland, I thought I’d pay that town a visit. Everywhere in the Netherlands is close to everywhere else, and Delft is less than an hour south of Amsterdam.

When my train rolled into Delft, I felt an initial twinge of disappointment; the modern buildings across from the station were nothing like those in Vermeer’s painting. The church tower leaning over the top of them promised better things.

I cut through an alley to a canal called Oude (Old) Delft. This was more like it – rows of little terrace houses with Dutch gables and white bridges arching over the water. Even the glass-topped tourist boat was moving noticeably slower than those in Amsterdam do, inching its way down the narrow canal, either to avoid scraping paint off on the walls or maybe to make the tour of the little town last longer and give the customers better value for money.

The leaning tower turned out to be the spire of the Old Church, where Vermeer now lies buried, and it’s been developing that tilt for nearly 800 years.

The square between the beautiful shuttered town hall and the New Church (well, it was new in the 14^th century and people felt the name was catchy) was closed to through traffic because it was market day. Stalls were selling herrings, huge round cheeses and fresh vegetables. Banter was exchanged. Church bells rang.

I could imagine I was stepping back into Holland’s Golden Age of the 17^th century, when Delft was a prosperous town of potters, brewers and weavers, and HQ of the Dutch West Indies Company. At least until I noticed that the carillon tinkling from the church tower was playing My Way.

Shops lining the square were unashamed tourist traps, selling fluffy clog-shaped slippers and Delft blue pottery. ‘Bill Clinton ate poffertjes here,’ announced the sign on a cafe, referring to the popular Dutch pastries. A little further along were workshops where I could watch through the windows to where genuine Delft women were hand-painting 100% authentic traditional tiles and vases.

Delft itself has no original Vermeer paintings; they’re all in larger towns, where larger galleries have bigger budgets, but a new Vermeer Centre has opened on the Voldersgracht, the canal thought to have been the inspiration for The Little Street. I was the only visitor until a small tour group joined me.

Inside were annotated prints of all 37 Vermeer works. They include two cityscapes and a couple of early classical scenes, while nearly all the others are quiet domestic interiors, with sun filtering in from the left of the frame, through the same leadlight window. Vermeer’s themes are peace, quiet and a celebration of ordinary activities – writing, reading, making music and doing household chores.

Little is known of Vermeer’s private life, though we do know he was active in the arts community of Delft, as a member of the artists’ Guild of St Luke. He died aged just 43, and his output was relatively small. He’d only turned out two or three paintings a year, so he can’t have been rushing. You’d imagine he must have enjoyed a leisurely existence, but maybe he didn’t. He had fourteen children, always struggled for money and lived at his mother-in-law’s, so perhaps life at the Vermeer house wasn’t quite as laid-back as his work suggests.

Moreover, that quiet little street is probably a fantasy scene. Shortly before it was painted, a quarter of Delft and many of its citizens were destroyed when the gunpowder magazine exploded. Vermeer’s images of peace and quiet may well be a result of wishful thinking.

Upstairs in the Vermeer Centre, I learned how he mixed his paint, adding sand grains to the red he used to portray masonry, thus creating the effect known as ‘brick Vermeer’. Sorry.

There was an explanation of the double perspective in his characteristic chessboard-tiled floors. A slightly embarrassed volunteer from the tour group sat at the table by a reproduction of Vermeer’s leadlight window so a guide could explain to us the play of light and shadow, and we examined a camera obscura.

Outside, armed with a small map from the tourist office, I took a Delft walking tour with a Vermeer theme – a pleasant short amble, though there’s little left of the town Vermeer knew, other than those two churches. The city wall and gates he depicted have been demolished, as has the house where he lived. A rather nondescript church stands on that corner now.

There was still time left in the day to see the real paintings. There was no rush. I knew there were Vermeers in The Hague, just a fifteen-minute train ride away.

The Mauritshuis in The Hague is the most beautiful art museum in the Netherlands, according to many, and they’ll get no argument from me. It’s small; a former nobleman’s residence, with polished wood staircases and intimate rooms lined with deep green or red wallpaper.

