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Last Update: July 29, 2002 |
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Cape storm creates crisis for homeless havens The Cape Peninsula can forget about a respite on Monday from the heavy rain and wind that uprooted trees, flooded roads, caused power cuts and destroyed several homes at the weekend. The Cape Town Weather Office has warned that the cold front that moved in on Sunday will cause continuous heavy rains until Tuesday night. And at least one homeless man died of exposure while sleeping outside the Tyger Valley shopping centre on Saturday night. Six of the 11 Haven night shelters are full and volunteers are calling for help with food and blankets. "Anyone who comes here tonight will be turned away and sent to other shelters that are also full," said volunteer Berenice Eckard. Cape Town disaster management co-ordinator Geoff Laskey said 800 people from Khayelitsha, Mandela Park and Sir Lowry's Village were displaced after their homes were flooded and "blown away" early on Saturday morning. Displaced families were housed in community halls and provided with hot meals, food parcels and blankets. Disaster management provided residents with sand to raise their floors and materials to repair roofs, while also helping residents dig trenches around their houses to drain water and prevent further flooding. On Saturday morning the City of Cape Town's parks crews rushed from one uprooted tree to another, clearing the way for traffic in Newlands, Rondebosch, Tokai, Bishopscourt and Claremont. In Noordhoek a house under construction had part of a wall and large sliding doors blown out. Several homes in the area lost roof tiles. Uprooted trees fell onto power lines causing blackouts. Strong winds brought down a telephone pole in Monterey Street, Bishopscourt, and trees were blown into swimming pools in Tokai and Newlands. Tokai resident Roddy Mills said he found his 20-year-old bougainvillea "hanging over" his swimming pool. "The wind completely destroyed my garden when it ripped it out," he said. Heavy rains in Rylands Estate, Mitchell's Plain, Manenberg and Athlone had families scooping "buckets of rainwater" out of their homes and garages after rain poured through roofs and under doors. In William Street, Woodstock, a two-metre wall collapsed, while the City of Cape Town roads department said stormwater drains "could not cope" . Cape Flats roads were severely affected, particularly in Mitchell's Plain, but streets across the Peninsula were also flooded. "We saw parked cars moving under the rush of water in Sir Lowry Road," said a roads department employee. "People were running out of houses and from the Good Hope Centre to see if their cars were still parked there. The drains simply could not handle the weekend rains and it looks like there is more to come," he said. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Kytie Koekblik ColumnKytie Koekblik Washington D.C. - “You’re not a boere-girl anymore,” hoor ek toe mos laas week “Those moves.” En so kry ek toe so ‘n klompie komplimente oor ek so goed kan Zulu-dans en my lyf kan wikkel net soos ‘n African. Want ek is mos immers ‘n African. Jissie, kyk hierso, dis ‘n kompliment soos min. Ek was nog nooit boere-girl nie. EK kon nog nooit sakkie-sakkie nie, ek kon nog nooit lang-arm nie en het nie eers geprobeer nie. Om die waarheid te se, het ek grootgeword met die persepsie dat verkeerde dinge op dansvloere gebeur, veral as hy haar om die lyfie vat en in die rondte tol. So ek het nooit gesokkie nie. Ek het wel - seker maar van skelmpies dans as ek die radio aansit en voor die spieel met die haarsborsel sing - geleer om die beat te kan hou. ( Ek het my verbeel ek is Marie van Roxette wat sing ‘How do you do the things that you do, no one I know could ever keep up with you?” ) En toe, eendag uit die bloute in my voorstedelike huis in Washington D.C., toe ontdek ek dat ek daardie inherente beat in my bones kan voel. Nie vier-vier rock musiek tyd nie. Daardie beats waarmee ons post-apartheid generasie grootgeword het, ‘n mengsel van African jazz en township jive en mbaqanga en die klanke van die penny whistle. En ek voel daai beats in my bones en ek weet as ek saam met my swart vriende dans is ek meer African as die wit Americans wat so stokkerig beweeg. Ek kan mos voel, dis asof my joints smoothly beweeg, as hulle ge-olie is. En ek kan skop ook, sommerso op die hoehakskoen leer ek al my American buddies om Zulu-kicks te kan doen. En daarom was ek so happy toe die ek hoor ek is nie Boere-girl nie. Ek wou dit nog nooit wees nie, ek wil net Suid-Afrikaner wees in Amerika. G’n Afrikaner of Afrikaanssprekende of rockspide or Dutchmen nie, maar African. Ek wil African wees. Donderdag-aand toe sleep ek die Mysterious Rollerblader saam met my na die Zanzibar vir ‘n Sharon Katz and the Peace Train performance in Washington D.C. En toe hulle se, kom klim op die dansvloer, toe besluit ek ek gaan nie my hakke spaar nie en ek gaan wikkel-wikkel in African styl. Die Rollerblader kom toe