The South Africans who rushed in when disaster struck.
As the horror of violent protests ripped through Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal this week, ordinary people started doing extraordinary things.
“Last night was the only night when we didn’t have to shoot because we were not shot at,” Lux said of what he and his group of community members had to do to keep the rioting crowds out. “One night we engaged in an hour-long shoot-out with the armed looters,” Lux said. On the other side of Johannesburg, medic Salmon Mkhwenazi laughs when he hears that people are a little in love with Mfezi – the armoured ambulance that’s called out to the worst disaster scenes imaginable.
“When we arrive at a scene people say ‘wow’ because Mfezi goes anywhere. It also means help has arrived,” he says of the customised military vehicle. Inside it has fold-up stretchers, jump bags and space for four paramedics and two people in the cabin. Their jobs, dangerous at the best of times, became infinitely more difficult this week as civil unrest ripped through Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
Berea resident Tinus van Staden said he hopes more people will join them in cleaning up. He says the idea of a clean-up operation came after the community got tired of seeing the area filled with rubble. People were no longer able to drive on the roads, and mostly “wanted life to go back to normal because our lives are on hold”, Van Staden said.
In Alexandra in Gauteng, a group called 30 Strong Voices of Alex risked their own safety to spread messages of calm and help the police find the looters. While the looting was under way, the group members identified spots where looters had hidden stolen items. Some of the people involved in the looting were apprehended and handed over to the police, who took them to the cells.
“I have also been going to homes of the elderly and the disabled where I have been delivering such goods. The past few days have been horrific in the history of our township,” said Twala. Twala, who has been helping the people of Alexandra for more than 40 years, said he is appealing to SA to help him with anything they can give. “I cannot do this alone. I don’t have the resources and capacity. I am appealing to the people to help me,” he said.
“The people who are working in these shopping centres and malls are our clients. If we allow looters to destroy these properties we are the ones who are going to suffer.” Meg Pascoe, owner of online artisanal confectioner The Counter, tweeted: “We’re not here to sell you sweets while our country burns… Direct the money you would’ve spent on fudge to those who really need it.”
“I’ve no time for people who are negative without trying to assist or come up with solutions. We are an incredibly strong and resilient nation. And, I won’t lie, a tequila or two is a must!” It is for her neighbourhood, she says – and anyone who needs to receive the message. Honeywill says it was meant to inspire hope in a time of the Covid-19 crisis, “but when I’ve looked at it over the past couple of days I’ve thought we need this even more with what has happened in the country”.
Stranton arrived with his wife Robyn on Tuesday afternoon. Robyn said, when she saw the devastation: “Well, we just broke down in tears. It’s something that was built over 25 years ago. It’s like losing somebody, you know. We didn’t know that it was that bad.
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