Now violence hits Cape Town
23 May 2008, 07:13
By Caryn Dolley
Xenophobic violence spread to the Western Cape on Thursday night with hundreds of terrified foreigners forced to run for their lives from a number of informal settlements.
In Du Noon in Milnerton hundreds fled from the settlement and late on Thursday night there were unconfirmed reports of similar incidents in Ocean View and Joe Slovo in Langa. Earlier in the day Witlokasie in Knysna also erupted.
Foreigners, mainly Somalis, crammed into police vans and were driven to safety from Du Noon. One with blood pouring from his arm and foot cried for help as his friends helped him into a police van.
More than 30 armoured police vehicles, vans and cars streamed into the area while a police helicopter hovered above.
As the sound of shots being fired was heard, the foreigners already grouped outside the entrances of the settlement huddled closer together, many covering their faces with their hands.
"I was forced out. I was chased away. They took all my things. They said if I come back they will kill me. Now I must go back to Somalia," Mohamed Adan, a Somali shopkeeper said.
Two Chinese nationals trembled as they ran from the shacks to the other side of the street behind a number of police officers and vehicles.
They said a mob had stormed their shop and kicked them out.
"I thought I was going to die. I don't know where my brother is, he's still in there. Why is this happening?," one said as tears streamed down his face. He was too afraid to give his name.
Sirens could be heard in and around the informal settlement and police vehicles lined the streets while others sped off as news spread that foreigners were apparently being kicked out of other areas.
A number of Somalis stood in the street, flagging down police vans and begging the officers to escort them back into the area so they could find missing relatives.
And panic spread as more realised friends and family members were not with them.
"Please help me, what must I do or go?" one man begged those around him.
The sirens often drowned out their voices as some of them tried to contact family members with their cellphones and had to give up as they could not hear.
Provincial police commissioner Mzwandile Petros arrived at the scene, but after briefly talking on his cellphone, he was speedily driven to another area with a number of police vehicles in tow.
At one stage a plume of smoke could be seen rising from somewhere in the settlement and shivering foreigners gathered to watch, wandering if it was perhaps their looted store that was burning.
While groups of them were standing, waiting to be driven to safety, a bakkie drove up and parked nearby and they scrambled to get the blankets being offered to them.
A local Du Noon resident, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, said he was ashamed of how his "neighbours" were acting.
"Even I'm too scared to go in there now. These foreigners sell us food. We need them here. I don't know why they're being chased out."
He said the looting had started after a community meeting about the xenophobic clashes in Gauteng and how it may spread to the Western Cape.
"Everything was calm. And then after the meeting the residents started gathering and forming a mass. That's when all this started," he said shaking his head.
Meanwhile, at the Killarney race course, scores of foreigners gathered under police guard.
"I don't know where I'm going from here. I don't even care anymore," one Somali man, sitting on the pavement with his hands in head, said.
A joint operations centre had been set up there and disaster management, police and other emergency personnel swarmed the area speaking on walkie talkies.
One could be heard trying to set up a temporary mortuary in case violence erupted and people were killed.
In the streets around Du Noon a number of police vans were seen packed with officers sitting and clutching rifles.
Further away officers were also stopping vehicles apparently warning them about what was happening.
Meanwhile, more than 100 people from other parts of Africa living in an informal settlement in Knysna sought refuge at the town's police station last night after five Somali-owned spaza shops were looted.
Although none of the foreigners living in Witlokasie had been attacked or received threats, they felt at risk, police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie said. They were given accommodation in a community hall.
Police reinforcements were sent to Witlokasie and neighbouring police stations placed on standby.
Earlier on Thursday, after the first spaza shop was looted, a handful of Somalis gathered at the Knysna police station.
Hours later, the number had grown to about 120, and included people from countries other than Somalia, Pojie said.
"We're trying to calm the situation now. We're also urging the community please not to continue with such actions."
A Somali-owned shop had been looted about 11.40am and one of two shopkeepers slightly injured in a scuffle, Pojie said.
It was not clear who had looted the shop or whether a mob was responsible. By nightfall,
five Somali shops had been looted.
Pojie believed a number of others might have been plundered, without being reported. Foreigners in the area had begun making their way to the police station.
When their numbers increased, they were told the hall would be available to them.
"Some of the (shopkeepers) emptied their shops and took all their goods with them.
"I'm not sure if more will arrive, but it seems these are most of Witlokasie's (foreigners)."
ANC Western Cape secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha said he was in Knysna on Thursday to prevent anti-foreigner violence.
"But the intervention, in the form of an emergency community meeting, came too late to stop the burning and looting of five Somali-owned shops by a mob of xenophobic thugs," Skwatsha said.
Speaking in Witlokasie after the meeting, and with relative calm restored to the area, Skwatsha repeated his call on ANC members to provide leadership in their communities by speaking out against violence.
"We once again express our disgust, embarrassment and profound apologies to the people from neighbouring states now living in our midst.
"But words alone will not stop this sickness. We call on the police and other security forces to do their work, arrest the perpetrators and ensure thorough investigations are conducted that will lead to the severest punishments."
Meanwhile, Metrorail Protection Services, security contractors and the Railway Police have deployed additional staff at key strategic points on the rail system.
Said Stephen Ngobeni, regional manager of Metrorail in the Western Cape: "Commuters can expect random searches on trains and at stations to ensure that no weapons are taken on to trains or stations. We ask our customers to bear with the inconvenience, but our actions are taken with their safety at heart."
