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The Personal Politics of Disaster

Narratives of Survivors of a South African Shanty Town Fire

Bibliographic Data

ID11042769
AuthorsJackie Stewart (0000-0003-1854-8296, Stellenbosch University), L Swartz (0000-0003-1741-5897, Stellenbosch University, corresponding author), Christopher L Ward (0000-0001-8727-4175, University of Cape Town), Catherine Ward (0000-0001-9293-9637, University of Cape Town)
Year2012
Volume40
Issue4
Pages422-437
Publication date2012-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Community Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-4392 • E-ISSN: 1520-6629
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/jcop.20522
OpenAlexW2141269138
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited32

Despite the fact that natural disasters occur more commonly in low and middle income countries than in wealthier countries, we know relatively little about how these disasters are experienced in such contexts. South Africa presents an especially telling example in which it is clear that natural events are affected profoundly by sociopolitical factors, including the spatial design of the apartheid city. We report here on interviews with twenty survivors of the biggest shanty town fire in the history of Cape Town, South Africa. The narratives of participants demonstrate that in order to understand the human cost of such disasters it is as important to understand the politics of the precursors of the disaster as well as what occurred subsequent to the disaster. The South African case, like that of Hurricane Katrina, underscores the fact that disaster, far from being an acute event which happens to individuals, is better understood as part of a far longer sociopolitical process affecting individuals, groups, and, indeed, societies

Archaeology · Cape · Economic growth · Geography · Hurricane katrina · Narrative · Natural (archaeology) · Natural disaster · Political science · Politics · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Disaster Management and Resilience · Disaster Response and Management · History · Homelessness and Social Issues

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Unique citing works2
Citations per year0,33
Citation span2020 - 2026 (7)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 2
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