It holds some of the greatest treasures from Holland’s Golden Age, including two Rembrandt self-portraits and his famous anatomy lesson. I’m afraid I walked past them and went straight to Floor 2, Room 15.

There was Vermeer’s brilliant View of Delft. Two women chat in the foreground as a cloud shades the buildings across the harbour, leaving those behind them in the light of the low sun. As a fully-fledged expert I could now admire the technique at close quarters – thick grainy paint for the bricks, contrasting with the almost translucent reflections on the water.

On the opposite wall was a small painting, bought in 1881 for 2.30 guilders. Even allowing for 128 years of inflation it was still a bargain price for ‘Girl With a Pearl Earring’. Vermeer’s work, only moderately successful in his lifetime, had fallen into obscurity, valued only by a few connoisseurs, until in the nineteenth century he was rediscovered by German art historian Gustav Friedrich Waagen and French art critic Theophile Thore-Burger.

I had the girl all to myself and, at the risk of cheapening great art with popular language, she’s drop-dead gorgeous. The painting is so simple yet powerful, the world-famous pearl rendered by just two brushstrokes in a dark shadow.

It was disappointing to learn that the girl herself is likely to have been invented, because she’s someone you want to know more about. Small wonder that Tracy Chevalier’s novel about her was so popular. I understand too that the evocative film version of the story, starring Scarlett Johannsen and Colin Firth, was largely shot not in Delft, but in Luxembourg.

Finally, back in Amsterdam I dropped into the Rijksmuseum, to take another look at The Little Street. It hangs beside his lovely Kitchen Maid (the girl in yellow pouring milk), and is surrounded by work of his contemporaries, notably Pieter de Hooch and Jan Steen. Steen is famous for crowded scenes of raucous activity, but de Hooch, like Vermeer, specialised in quiet interiors.

That’s a pity for de Hooch. His work is fine, but it’s unfair to hang it on the same continent as a Vermeer, let alone on the same wall. It just seems flat when compared to the master’s magic.

Vermeer’s amazing handing of light does the trick, conjuring up watery sun and still air, and capturing forever those wonderful moments of precious slow time.

TRIP NOTES:

Getting there: Return train ticket Amsterdam-Delft via The Hague is EUR19.30.

Entry ticket for both Old and New Churches in Delft costs EUR3.20.
Vermeer Centre entry is EUR6.
Mauritshuis entry is EUR9.50, including audio guide.

Rijskmuseum Amsterdam entry is EUR10.
Tip: A museumkaart (museum card) costs EUR40 and gives free entry to most Dutch museums, including the Mauritshuis and the Rijksmuseum, and discounts to others including the Vermeer Centre. It can be bought at larger museums and is valid for a year.

Oppositiepartijen in Delft flirten

TVWest 23.10.09  DELFT – De oppositiepartijen in Delft lijken in de aanloop naar de gemeenteraadsverkiezingen in maart steeds meer met elkaar te flirten.

Eerder deze week besloot ex-Onafhankelijk Delft politicus Bram Stoop samen te gaan met Stadsbelangen Delft. Nu heeft ook Leefbaar Delft laten weten graag met die partij in zee te willen. 

Vorig jaar waren er al gesprekken met Stadsbelangen, maar het wachten is nog steeds op een besluit van het bestuur van die partij, zo schrijft fractievoorzitter Jan Peter de Wit van Leefbaar Delft vrijdag op zijn website.

Francois Spiering / Spierincx. Arrived in Delft 1591, became member of the Guild in 1613. In his successful tapestry workshop he produced figurative (pictorial) tapestries. He was visited in 1598 by the diarist Aernout van Buchell (1565?-1641) who in his diary raved about the pictorial quality and colour which was – he wrote – nearly as good as that of oil paints.