so mooi reg met sy Zulu-passies, dat die Suid-Afrikaanse Ambassadeur Sheila Sisulu opmerk, “He’s got the beat. You can tell him, I can see his got the beat.” Ek is toe hoog in my noppies en ek skop en wikkel en huil toe sommer ook oordat die musiek en die intricate ritmes my terugneem Huis toe. “The music opens worlds to me,” snik ek toe ek die Rollerblader vertel hoe ek sommer die son ook kan voel bak op my; en ek kan die kindertjies sien danse doen op die strate van Kaapstad terwyl hulle hoop iemand gooi geldjies vir hulle neer. En ek wil net huil en ek is so hartseer en ek dink aan die kontinent se probleme en die trane hoop op in my ... en toe dink ek aan die African manier. Ons dans, ons voel die musiek, die musiek kan hoe sad wees maar daai beats en daai heerlike township jive is altyd jive, dis nie blues nie, dis vrolike musiek wat jou van jou hartseer laat vergeet, asof die musiek se boodskap ‘n ewige hoop en ‘n ewige glimlag is. Vrydag-oggend stuur ek vir die Rollerblader ‘n e-mail en ek vertel vir hom dat alle Africans kan dans, omdat hulle die musiek voel, asof hulle die lewe en hulle lywe celebrate, ten spyte van die hartseer. Die Rollerblader stuur vir my ‘n e-mail waarin hy meen dat ons ons twee-man outfit (ons speel mos nou deesdae kitaar asof ons rockstars is in ons eie koppe) “African/American” moet noem. Nou kyk hierso, as my American Boyfriend my as African sien, is dit hoogtyd dat ek gaan aandring daarop. Ek is Kytie Koekblik die African. Nie die boeregirl nie, nie die Afrikaner nie, miskien is ek wel al daai dinge maar ek hou daarvan om myself as “African” te sien. My familie is immers al sedert 1680 aan die kontinent aan die voet van Afrika. Dis jare daai; ek is so min Frans of ‘n Franse Hugenoot soos wat ek Zulu is. Maar ek is immers so deel van daai kontinent soos wat die Port Jacksons deel geword het van die Cape Flats… Kytie K. Kytie Koekblik would like you to respond to her tongue-in-cheek running commentary on suburban life in America in this editorial. Fresh off the boat, she is ready to explore and experiment with American bath plugs and to drive on the other side of the road. You can contact her here. © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ] DA, Nats give Asmal a mouthful over Afrikaans Opposition parties on Sunday rounded on Education Minister Kader Asmal for what they called an unconstitutional drive to anglicise Afrikaans universities. The Democratic Alliance said Asmal's imposition of dual-medium tuition at all historically Afrikaans-medium universities was the first step to oblivion. Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon said Asmal's obsession with uniformity, and misconception of the needs of "transformation" ran counter to the spirit of the constitution, which promoted the usage of all South Africa's official languages. The New National Party said it supported the University of Stellenbosch's recent announcement to remain a mainly-Afrikaans institution. The NNP welcomed the university's reaction to a survey done by the university which recommended that non-Afrikaans-speaking undergraduate students with little or no command of Afrikaans should be admitted only if proper provision was made for compulsory language courses. Spokesman Adriaan van Niekerk urged that similar surveys be held at other Afrikaans-language institutions. He said it was "mad" to let English get the upper hand for the sake of political correctness. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] KwaZulu-Natal landowners quit negotiations Hopes of an out-of-court settlement on the controversial Mangete land claim, near Mandeni, have suffered a major setback after a decision by the Mangete Landowners' Association not to participate in negotiations until their settlement offer had been accepted by the claimants. The setback comes amid intensifying conflict over the claim, with several sugarcane farms having been torched, causing losses estimated at more than R1-million a fortnight ago. On Thursday spokesperson for the KwaZulu-Natal Land Claims Commission, Zwelihle Memela, said negotiations aimed at resolving the Mangete land claim had been derailed. Memela said this followed a decision by the Mangete Landowners' Association, after they received legal advice, not to participate in talks about an out-of-court settlement. Memela said landowners had earlier this year offered four farms of 40ha each as part of the settlement of the claim. "They further stressed that this land be used for agricultural purposes. "Because this was still the early stages of negotiations, it was then agreed that this settlement offer be fully discussed in the following meetings," said Memela. He said whether these meetings took place depended on the availability of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs MEC Narend Singh, who acted as chairperson. Memela said Singh had indicated his availability this week and the commission had forwarded the date to all relevant stakeholders. However, the landowners had informed the commission of their non-availability without suggesting an alternative date. The matter has been referred to the Land Claims Court. