My heart is bleeding for my country tonight

[TrixieLou]

Name changed and posting here for traffic.

I have been resident in the UK for 15 years but I am originally from Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. My country is on fire. It has been mentioned on the news today but the football has completely overshadowed the story. My family live in the worst hit area. Shopping centres have been looted and destroyed. Thousands of criminals have been shooting, looting, throwing grenades and setting off bombs. I had my father on the phone earlier and could hear gunshots in the background. The police and the military are doing nothing. My brothers are currently blocking off their roads with their vans. They are armed with guns. Most of their neighbours are there too. They are watching thousands of angry protesters approach from the valley below. Gunshots. Fire. Bombs. There is black smoke billowing in the air from trucks and cars being set on fire. Thousands of people are walking on the streets carrying merchandise from destroyed shopping centres. People are shooting at each other. They have said that this is only the beginning. Private homes will be next. The homes that house my family and friends. My family are scared for their lives tonight. I just had my father in tears on the phone, telling me he doesn’t know what is going to happen tonight and that he loves me. He never got to meet my new baby.

Please pray for South Africa tonight. Or send good thoughts if you don’t pray. They will never recover from this. They were already on their knees.

@TrixieLou then my apologies, I assumed it was you but obviously jumped to conclusions.

It is something dear to my heart as you can probably see from my other posts!

But that doesn't excuse jumping to conclusions, so I apologise.

My heart breaks for SA so often, especially as DD1's life and so many dear friends continues to be there.

The thing is, though, it is about race. Because opportunities for the basics of life are so racially skewed.

@Allington that’s ok. I think we’re all feeling very emotional right now for many different reasons ❤️

It is so awful, the man they are rioting for has bled their country dry and made things worse. All this is developed from one awful act after another through generations. How on earth does this get fixed.
My heart goes out to all involved, the tragedies from this one night will be numerous.

Oh I'm so sorry OP.
I hope you're family is safe, we don't hear enough on the news stations. Sending love. ❤

I hope @mumsnethq release my post soon. It explains my relationship with SA, including 15 years in the NGO sector, adopted DDs, older DD training at UCT as a social worker currently, many friends and extended adoptive family being black South Africans living in townships. As well as African diaspora e.g. from Zim/DRC and experiencing xenophobia.

My second home, my (black) DD's first home.

I have friends in SA and they said the army is moving in. They aren’t convinced it’s a genuine protest, just an excuse to wreck and loot.

@PRabbit

I have friends in SA and they said the army is moving in. They aren’t convinced it’s a genuine protest, just an excuse to wreck and loot.

Your white friends I assume? It's always white south Africans who think black south africans are looking for any "excuse" to wreck and loot.

I feel for everyone involved in this. As Allington says - what makes these things so distressing is that it's only when the violence spills out that we pay attention, while many black South Africans are dealing with this every day. Doesn't mean anything that's happening now is okay, just that it's not entirely new or different to what is the experience of many all the time.

Zuma was and is a truly awful man but, like Johnson or Trump, he speaks to people who feel (rightly or wrongly) that they are disempowered and disenfranchised. An attack on him, becomes an attack on them.

@Allington

The thing is, though, it is about race. Because opportunities for the basics of life are so racially skewed.

You are correct. It is about race. I’ve been on the phone to my mum the whole night. She lives alone and was too scared to sleep as people were chanting “We are coming to kill the Indian men, rape the Indian women and torture the Indian children”. It will probably always be about race.

@Satears I’m so sorry 💔

@Satears that's awful. I hope your mum is ok.

I haven't been told why my comment was deleted, and have no idea why it was. I didn't attack anyone. I explained my relationship with SA during the 15 years I lived there.

Worked in the NGO sector predominantly in black townships. Adopted my daughters from black townships, and supported them to maintain those relationships.

I’m sorry too @TrixieLou @Allington and everyone who is affected ❤️

Perhaps because I said that I knew more about the experiences of black South Africans than about 90% of white South Africans

@Allington and just to clarify (sorry, I’m so tired and only just clicked now!) Of course I know this is about race. I just meant this thread, I didn’t want to make this thread about race. I just needed a safe space to talk and raise awareness. It is an important part of all of this though so you were not wrong to bring it up.

Including the colleague who husband died after going out to break up a fight in the street, and had an artery slashed by a broken bottle. DOA in hospital, his wife (my colleague) couldn't afford childcare on her salary alone so their 4 kids separated and went to various relatives

The friend from DRC who was shot in the head when his spaza shop was attacked and looted in a xenophobic attack. Not expected to survive, but did and after 3 years of rehab recovered fully.

Your white friends I assume? It's always white south Africans who think black south africans are looking for any "excuse" to wreck and loot.
Protesting doesn’t have to involve stealing goods from shopping malls. People could protest without stealing. But they have chosen to take advantage of the opportunity to steal.

@mumsnet please explain how my post broke the rules?

@PRabbit

Your white friends I assume? It's always white south Africans who think black south africans are looking for any "excuse" to wreck and loot. Protesting doesn’t have to involve stealing goods from shopping malls. People could protest without stealing. But they have chosen to take advantage of the opportunity to steal.

Because they have so little they have no stake in society

@Allington, I agree the system is broken and biased. It's horrible for everyone. That doesn't mean that it's ok for white South Africans or black South Africans to be worried about being murdered or raped.

DD's teachers had such poor education themselves they could not understand primary level maths. Because the apartheid government deliberately did not provide an education above that to equip 'maids' (cleaners) and 'garden boys' (gardeners, no matter their ago)

@mumsnet I have a degree in history and sociology from unisa (equivalent of the Open University here), if you deleted because you don't believe me I am happy to provide sources.

Otherwise, please explain the rules I broke in my post?

It's not OK for anyone to be threatened, raped or murdered. But it only makes the news when it is white South Africans.

It is a daily occurrence for many black South Africans, so doesn't make the news

@TrixieLou I am with you, and praying for all our family over there.

Some of my in-laws live in Empangeni, some live in Hillcrest. They are staying indoors and have guns at the ready.

I appreciate the previous comments about the racial injustice in SA, but this is not a race to the bottom.

They are burning and looting malls, supermarkets, anything they can get their hands on. This has gone beyond a protest - this is tribalism taking over and the opportunity to get what they can.

How is stealing a television going to put food on your table? How is burning a supermarket going to allow you to feed your children? Where are you going to work if you destroy all the shops, offices, schools, clinics, medical centres - where are you going to get your medication from?

They need international intervention to sort this.

@Allington I appreciate everything you are saying about the inequality and danger for black South Africans but you can't honestly say that this is helping anyone? It certainly isn't helping relations between black and white South Africans and it isn't achieving - or going to achieve - anything apart from further hatred and distrust.