From 1592 onwards Spiering’s workshop was located at St Agnes convent or Agnietenklooster -alias Spierinxklooster- at the last block of houses of Oosteinde, south side, near East gate. This building measured 6 by 8 meters, having bare walls. It was given to him free of rent as the Town of Delft valued his workshop. From 1599 onwards he rented a yard connected to the St Agnes convent. He employed, each for a certain time, the painters/designers H.C. Vroom and Karel van Mander the elder. Karel van Mander the Younger had started out as a gifted tapestry designer in Spiering’s workshop, and he founded his own workshop later on.
In 1613 the States General contracted him to produce a series of grand tapestries for the sum of 16.933 guilders. On May 17, 1616 Van Mander rented a house belonging to the St Anna convent for this purpouse.
Spiering owned an art collection which boasted fine prints and drawings including works from Italy and a superb collection of Lucas van Leyden. This collection was transfered by his sons to The Hague in 1638.

Utrecht 1

Utrecht 2

Amsterdam 1

Amsterdam 2

This is only one of the many messages spraypainted on walls, campers, vehicles, trains and in fact every graffiti-able surface.  That’s one thing I’ve noticed about the Netherlands, and not just Amsterdam: they graffiti absolutely everything.  Not bad graffiti either, but some really fantastic arty stuff.  Still not sure how into it I am.

This is my third day in Amsterdam.  This is a crazy city.  It’s everything I could have hoped and dreamed of and more.  I ended up staying in Stayokay Vondelpark, a YHI hostel situated outside the city center.  It’s nice, but too expensive to stay here much longer.  At least their free breakfast is awesome.  Every morning I load up on three varieties of toast, raisin buns, banana bread, cereal, juice, tea/coffee/espresso, boiled eggs, cheese, and salami (ok, not the salami, the edges get all crinkly and it’s kind of weird) to justify what I’m spending to sleep in a twenty bed dorm that is,after all, a tram ride away from the city center.  Of course it is directly across the street from Vondelpark, an awesome park you could wander in for hours itself. 

Amsterdam is cleaner, prettier, bigger, and far less wholesome than I imagined.  The red light district is amusing although I have yet to get a signature from a hooker!  Sorry, Torre.  The coffeeshops are everywhere.  You’ll be on a cobbled lane lined with Yves Saint Laurent and D&G shops and you’ll round the corner and meet a rasta-themed coffeeshop.  Or a residential district.  Or a ferris wheel and a booming midway.  Or a pack of stray cats.  Or, more likely, a gang of ruthless bicyclers trying to mow you down.  Or a scenic canal lined with 16th century houses leaning prettily forward at different angles to their neighbors.

I vaidated my Eurail pass and took a day trip to Delft today, the home of 17th century painter Johannes Vermeer.  I paid 6 euro to do the Vermeer experience, which was worth it if you like the painter (I do.) 

Delft is like Amsterdam but tiny, older(feeling), and without the red light district and coffeeshops.  I take that back.  I did see one coffeeshop, and it looked pretty busy.  Most of Delft seemed to be either shoestores or stores selling Delftware, that blue-and-white porcelain the town is traditionally famous for.

Tomorrow I don’t know whether I’ll move to a different hostel and spend another night in Amsterdam, or move for a few nights out to Den Haag, only a few minutes away by train from Amsterdam and supposedly another great town, as well as the home of a large collection of Dutch Renaissance paintings and a bunch of Vermeer’s work.  There is so much to see in Amsterdam, I don’t want to leave,but I can’t afford to buy anything including food.  I haven’t found a bottle of water to be found for under 2 euro, and that for a tiny one.  A bowl of soup–at your cheaper establshment–runs 5.50, about 8 USD.  I did find a bakery “bakerij” that sells these enormous vegetarian pizza things for only 3.50, so I’ve been living off of them.  They’re actually pretty tasty.  I’m doing that because my hostel does not, of course, have a kitchen and I haven’t been able to find a supermarket to buy my own food anyways. 

