"The flame is a demon that has destroyed our lives."

That's how a 6-year-old boy put it after a fire in a Durban shantytown on Friday that left hundreds of families homeless. The fire occurred in Siyasokola, a community whose name means "we are in dire need." This fire started from a paraffin burner, a common type of stove in such communities. A day after the fire, people were already reconstructing their homes with whatever scrap they could find As community leader Nhlanhla Mbili put it, "In December 2004 there was a fire disaster similar to this one. Somehow, rebuilding our shacks has become a part of our lives."

[Sorry there's no link on this post. The Sunday Tribune, from whose pages these details are taken, is subscription-only, even online. Thanks to Richard Pithouse for sending me the text of the article.]