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Last Update: October 21, 2001 |
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Raging mob evicts Zimbabweans, burns homes A rampaging mob of South Africans chased Zimbabweans out of a squatter settlement near Johannesburg on Sunday before torching their homes and businesses. The violence in Zandspruit squatter settlement, outside Honeydew, west of Johannesburg, erupted when the Zimbabweans failed to leave the area after being given a 10-day ultimatum - which expired on Saturday - to leave the area or face the wrath of the locals. The ultimatum was allegedly brokered in a meeting held at the local police station. Honeydew station commissioner Senior Superintendent Betty Ngobeni said the ultimatum had been a unilateral decision by the community, and police had warned the South Africans that they had no right to remove anyone who was a legal resident. However, at a meeting called by the community on Sunday, it was decided to evict the Zimbabweans forcefullly. Zandspruit residents Sibongile Magqadaza and Thoko Mpiko said the community had agreed to chase away the Zimbabweans and burn down everything that belonged to them. They said the community were angry that the Zimbabweans were employed, while hundreds of local citizens were jobless. They also claimed the Zimbabweans were involved in a series of armed robberies, rapes and muggings. Magqadaza said South African women involved in relationships with Zimbabweans had been told to leave their partners or face the consequences. The angry community burnt and demolished the immigrants' shacks. Television sets, fridges and stoves were destroyed. Zimbabwean-owned tuckshops were also burnt down. Police later moved into the area and used rubber bullets to disperse the rampaging mob. Six people were injured in the police action. West Rand police publicist Captain Paula Nothnagel said 20 people had been arrested for public violence. She said 74 shacks had been burnt down and 174 shacks looted. Nothnagel said there were no fatalities or injuries among the Zimbabweans. She could not confirm reports that the locals had threatened to necklace the Zimbabweans. Scores of Zimbabweans fled the area. Some went to seek assistance at the Honeydew police station, where officers tried to arrange accommodation through the Rhema Bible Church. Len Ndlovu, a Zimbabwean who has lived in South Africa for 19 years, said harassment of the foreigners began five weeks ago. "The problem started at a disco when a Zimbabwean shot and killed a South African. The locals then decided to launch an action against criminal activities in the area. The action later changed, and they started to target all Zimbabweans." Ndlovu said several meetings were held in a bid to resolve the crisis, but nothing had succeeded, and matters came to a head with the "horrible attack on us". Ndlovu and fellow Zimbabweans Victor Ndiwe, Melusi Ndlovu and Samuel Ndlovu, all of whom have work permits, appealed to the government to provide them with alternative land. The four said they were held responsible for every crime committed in Zandspruit. Jody Kollapen, of the Human Rights Commission, said the HRC did not condone xenophobic acts, especially if there were severe consequences like forced evictions and the burning down of shacks. "We have just had a world conference against racism, and one theme was to challenge xenophobia. "An effort has to be made to teach people to look at Zimbabweans not as people who are in South Africa to steal jobs and land, but as people who are in the country to make an honest living." Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Kytie Koekblik ColumnKytie Koekblik Washington D.C. - Dit is nou seker nie heeltemal reg om fun te maak van die moontlik bedreigings in jou posbus nie. Maar as Jay Leno en die lot kan joke oor die gholfbal courses in Afghanistan, kan ek seker maar ‘n bietjie fun maak van die anthrax threat. Die feit van die saak is na al die waarskuwings en paranoia het Anthrax my nog lank nie so bang soos die bomme laasjaar voor my uithangplekke in Observatory, Kaapstad nie. Wat is die spreekwoord nou weer… Eerder Bang Jan as Dooie Jan…en in die geval van anthrax het ons biljoene Bang Janne en net een Dooie Jan. Touch wood, of knock on wood soos die Amerikaners se, maar ek dink die kanse is meer likely dat ek aan HIV/AIDS of ‘n kar-ongeluk sal doodgaan. So daarom is hierdie Kytie dalk so effe un-PC deur te se, ek vat dit kalm, al bly ek ook in Washington DC en die kanse dat ek aan anthrax of nerve-gas ge-expose gaan word is sekerlik groter as die kanse van my buurman in Kuilsrivier of my buddie in Potsville, Pennsylvania. Ek was nou vir lank genoeg bang Kytie, nou’t ek weer bek gekry. En al klink dit nou hoe harteloos dink ek, dankie, as hulle obivous targets soos joernaliste en die government gaan aanval met die wit poeiertjies, is ten minste die civilians in die VSA veiliger as die civilians in Afghanistan. In elk geval, soos almal in hierdie land check ons mos maar ons mail ook. Veral die massas mail. Gister byvoorbeeld, kom lewer iemand nuwe telefoon boeke af en ons het dan sopas nuwe telefoon boeke gekry. Natuurlik het ek dit gecheck vir poeier. Maar geen ware Suid-Afrikaner gaan ‘n pakkie