Diepsloot in Flames

I was coming back from Pretoria yesterday and took the Diepsloot road. Stuck behind a taxi I suddenly saw people running past me with fear in their eyes. The in front of me on the other side of the road I thought I say what was a body lying in the road, and as I drove towards it, a couple of people ran up to it and horrifyingly it caught fire ... I then saw it was a barricade of tyres and rubbish.

The protesters blockaded streets with burning tyres, rocks and portable toilets.

It was then that I realised with a surge of adrenalin that I was in the middle of an 80's style Black protest ... accelerating, I managed to get out of the danger area swerving past people, police vans and barricades.

RESIDENTS of Diepsloot Extension 1, north of Johannesburg, today woke up to scenes of looted shops and rock-lined streets. This after police fired rubber bullets at residents last night in what they said was meant to prevent them from continuing to loot shops following a protest they staged earlier in the day. About 300 residents said they were angry after rumours started circulating that they would be relocated from their homes and moved to Brits in the North West, about 50km north of Pretoria .

Link

Link 2

So much for my quiet Sunday afternoon drive.


Edit: added another link

[edit on 6/7/2009 by deltaalphanovember]

S. Africa (and southern Africa in general) has went to hell since the whites were "invited" to leave.

Rhodesia (zimbabwe) was able to feed most of Africa.

"No, sorry. All of you white farmers need to leave now...thanks for playing though!"

South Africa was a major business hub and had a nice economy ( until mandella and his whining minions captured the sympathies of liberals in the west).

Kinda reminds me of the scene in "Holy Grail" where Arthur rides up on Eric Idle ( Look at the abuse inherent in the system! I'm being oppressed!)

I have no use for South Africa or the like. They wanted the ANC, they got it.

I just feel bad for the Zulu's. They were pulling for the Dutch.

reply to post by felonius


Discrimination against anyone is wrong, whether you are black or white. There is reverse discrimination in South Africa but there are plenty of opportunities for everyone. I am of Danish descent, but I am English speaking and believe me, I would have been discriminated against in the Old South Africa, as my Afrikaans sucks.

I have no problem with a majority black government if they can only curb violence and corruption, and stop with this blaming apartheid for all their nonsense. Most of my non-white friends feel exactly the same as I do.

felonius, your post was essentially correct ... but I did detect a serious undertone of racism - Mandela is widely respected (even amongst white right-wingers) and credited for the peaceful handover of power in 1994.

IOL NEWS

Quote:

An SABC reporter was forced to flee on foot after angry Diepsloot residents petrol-bombed his company car while his colleagues' car's windows were pelted with stones.

The protest started after a meeting about the provision of houses, sanitation and basic services turned violent on Sunday.

The residents came to the meeting expecting to be told where their RDP houses would be built, but when local councillor Jan Mahlangu - who arrived in a police armoured vehicle - told them that a section of the informal settlement would have to make way for the installation of sewerage pipes, they started throwing stones at the police and the media.

A group of about 50 youths lined the R511 as it passes Diepsloot, throwing pieces of rubble at motorists, many of them heading back from Hartbeespoort Dam.

Traders selling everything from soap and lip balm to blankets hurriedly packed their wares into bakkies. Others without transport wrapped their goods into bundles and made a beeline through the maze of shacks in search of cover.

As they grew in confidence and number, the youths produced three tyres which were promptly set alight in the middle of the normally busy road.

Roaring out of the settlement, police Nyalas and Joburg metro police vehicles rushed to the scene, firing rubber bullets to disperse the group, chasing after them as they sought cover in the shackland, with a group of policemen emerging moments later with a few of the boisterous youths in tow. Fourteen people were arrested and will face charges of public violence.

In one police armoured vehicle, four police officers had emptied 600 rounds of rubber bullets between 10am and 2pm. After 2pm, they stopped at a local police station to load more rubber bullets.

Mod Edit: External Source Tags – Please Review This Link.
Do not simply post news articles in the forums without comment. If you feel inclined to make the board aware of current events, please post the first paragraph, a link to the entire story, AND your opinion, twist or take on the news item.

[edit on 13-7-2009 by Gemwolf]

reply to post by harryhaller


Harry, not sure what your comment was, but the situation in Diepsloot is getting worse and needs to be watched carefully.
It could be a spark that ignites the rest of the country - people are getting more and more dissatisfied with local government and their service delivery.

The situation with informal settlements gets more interesting when it turns out that the government want to "clean-up" the city's image before the 2010 Soccer World Cup - much as Beijing did before the Olympics.

reply to post by deltaalphanovember


It looks like I was witness to the very start of the latest unrest - the very moment it boiled over onto the streets.
Now it is spreading to other townships:

Jacob Zuma faced the first critical test of his presidency today as violent protests at a lack of basic services spread in South Africa's townships. Residents hurled bottles and stones at police, who responded by firing rubber bullets and teargas. Smoke from burning tyres filled the air as thousands marched in a show of anger at poor services in townships in Johannesburg, Western Cape and the north-eastern region of Mpumalanga. Immigrants said they feared for their lives and sought police protection as there were reports of foreign-owned businesses being looted in Mpumalanga. Last year 62 people died in xenophobic attacks. The unrest comes as frustrations boil over at the government's record, 15 years after apartheid, at providing townships with basic services such as electricity, running water, housing and sanitation.

Article

Oh ok apologies mods, i'll remember in future

Didn't have much to add really, the article said quite a lot. Apartheid era widespread discontent at it's finest. These people 's lives haven't changed a bit since those days.

It's not only diepsloot though, orange farms, on the opposite side of JHB has been having problems too. There are still remnants of last years xenophobic violence all over the country. Some somali shopkeepers were attacked in soweto recently (no link).

Cold and hungry people will not go quietly, our government should know THAT by now ....