[Shadow_Group] Fw: Have you experienced crime in South Africa?

[shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca]

http://www.southafricathetruth.netfirms.com/crimeexperience.htm<http://www.southafricathetruth.netfirms.com/crimeexperience.htm>

Have you experienced crime in South Africa? 
BBC News "Talking Point" April 16, 2002

Send your experiences to us

South Africa is the most dangerous country in the world, which is not at
war. Fifteen thousand people were murdered between January and September
last year. Cracking the problem of crime remains the single biggest
challenge facing South Africa's Government. 

This year R31.8 billion ($3.5 billion) was budgeted to pay for the fight
against crime, 11% of total government spending. Have you experienced
crime in South Africa? What can the government, and society at large, do?
And following the acquittal of Dr Wouter Basson, the man who headed South
Africa's apartheid-era germ warfare programme, how much faith do you have
in South Africa's courts? Read a selection of comments below. 

 

I lived in South Africa for 21 years and became a South African citizen,
I also have 2 South African children. Having lost 4 of my good friends in
the period of one year in 2000 all being murdered in cold blood, I
decided as beautiful as the country is I could not live there any more.
South Africa is a fantastic country getting destroyed by its own people,
while the government watches not knowing how to fix the problem and with
no-one to turn to for help. The rest of the world set the ANC free, now
it watches from afar as South Africa self destructs. Mark, England 

The crime in South Africa seems to be an ever increasing problem for both
residents and visitors to the nation. Recently I was robbed at gunpoint,
my car stolen along with all my possessions and even my shoes. I have a
number of Zambian friends who are at university there, one of whom was
recently stabbed and attacked for money on the university premises. I
think that South Africa faces a challenging time ahead. Ryan van der
Merwe, Zambia 

I am a Scot who lived and worked in SA during the eighties. I still have
a son, daughter and two grandchildren in Jo¿burg. My brother-in-law was
shot at a few years ago and his wife was shot in the hand during a post
office robbery four years ago. The father of a boy whose twenty first
birthday celebration I attended, was shot dead last year and the
ex-husband of a friend brutally murdered in Maritzburg four years ago. My
daughter witnessed an armed robbery in the complex where she lived. My
wife, who was born in Durban, vows that she will never settle back in SA
as she worries for the safety of our youngest daughter. The instances of
crimes against relatives and friends are almost endless. Also on the mine
where I worked, there were several "muti" killings and tribal tensions
were always very close to the surface of mine politics. Surely no-one
person can be so unlucky. What also worries me is the near desperate
attempts to award the football world cup to SA in 2010. Believe me, it
will be open season on unsuspecting fans from all over the world. The
whole prospect of awarding the tournament to SA makes my flesh creep.
Concerned, Scotland

I was carjacked two years ago in Johannesburg while waiting on red light.
I managed to escape... the attacker smashed my left widow with the brick
and tried to get me out of the car. The police told me afterwards that
should he have had a gun I would be dead. Jurek, UK/Poland 

I live in Washington State (the west coast for those of you who don't
know). Here any person without a felony criminal record can get a permit
to carry a concealed handgun, and 5% of the population has them
(excluding police, who do not need these permits) The rate of violent
crime here is vastly lower than in Europe, where criminals know their
victims are disarmed and helpless. Makes you think, doesn't it? Robert
Blakely, USA 

I left SA in the mid 80's because there was no way I was going to do
military service for the Nationalist Government. Since then, most of the
people I knew back then in South Africa have left. My sister and her
husband left after my sister, who was working in Johannesburg just got
tired of having to take a gun to work. On the other hand, a good friend
of mine still lives right in the middle of Johannesburg and neither been
burgled nor mugged, but he's not rich so he doesn't make a good target. I
really hope that things do improve in South Africa, the people deserve
it. Theo Stauffer, Switzerland, Ex-SA 

I am currently studying for an MSc here and have been mugged twice at
knifepoint (in Durban). I obviously am not happy about the violent crime,
but I can understand why it happens. The end of apartheid was meant to
herald a new era of equality; sadly this is not the case. Jonathan
Harris, South Africa (Wales) 

