TARIF: Oxen with Bad Reps as a Solution to Joburg Fires

In the early morning of August 31, flames erupted out in a five-story building in the CBD of Johannesburg, South Africa, eventually killing seventy-four people, including children, in one of the worst fire tragedies in recent memory. Some of the charred remains of bodies were laid in the public streets. Residents, family members, and media outlets immediately expressed outrage, believing that the fire could have easily been avoided. The building apparently belongs to the city of Joburg, once used by the courts and later as a shelter for abused women. But the building had become an overcrowded, temporary housing unit for migrants, just like scores of other buildings throughout the city. Gangs have since hi-jacked the premises and now do the rent collecting themselves.