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Nel's KitchenRagel Nel Ragel Nel Washington D.C. - Right in the spirit of the American summer, I’m going to tell you a very fishy story. Understand, even though it’s going to sound like a tall tale (as most fish stories usually are!), it’s really not. In the right hands however, it has the potential to turn into a genuine urban legend… but I promise that, true to my reputation, I won’t disclose anything other than the truth. My story involves a newly notorious fish out of water, and a pond not too far from Baltimore (my current hometown, for those of you who are new to these words of watered down wit and non-existent wisdom.). A few weeks ago the story and the fish surfaced for the first time when an unsuspecting local fisherman caught the fish. Now, they say you shouldn’t always believe what you hear and read in the local media (or in certain online columns, for that matter, but that’s a different story.), but this story was too strange to have been fabricated by even the most inventive of reporters, so that’s exactly why it caught my attention. The fish, a Chinese Snakehead, is, as its name promises, not a very attractive representative for the denizen of the deep, but then again, it’s not as if we’re dealing with an aquatic beauty pageant, right? But if it WAS a beauty pageant for fish, it may have taken the crown on the sheer base of its wide-ranging and downright unfish-like talents, because this fish has the ability to not only move on land (I’ll explain later), but breathe and survive out of water for up to THREE days. Based on those skills, it was promptly dubbed Frankenfish. Local biologists from the Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Department of Natural Resources (who, true to most US government agencies, get a bit uneasy when they see anything foreign in their territory. We won’t call them Xenophobes exactly, but it’s close.) flocked to the pond to see, study and ponder about the fish. Thanks again to the fish’s name, it was quickly identified as an immigrant from China. (Yes, even clever people can state the obvious.) "Eco-terror!" the biologists shouted. And they were correct, because it quickly became clear that our not-so-little Frankenfish (or let’s affectionately call it FF for short) had a rude and ravenous appetite for all the local fish in the pond. (How very impolite to eat your hosts!) How did the alien fish get here? My friends and I wondered about it over a bottle of wine one evening. (We solve many problems with some assistance from beverages containing fermented grapes or, at the very least, high doses of caffeine.) "He probably came via the Pacific, through the Panama Canal, had a stop-over and a Corona in Mexico, resumed his lengthy swim, then rounded Florida via the Gulf to get to the Atlantic Ocean from where he headed north to the Chesapeake." One of my geographically sound of mind (but alas, that’s the only thing he is sound of mind about.) friends offered. "It’s not a HE," one of my feminist friends protested. "Fish don’t have gender." "Sure they do. What about dolphins and whales?" Another friend jumped in. "They’re MAMMALS, you eejit!" And thus we argued, digressed, teased and eventually got back onto the subject. "Well, how did he get from the Chesapeake Bay to the Crofton Pond?" Someone else wondered after another bottle of wine. "IT," the feminist jumped in. "IT can move on land, remember? So it probably walked there." "Oh, and how do you suppose HE did that?" the geography geek asked. "Well, probably like a girl dressed like a mermaid, using its tail fins to walk on…" She managed before her explanation had us all in stitches. "It sails on its stomach. That’s why it’s called a SNAKEhead," someone pointed out, using a newspaper article as proof. Over Sunday brunch I resumed the discussion in broad daylight with two other friends, hoping that a more decent time of day sans alcohol would lead to a little more reason. But I probably should have known better. At that time we had a little more information about FF, including how he/it really got from China and into the Crofton pond. And much to the dismay of the environmentalists, FF was apparently thrown in with his girlfriend, because shortly after the initial reports were in the news, another fisherman caught a baby Snakehead. It turns out an Asian man had purchased FF and its female friend to prepare a dish that was supposed to cure his ailing sister. "Sushi?" My friend asked. "That’s Japanese, not Chinese!" My other friend corrected. (See, constant debates, corrections, and hearsay run in this particular circle of friends.) "Actually, he was going to make Snakehead soup," I told them. "How did Frankenfish escape?" My friend asked, her concern for the monster fish very apparent and unsettling. (She volunteers at the aquarium, see, so she is really sympathetic and partial to anything with scales and fins.) "He probably jumped out of the