My friend's girlfriend is from Jo'burg. She says that after dusk, women
are allowed to drive through red lights to avoid being hijacked or worse!
Her family (who are white), are saving to leave for either England,
Australia, or NZ, and who can blame them. SA is going into complete
self-destruct and she's not going to hang around for it to happen. No
amount of money could make me visit SA. Andrew Boxall, England, UK 

The crime figures are not exaggerated - for, Johannesburg residents in
particular, they are a reality to be faced daily. As many have pointed
out, we lived with burglar bars, remote controlled gates (most hijackings
take place on the driveway) guard dogs, armed response and electric
fences on top of 6 foot high walls. It is an unnatural way of living and
we moved after seven close friends were all hijack victims. One had her
two young children in the vehicle when it was taken, and it was only her
heroism which saved them. Another close family member was shot six times
after he was out of his vehicle and he was unarmed. The vehicle was later
found abandoned. Most South Africans are shocked by the senseless
violence which accompanies burglaries, hijackings or theft in SA. It is
wrong to use Apartheid as an excuse, as it should be condemned outright
by any civilised society rather than excused because of the past. The
savagery which is used on victims cannot be excused by any past event nor
should it be tolerated by civilised society. Crime is often meaningless
and it is neither because of Apartheid nor poverty - it is indicative of
a society / system which are not tough enough on protecting all citizens.

Dee, South African in the UK 

I've never experienced it, but indeed I'm afraid of any one. What I told
myself is not to trust anyone: female/male or young /old, danger is
always there. 
Tich, South Africa 

As a 30 year old born in SA spending most of my life here, I have stab
wounds in my back, a few times I've had a gun shoved in my face, my car
and house broken several times and I purchased another 'security' product
this week. Enough said. Peter Murgatroyd, Cape Town, South Africa.

I have lived in South Africa all my life and have been a victim of a
vicious mugging, robbed goodness knows how many times, witnessed two
separate armed robberies that went wrong, was within metres of a bomb
blast in JHB and lost a dear cousin who was murdered¿ need I say, the
murderer got off because the police "lost" the evidence - I can go on and
on, but one thing is blatantly obvious, there will have to be zero
tolerance of crime before anybody will put their confidence in South
Africa to return or expect foreign investment to flow back into the
country. When there is more economic confidence in South Africa there
will be less unemployment and less crime and maybe the Rand will even
strengthen! I wonder if the SA government has figured this out yet? No
South African would leave their country and live abroad unless they
desperately feared for their lives in South Africa! Debbie Smith, London
UK 

Having lived in Southern Africa for 22 years, I made the decision to
leave in '98. It is not an easy thing to do. My entire family still lives
there. My brother tells me of how he chased a burglar down the road with
his '45 Revolver. Murder and rape are constantly mentioned by everyone I
know. Many of my friends have been hi-jacked (one for an old Volkswagen
Beetle!) It seems that there is no regard for human life. All that I can
say about this to critics of people like me who leave, is that I can now
sleep with my windows open. I do not live behind a 8 foot wall with razor
wire and an electric fence. My front door opens right onto a street in
downtown Montreal. There is no security gate. I park my car in the
street. In my entire time in Canada, I have heard of only two cars that
were stolen. There was no loss of life, something that could easily
accompany that act in South Africa. People that say it is not "that" bad
in South Africa have either never lived there, or have never left to find
out how people live in the rest of the world. That is ignorance.
Apartheid is partly to blame for this mess, but the government cannot
continue to use that as a scapegoat. Educate the people. It is the single
best thing that they could do. Barry, Canada 

I think every person in this country has been affected by crime in one
way or another. Just in my immediate family there has been an attempted
murder - my brother stabbed in his own house 14 times. All of us have had
our cars broken into, one brother has had three vehicles stolen, all four
of us have had our houses robbed, I have had a revolver pointed in my
face in an attempted hijacking and all this is not taking into account
the petty crimes. The most frightening factor is you think it is normal
now to live with burglar bars, lock yourself into your house, have alarm
systems, sleep with the alarm on at night, ensure that there are panic
buttons throughout your house, 24 hour armed private security - that is
just for your personal safety. The other hidden crime is the rampant
corruption and ongoing fraud within the government departments and to a
lesser degree in business, I am an auditor who specialises in fraud
within the government - I am guaranteed of a job until retirement. That's
if I am not murdered and raped before I reach retirement age. Angela,
South Africa 