Amsterdam is awesome.  They have a tram that goes right from where I’m staying into the city center.  It’s easy to use, I just bought a strippenkaart of fourteen rides when I got here and I’ve been using that.  Actually, it’s going to be hard to use up all my rides before I leave.  Hmmmm, perhaps I will just have to stay longer?

Mediations were postponed today, but will resume tomorrow at 9h00 with the same focus:

On Tuesday, Symphony Way pavement dwellers of the Delft Anti-Eviction Campaign met with the city to begin the mediation process regarding the pending evictions of the community from Symphony Way. The community appeared in the Cape Town High Court on Wednesday, October 7^th, 2009. The judge ordered that there must be a mediation process to end with a solution.

The Symphony Way pavement dwellers engaged with the city and asked for alternatives to the “Blikkiesdorp” Temporary Relocation Area where they are refusing to move based on its inhumane conditions. But the only option the city is offering is Blikkiesdorp.

The Mediations were to resume today, but were postponed and will continue tomorrow at 9am at the Council Depot in Delft. The Symphony Way community is going back to meet with the city to see what can be done and to discuss further alternatives to Blikkiesdorp.

Any mediators are invited to attend and assist with the process. All media is invited to attend.

For more information please contact: Ashraf Cassiem 0761861408 and Evelyn 072-748-6864

Δεν έχω πάει ακόμα στην παραλία. “Scheveningen” (Σχε’iφένινγχεν ή κάπως έτσι – παράτησα για λίγο τα Ολλανδικά και είναι σαν να μην έκανα καθόλου, anyway…), αυτό είναι το κοντινότερο παραλιακό μέρος, κοντά στη Xάγη. Βόρεια θάλασσα σου λέει, μαύρη, κρύα, καμία σχέση με την εικόνα που έχω όταν λέω “θάλασσα”. Αλλά μου λείπει τόσο πολύ αυτή η θέα, η ανοιχτωσιά, η αλμύρα, ο αέρας που φέρνει, που θέλω πολύ να πάω.

Αν και θα απογοητευτώ μάλλον συγκρίνοντας σαν τον Θεσσαλονικιό στο Amsterdam, το ψυχρό και δύσκολο να προφέρεις Scheveningen με τον υπέροχο, αγαπημένο Θερμαϊκό!

Θεσσαλονίκη

With my shoe

city poem

I write in the sand

Look once more, it

Says, I miss …

To the sun and the sea

I let the breakers

Wash away the sand of my shoes

Tomorrow it’ll be gone
Tomorrow it’ll be gone

HK 27-03-2002

Αυτή είναι η μετάφραση του ποιήματος που είναι γραμμένο στον πίσω τοίχο του σταθμού του Delft (http://www.inspiringcities.org/index.php?id=1&page_type=Article&id_article=17968 ).

Θα πάω μέσα στο Σαββατοκύριακο λοιπόν στην παραλία και θα γράψω στην άμμο όπως ο Ολλανδός άγνωστος ποιητής: “Ι miss…”

Δυο βδομαδούλες έμειναν μέχρι τον “sweet November”. 

Mediation process continues tomorrow – 9h00 at the Council Depot in Delft

This afternoon, Symphony Way pavement dwellers of the Delft Anti-Eviction Campaign met with the city to begin the mediation process regarding the pending evictions of the community from Symphony Way. The community appeared in the Cape Town High Court on Wednesday, October 7^th, 2009. The judge ordered that there must be a mediation process to end with a solution.

Today the Symphony Way pavement dwellers engaged with the city and asked for alternatives to the “Blikkiesdorp” Temporary Relocation Area where they are refusing to move based on its inhumane conditions. But the only option the city is offering is Blikkiesdorp.

Tomorrow at 9am at the Council Depot in Delft, the Symphony Way community is going back to meet with the city to see what can be done and to discuss further alternatives to Blikkiesdorp.

Any mediators are invited to attend and assist with the process.

For more information please contact: Ashraf Cassiem 0761861408 and Evelyn 072-748-6864