‘I AM not going to give up, I am going to fight the council until they give me and my family somewhere to live forever,’ Aminata Sellu declared to cheering supporters after successfully seeing off the bailiffs and police yesterday morning.
‘The council told me that the police and bailiffs were coming to the flat at 8am this morning to evict me and my children and I told them that they would have to drag me out of the flat!’ Aminata said. Over 60 local residents and supporters massed on Aminata’s balcony on the council estate on Benhill Road, Camberwell, south London yesterday morning determined to do whatever was necessary to stop her eviction.
At 11am three bailiffs, flanked by around 20 police, arrived to attempt to forcibly evict Aminata, her three young children and her elderly mother. However, met with the determined mass picket they retreated, and instead issued her with a ‘Notice of Eviction’ from the County Court of Lambeth, which read: ‘The bailiffs attended to carry out the eviction on 13/10/15 at 10:50am and were unable to execute the warrant of possession.
‘Subject to the non-compliance of the original notice of eviction, the bailiff(s) may now re-attend at any time and enforce this order. You should arrange to leave the property (land) with your belongings.’
After seeing off the police and bailiffs Aminata told her supporters: ‘We drove them off today, we will fight and we will win this fight. What does the government expect us to do with our kids? Do they expect them to sleep on the street? The kids are the future of tomorrow. Because of this threat of eviction they are not at school today. They are in their school uniforms ready to go, but because of the threat of eviction they cannot go to school.
‘They told me to move to Birmingham or Newcastle. How can they dictate to me as a human being where I am going to live. I just started a new job in September, I could not go to work today and could lose my job because of this. I am never going to give up. Until I get a permanent home for me and my family.’
The council want to demolish the entire block and build private flats. Another resident of the estate on Benhill Road, Fardowsa Jama, said: ‘I am in the same situation. The council say that I have to move and I say I will not move!’
Tracey Beresford, who also lives in Benhill Road, said: ‘These people are my neighbours, I have come to support my neighbours. I cannot imagine what it is like to live with the threat of eviction hanging over them.’
Cat Allison told News Line: ‘I have come today because I want to oppose the eviction of Aminata and her family. Southwark housing policy is one of the worst offenders for social cleansing, for flogging off council homes and public land to private developers and housing associations, which are no better then private developers.
‘The eviction rates are appalling. They were pulled up in court for burning the belongings of a tenant who was evicted. They have total contempt for the working class. Last time they tried to evict Aminata there was popular resistance and today we have done it again. We will support Aminata and her family in their fight and their right to stay and be housed.’
