Business has resumed as usual for drug dealers in Hillbrow more than a week after residents chased them and their customers away; but it is far from business as usual.
The residents forced dealers from one of the most lucrative drug turfs in the neighbourhood‚ but they continue to do business a block away.
However‚ a user told GroundUp that it was a ”completely different scene now. It’s really bad.”
About 100 people surprised dealers on the corners of Fife Road and O’Reilly Road on Saturday‚ 6 October‚ in protest against what they say is the blatant peddling and use of drugs.
The violence escalated resulting in the damage of property and injury of some people. Police then intervened but were pelted with bottles and stones.
The protest went on until after dark with tyres burning in the road. The protesters included a group of people wearing yellow shirts with ANC insignias‚ toyi-toying while loud music blared from speakers.
Tension was still high towards the end of last week. Dealers were standing in small groups or alone and chased buyers away as soon as they had purchased their drugs.
According to a statement by a user, they previously had the luxury of sitting on the pavements of O’Reilly Street and smoke “Thai joints” (combination of heroin, dagga and tobacco) at any time of the day.
Several users admitted that they upset residents by using their drugs in the open including, the use of drugs through the use of needles by drug users. When asked about the residents’ complaints that police did nothing‚ one user just laughed and said the only reason the police came around was to collect payoffs.
“One of those people (protestors) is a woman from the block of flats there. She has a child who is hooked on Thai.”
According to residents‚ users and police sources‚ Nigerian syndicates have been entrenched in this part of Hillbrow for almost 20 years. They once occupied the Sands hotel before police operations‚ which targeted other hotels too‚ forced them out.
O’Reilly Road can be likened to an “open air drug bazaar” trading 24 hours a day. Dealers had practically claimed the area around as their own.
Now‚ it is quiet with a few pedestrians. Neither users nor dealers dare go too near it.
In stark contrast just two blocks away‚ Primrose Terrace has dozens of homeless users sleeping there and using drugs.
Drug policy activist Shaun Shelly said he was concerned about what’s happening in Hillbrow. “South Africa is at a tipping point. We could either move towards far more effective‚ progressive and rights-affirming policies or we could move towards a Phillipines-type situation where there is tacit and actual support for extra-judicial killing of people who use drugs.”
Article was published by GroundUp.