Having worked and have been robbed in Johannesburg, South Africa it is
clear that there needs to be a multi-pronged approach and maybe crime
will decrease: - remove the vast number of illegal weapons by amnesties,
rewards, cash for arms etc. - education of the youth in previously
disadvantaged areas. A protracted campaign on prevention might bring back
big business into downtown Johannesburg Chrysos, USA 
They have tried it... but it didn`t work! -Editor

Until violence happens to you, it is easy to ignore or rationalise how to
avoid it. After our house was invaded, at 2 am, we saw things quite
differently and felt lucky to have escaped the grizzly violence that
usually goes with such events in households. The violence appears to be
indiscriminate and IS brutal, affecting many more black victims than
others. Judging by the noise our dog caused, the invaders were ejected in
a big hurry. Perhaps they weren't armed well enough. During the
subsequent three hour police "investigation", 90% of the time was spent
in querying us on how best the officers could move to Canada!
Investigating the crime was apparently just a waste of time! Living
within our resulting 12,000 volt fence was no life either. Unless part of
a plot to overthrow the country, the violence is out of control and
helping to throttle the country's bright future. Occurrences, to you or
to others just sap any enthusiasm you may have. I have no solutions, but
only consolidated public action could do it and I doubt if that's now
possible. Shortly before our departure, there was a major local crackdown
on hijackers, with armed choppers and spotter planes often at tree-top
level over our house. It seemed to have some effect then, but didn't
last. Africa has ways around such retaliations. 
Sadly disappointed, Canada 

As a travel agent in New Zealand, I regularly deal with people who want
to go to South Africa on holiday (usually rugby fans). I don't want to
damage the SA tourism industry, nor do I want to put people off
travelling (I do want their money after all), but I feel morally obliged
to tell potential visitors stories such as the ones posted on this site,
so that when they get there, they are not shocked by the barbed wire and
sounds of gunfire. Andrew, New Zealand 

It proves that if you treat a human being like an animal, then that is
how they will behave. Every country that has thrown off the shackles of
totalitarianism has had to deal with a soaring crime rate for a time. The
crime rate in the former Soviet Union is a prime example. I'm certain
that once the South African people recover their dignity, the crime rate
will drop. Tom Byrne, USA 

Unequivocally yes! South Africa's crime is appalling - criminals rule the
streets in broad daylight. I'm black and feel ashamed that my country is
a gangsters paradise. Criminals have more rights than law abiding
citizens. Court documents go missing and the case gets dismissed and the
criminals are back on the streets. I say we need zero tolerance policy in
South Africa!How many more lives should we lose before criminals are put
behind bars? Maxwell, Asia 

As a former resident of South Africa, I can honestly say that the only
reason I left the country was because I feared for the life of my son, my
husband and myself. My family were first victims of crime when I was in
my teens, but it was petty, taking place when we weren't home. The next
time we were victims, we were also out, one evening, but our home was
like a fortress - bars on every window (even the ones that didn't open!),
security gates on the doors, a dog. Yet they still managed to break in -
coming in through the roof! It was my first real experience of crime,
losing sentimental items, of no value to anyone but me. But it scared me,
and it made me realise that there were people out there who didn't care -
they just wanted what they could get their hands on. The next incident
took place a couple of years later. A neighbour came home one evening,
disturbing a robbery in her home. She turned around, and walked out, not
wanting confrontation. She was chased, and shot in the back, trying to
climb over a 6ft fence that had barbed fencing on top. I will never
forget the sound of her groaning, asking for help. I can still hear it
now. Shortly after that my husband lost a dear friend, who was murdered
in his own bed, the contents of his home were put into his car, and the
murderer drove away, leaving behind a devastated family. The night he
died his only daughter gave birth to his first grandchild. It breaks my
heart to think about that moment. Not six months later, we were the
victims once again. This time we were robbed in broad daylight. We had
all the usual - dogs, bars on the windows, bars on the doors, six foot
fencing with security gates. And it still didn't stop them. We were
cleaned out, and that was the moment that we decided to quit South
Africa. We gave ourselves a year to save up the money, and one year later
we left. 
Tina Hattingh, United Kingdom 

