Editor
The xenophobia in South Africa continues and is finding expression in new dangerous ways! The most dangerous actions are not necessarily those associated with violence, but could be covert acts stemming from hate and resentment against foreigners.
Now that foreigners know how much hate and resentment some of their South African brothers harbour against them, they should try to avoid areas where physical attacks against them are likely to take place. However, the greatest dangers may be lurking in the seemingly harmless contacts with our South African brothers. This could include having poison added to your drink or food in a restaurant or having equipment or vehicle that you are using sabotaged with a view to harm or even kill you!
Before you conclude that I am allowing my imagination too much room, this warning: BEWARE lest we be led like sheep to the slaughter! Consider this: My daughter who is attending Stellenbosch University took her car for re-fueling at a petrol station in Stellenbosh on Wednesday, 4 April 2008. She also requested that her car tyres be checked for correct pressure. Whilst waiting, she and her friend became aware that the petrol attendants are looking at them, talking about them in an indigenous language.
Directly from the petrol station, my daughter and her friend drove to a place where they had refreshments, the car parked in plain view a few meters away.
When they got up and approached the car to leave, they noticed that one tyre was completely deflated and another tyre had an audible leakage of air from the valve. Tightening the valve cap of the leaking tyre did not stop the leakage. Upon closer examination of the valve-cap, they noticed that a small pebble was lodged inside the valve-cap! Alarmed, they checked the valve cap of the other flat tyre and found another pebble inside that valve-cap as well! Stones obviously strategically placed inside the valve-caps to cause slow deflation of the tires! Clear sabotage! If they were driving at speed when both tyres deflated they could have died in a car accident! Murder, or just an innocent xenophobic prank? How do we know what other covert “attacks” are taking place against foreigners?
Considering the aforementioned attack against my daughter, would it be far-fetched to assume that toxins may be added to food or drinks consumed by foreigners in respectable establishments in the land of the “Rainbow Nation”?
Murder, or just xenophobic pranks? We will never know… What we do know is that South African leaders have to urgently address the problem, before other Africans realise that they are being led like “sheep to the slaughter” and decide to take whatever action they deem appropriate to protect themselves and their loved ones against what appears to be an alarmingly huge xenophobic explosion within South African groups.
My daughter and her friend will be alerting the owners of the petrol station about this matter and they will also be able to identify the suspected culprit, but on an anonymous basis for fear of retribution in the relatively small town of Stellenbosch!
Worried Father,
Windhoek, Namibia