Police spokesperson Billy Jones said attacks could be reported to a 24-hour line 021 467 8786 or anonymously to CrimeStop 0860010111.
caryn.dolley@inl.co.za
Xenophobic violence spread to the Western Cape on Thursday night with hundreds of terrified foreigners forced to run for their lives from a number of informal settlements.
In Du Noon in Milnerton hundreds fled from the settlement and late on Thursday night there were unconfirmed reports of similar incidents in Ocean View and Joe Slovo in Langa. Earlier in the day Witlokasie in Knysna also erupted.
Foreigners, mainly Somalis, crammed into police vans and were driven to safety from Du Noon. One with blood pouring from his arm and foot cried for help as his friends helped him into a police van.
More than 30 armoured police vehicles, vans and cars streamed into the area while a police helicopter hovered above.
As the sound of shots being fired was heard, the foreigners already grouped outside the entrances of the settlement huddled closer together, many covering their faces with their hands.
"I was forced out. I was chased away. They took all my things. They said if I come back they will kill me. Now I must go back to Somalia," Mohamed Adan, a Somali shopkeeper said.
Two Chinese nationals trembled as they ran from the shacks to the other side of the street behind a number of police officers and vehicles.
They said a mob had stormed their shop and kicked them out.
"I thought I was going to die. I don't know where my brother is, he's still in there. Why is this happening?," one said as tears streamed down his face. He was too afraid to give his name.
Sirens could be heard in and around the informal settlement and police vehicles lined the streets while others sped off as news spread that foreigners were apparently being kicked out of other areas.
A number of Somalis stood in the street, flagging down police vans and begging the officers to escort them back into the area so they could find missing relatives.
And panic spread as more realised friends and family members were not with them.
"Please help me, what must I do or go?" one man begged those around him.
The sirens often drowned out their voices as some of them tried to contact family members with their cellphones and had to give up as they could not hear.
Provincial police commissioner Mzwandile Petros arrived at the scene, but after briefly talking on his cellphone, he was speedily driven to another area with a number of police vehicles in tow.
At one stage a plume of smoke could be seen rising from somewhere in the settlement and shivering foreigners gathered to watch, wandering if it was perhaps their looted store that was burning.
While groups of them were standing, waiting to be driven to safety, a bakkie drove up and parked nearby and they scrambled to get the blankets being offered to them.
A local Du Noon resident, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, said he was ashamed of how his "neighbours" were acting.
"Even I'm too scared to go in there now. These foreigners sell us food. We need them here. I don't know why they're being chased out."
He said the looting had started after a community meeting about the xenophobic clashes in Gauteng and how it may spread to the Western Cape.
"Everything was calm. And then after the meeting the residents started gathering and forming a mass. That's when all this started," he said shaking his head.
Meanwhile, at the Killarney race course, scores of foreigners gathered under police guard.
"I don't know where I'm going from here. I don't even care anymore," one Somali man, sitting on the pavement with his hands in head, said.
A joint operations centre had been set up there and disaster management, police and other emergency personnel swarmed the area speaking on walkie talkies.
One could be heard trying to set up a temporary mortuary in case violence erupted and people were killed.
In the streets around Du Noon a number of police vans were seen packed with officers sitting and clutching rifles.
Further away officers were also stopping vehicles apparently warning them about what was happening.
Meanwhile, more than 100 people from other parts of Africa living in an informal settlement in Knysna sought refuge at the town's police station last night after five Somali-owned spaza shops were looted.
Although none of the foreigners living in Witlokasie had been attacked or received threats, they felt at risk, police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie said. They were given accommodation in a community hall.
Police reinforcements were sent to Witlokasie and neighbouring police stations placed on standby.
Earlier on Thursday, after the first spaza shop was looted, a handful of Somalis gathered at the Knysna police station.
Hours later, the number had grown to about 120, and included people from countries other than Somalia, Pojie said.
"We're trying to calm the situation now. We're also urging the community please not to continue with such actions."
A Somali-owned shop had been looted about 11.40am and one of two shopkeepers slightly injured in a scuffle, Pojie said.
It was not clear who had looted the shop or whether a mob was responsible. By nightfall,
five Somali shops had been looted.
Pojie believed a number of others might have been plundered, without being reported. Foreigners in the area had begun making their way to the police station.
When their numbers increased, they were told the hall would be available to them.
"Some of the (shopkeepers) emptied their shops and took all their goods with them.
"I'm not sure if more will arrive, but it seems these are most of Witlokasie's (foreigners)."
ANC Western Cape secretary Mcebisi Skwatsha said he was in Knysna on Thursday to prevent anti-foreigner violence.
"But the intervention, in the form of an emergency community meeting, came too late to stop the burning and looting of five Somali-owned shops by a mob of xenophobic thugs," Skwatsha said.
Speaking in Witlokasie after the meeting, and with relative calm restored to the area, Skwatsha repeated his call on ANC members to provide leadership in their communities by speaking out against violence.
"We once again express our disgust, embarrassment and profound apologies to the people from neighbouring states now living in our midst.
"But words alone will not stop this sickness. We call on the police and other security forces to do their work, arrest the perpetrators and ensure thorough investigations are conducted that will lead to the severest punishments."
Meanwhile, Metrorail Protection Services, security contractors and the Railway Police have deployed additional staff at key strategic points on the rail system.
Said Stephen Ngobeni, regional manager of Metrorail in the Western Cape: "Commuters can expect random searches on trains and at stations to ensure that no weapons are taken on to trains or stations. We ask our customers to bear with the inconvenience, but our actions are taken with their safety at heart."
Police spokesperson Billy Jones said attacks could be reported to a 24-hour line 021 467 8786 or anonymously to CrimeStop 0860010111.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of The Cape Times on May 23, 2008
Cape Town