My company does business with a distributor located near Johannesburg.
They trade from an industrial unit, surrounded by a high security fence,
with constant armed security on-site. Last year, a large truck drove off
the nearby highway, straight through the fence, and through the side wall
of the unit. Around 10 armed men (both black and white) got out, shot two
staff members (fortunately not fatally) and then calmly loaded the truck,
backed out of the unit, and drove back onto the highway. As they left,
they came under fire from the security guards. One of the robbers was hit
and killed, and was thrown out of the back of the truck as it drove away.
The whole thing sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie, but
apparently it wasn't even lead story on the local news that night! John,
England 

As a citizen of Johannesburg, I have encountered crime in various ways. I
have been hijacked by five armed robbers, I have chased burglars out of
my yard, and I have turned my house into a veritable fortress, with
burglar-proof bars on the windows, security doors, all round electric
fencing, and an alarm system linked to a 24hr armed response company.
Through all this, I have found the police to be overworked, stressed, and
disheartened because of what they see as "the system failing them." Very
few criminals ever get to see the inside of a court room, and the few
that do are invariably let out on bail. Every time. Besides this, the
police are being governed by ever stricter laws regarding the use of
their firearms, in which the policeman is obliged to wait until fired at,
before any return shots can be fired. As such, policeman in South Africa
are utterly demoralised and without hope. We have one of the world's
highest police suicide rates, and it's not surprising why. How can
anybody expect these men to continue doing the best they can, day after
day, undergoing the same stresses as soldiers in wartime, but for much
longer, and there's no indication that they're winning this war. Simply
put, the government of South Africa has failed its people. The police are
losing faith in the very cause they're meant to fight for, and the public
does not have any respect or trust for the SAPS anymore. Darren Olivier,
South Africa

I strongly disagree with the statement that "South Africa is the most
dangerous country in the world which is not at war". It is true that
there are certain parts of the country with incidents of crime like
anywhere in the world for example, down town Johannesburg and in the
townships. South Africa has made very good progress in reconciling her
people both black and white from the vestitutes of apartheid. What seemS
to puzzle me is the alarmist statistics and media hype about South
African Aids, crime, rape, currency fluctuations etcetera. Africans need
to aggressively market their achievements by building on the good work of
Nelson Mandela, Nyerere, Senghor and Metsire. Matthias Kulubya,
London,U.K
Did you mention you live in the UK? -Editor

How can someone living in London comment on the crime in south Africa as
one of the previous gentlemen has? We live here and see and experience
what is happening! I personally know many who have been hijacked, shot
at, etc. I have had a high-jacking right outside of my studio. I have had
a car stolen. I have had my caravan broken into - need I go on? Our
present Government continues to blame apartheid long after it ahs been
dismantled, so as to cover up their own incompetence in running the
country. I have had many Blacks tell me that they were better off in all
respects under the old regime. 20 years back we never had a country full
of squatter camps and such a high unemployment rate. We could walk the
streets in comparative safety, but not now! It is about time our
Government wakes up and starts to do something positive and not worry
about the problems in other countries. Dennis Clark, South Africa 

Have you experienced crime in SA? Nobody living in SA has not! Some even
believe it is normal. E.G., South Africa 

On my car alone, over the course of the last five or six years: three
radios stolen (with or without removable face-plates), four smashed
windows, one door-lock cut out, before it was finally stolen a year ago.
With a steering-wheel lock on it. My grandfather has been mugged twice
and hijacked once. Simply put, more police, heavier sentences, and
anything that can combat the criminal culture that has grown up in the
country. Until that happens, I'm staying well away. Matthew Roberts, U.K.


A clear demonstration of how South Africa is now much, much better than
it ever was under the apartheid government. No, it isn't their fault.
Sometime or other, Thabo Mbeki and Nelson Mandela will have to accept
that this isn't the fault of the apartheid administration. Graeme
Phillips, UK

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/shadowgroup-l/attachments/20041213/e21a4ef0/attachment.html>