pot, and wiped out the horrible human with a few swift karate chops!" Her husband joked. "I like that idea," I said, "But as usual the truth is much more boring." "His sister got better – I would also mysteriously recover at the thought of swallowing anything that contains FF as an ingredient, mind you – before he could prepare the dish. So he kept the fish as pets, but it quickly grew too large for his aquarium and so he thought he was committing an act of kindness when he released FF & Friend into the pond." The guy turned himself in to the Eco-police when he heard about the fuss, but thanks to the statute of limitations, they couldn’t do anything to him and the fact that he had unwittingly caused a plague by releasing two fish as ugly as sin and about as sweet as piranhas into the pond. So the Eco-police and biologists cordoned off the pond prohibiting any unauthorised anglers, fish fans, media personnel or the rest of the plain curious, from coming near the pond to try and capture the notorious FF, its wife and their hundreds of offspring. And they released an electric boat to try and electrocute the entire foreign fish family in the pond. Frankenfish is living up to its monstrous reputation though, and proving even stronger than initially speculated, because so far only one fish had been electrocuted by the electric boat, and it wasn’t even a Snakehead. So FF and family have undisputedly won this round, but it isn’t over yet. The Eco-police are going back to catching them the old-fashioned way (at last count, they’d managed to catch about 100 FF’s.). They have also printed out "wanted posters" containing pictures of FF. I’m wondering if that is really necessary? I’m sure any family in the Crofton area will realise something odd is up when they find a funny but also slightly menacing looking fish alive on dry land – say, in their kitchen – and feasting on some Maryland crabs or whatever else they’d prepared for dinner, don’t you agree? In the mean time, the tales about FF are growing taller (although you have to admit, there isn’t much about this creature that can be exaggerated, unless of course you swear you heard it talking in Chinese, or any other language for that matter. Although I might just believe you if you tell me that you saw it eating with chopsticks.), and a local radio station has even created an upbeat pop song about it. And thus the battle with the "vicious fishes" continue… Watch this space for future updates about any new developments. © RSA-Overseas [ Top ] Scheckter takes flag at last in Indy Racing Tomas Scheckter, in danger of being sacked by his Cheever Racing team after a slanging match with team boss Eddie Cheever and a series of crashes, on Sunday became the first South African to win an American Indy Racing League championship race. Second was Buddy Rice in another Cheever car, a young man making his IRL debut and tipped to replace Scheckter if he and his boss don't kiss and make up. Scheckter is in his first season of American oval-track racing, was at 21 the youngest driver and he dominated the Michigan Indy 400, round 11 of the 15-race IRL championship. He started from pole in his Dallara-Infiniti and dominated the 400-mile race by leading more laps than any other driver and only giving up the lead when he pitted for fuel. The young South African has been the sensation of the season, leading four of the 10 races and recording fastest lap of the race on five occasions before finally breaking into the winner’s circle. Excited race commentators, who have been tipping Scheckter to win all season, said the last 30 laps of the 200-lap race were the most spectacular yet seen in the IRL. Scheckter appeared to be out of the running after dropping back to 12th after his final fuel stop and, with 26 laps to go, had all his major rivals ahead of him. But he kept his cool and proved that he has great skill and judgement, as well as nerves of steel, to bull his way through a 12-car dogfight for the lead, which changed hands with almost every lap with cars sometimes three abreast, until he hit the front with seven laps to go. He had been the fastest driver on the track all day and it was fitting that he took the chequered flag and drove his way into motor racing history. As he stepped out of his Nissan Infiniti-engined Dallara and pulled on his Firestone winner’s cap, Scheckter thanked his pit crew for all their hard work throughout a season where they have threatened to win in every race, only to fall at the final hurdle. "I stayed calm," he told a TV interviewer. "There were nearly 30 laps to go and I knew I has a chance to win. We finally did it. I’m happy for everybody here at Cheever Racing and all the people who have supported me. Thank you." American Buddy Rice, making his IRL debut as the third member of the Cheever racing team, finished second behind his South African team mate after starting second on the grid. Italian Felipe Giaffone was third. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] |
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