biltong van die hand wys nie… Hier kom toe mos ‘n klein bruin boksie aan via die mail. En wat is natuurlik in die klein bruin boksie, niks anders nie as biltong van die een of ander Suid-Afrikaanse biltong boytjie wat nou hier in die VSA gegradueer het tot ‘n biltongmaker. Opgewonde skeur my baas die oulike pakkie oop. Op die pakkie is ‘n foto van die pragtige Tafelberg en ‘n sticker wat se “jerky South African style.” En jy kan nog die biltong pakkie “wash and re-use.” Daarom tel ek die netjies gesnyde blokkie op en knyp my oe toe en druk dit in my mond… En stik amper. Die biltong boytjie doen die woord biltong ‘n disgrace. Dis erger as jerky, dis soos gepreserveerde jerky. Daai biltong het g’n nooit vleis gesien nie en proe asof dit sopas vars vervaardig uit ‘n pakhuis gekom het. “What did I just eat?” vra ek vir my Baas, heel naar.?” Dit kon enigiets gewees het want soos biltong het dit gewis nie geproe nie. Van die os op die jas, hierdie week was Nasionale Baas dag. Ek het dit natuurlik nie geweet nie en was toe heel ontsteld toe my Baas se, Haai maar dis mos nasionale Bosses Dag vandag, miskien moet jy ‘n ietsie skryf oor jou Baas? Ek het nogal ewe saam met die Baas se vrou gaan sushi eet vir middagete. Ek het al baie geskryf oor die Big Cheese, die onoffisiele ambassadeur van Suid-Afrika. Hy run mos so ‘n eksentrieke operation en jy weet nie elke dag of jy werk of lag in hierdie kantoortjie van ons nie. Hy praat vanmiddag oor die foon met ‘n klient vir ons ‘n joppie doen. Die Big Cheese het natuurlik nie die man teruggebel nie. (Hy is berug oor hy nie sy foon-oproepe antwoord nie; nooit voice-mail check nie en net dan en wan terugskryf as iemand hom e-mail omdat hy bykans nooit sy e-mail check nie.) “Sorry I’m trying to clean up my desk,” verduidelik hy aan die klient. “Right now I’m just a bit bogged down with papers.” My Baas het al hierdie great verskonings wat hy gebruik tot hulle ge-expire het en al begin vrot word. Vroeer vanjaar was dit eerstens sy knieg, waarvan hy die muscle seergemaak het. Toe die knieg mooi regkom, toe het ons ‘n vloed in die kantoor, ‘n klein vloed maar groot genoeg om ons kantoor wat alreeds so deurmekaar is, nog meer te verwoes. Ons het nou bokse wat oral in die kantoor rondstaan, asof ons nou net ingetrek het - of asof ons besig is om die besigheid toe te maak. Toe die vloed verskoning begin oud raak, toe gaan sy vrou gelukkig op vakansie -toe is dit die rede vir die chaos… Soos almal seker kan raai, die nuutste verskoning is Die Attacks en die Nuwe War. Dis die rede hoekom ons glo sukkel om te konsentreer….of hoekom ons als op nommer 99 se deadlines doen! Vir die een kleint se die Big Cheese: “We’ve got anthrax and all that stuff in Washington.” Vir die volgende klient se hy, “I know its no ecxuse, but with the terrorist attacks and all nothing has returned to normal.” Ek krul natuurlik om soos ek lag as ek die Big Cheese dit hoor se. Ek dink ons arme mense kry so ‘n skok as hulle in die kantoortjie instap. 100% van die tyd sit ek voor die computer met trane in my oe en hou my vaag vas asof ek wel anthrax of iets dergeliks het. Maandag-oggend ontvang ons ‘n oproep van ene AT&T, die telefoon magnate. Die volgende anecdote behoort my baas se persoonlikheid te illustreer: Die persistent AT&T rep sê: Hi I am from AT&T. Big Cheese: “We don’t need your services. We’re going out of business next week” Die outjie probeer sy kanse vat en praat sy storie’tjies. Big Cheese: “Since September 11th we’re only two left in the office.” AT&T mannetjis: “I’m so sorry sir, but we can offer you the same deal at home…” Big Cheese: “I’m actually moving to the West-Coast where its safer.” Gewoonlik vertel my baas vir mense wat faksmasjiene of computers of enigiemand wat die nuutste tegnologie aan ons probeer afsmeer, dat ons daarteen gekant is. “Sorry we don’t use computers in this office.” OF “No we don’t use fax machines either. We don’t believe in that stuff.” Toe maak nog ‘n AT&T agent die fout om in ons gebou in te kom en met ‘n fake vriendelike glimlaggie by ons kantoor in te stap, dit nogal op Bosses’ day. “I’m from At&T,” se die outjie. “And I’m about to sew AT&T for harassment,” se die Big Cheese en ek proes sommer kliphard van die lag. Kyk my baas kan hardcore wees as dit moet. Op die daad het my baas die mannetjie op sy plek gesit met dreigemente dat hy hom na die landlord gaan neem en WAT maak hy nou eintlik sonder ‘n afspraak in ONS gebou en so gaan dit aan en aan en die trane loop al so stilletjies uit my oe uit soos ek in die stilte sit en lag.. Sien, my Big Cheese huur self tele-marketers. Talle mense het al unsolicited phone calls en junk mail by hom gekry… Ek kry ook unsolicited calls van hom, soms 12:00 in die nag as hy ‘n bright idee gekry het; soms bel hy my wakker Sondag-oggend met ‘n nuwe blink plan of idee vir ‘n movie of ‘n storie en dan vray hy: Did I wake you? en dan lag ek ook maar net. Die Big Cheese is miskien nie die mees georganiseerde persoon in die wereld nie. Hy is soos hyself se, “Bogged down by paper.” Maar hy ‘n moviese groot hart. En hy’t ‘n manier om vir als te lag, ook vir sy eie probleme. Hierdie jaar het di Big Cheese se health ‘n knou gekry: Eers is hy gediagnoseer met ‘n rare kidney disease, toe skeur hy ‘n ding in sy knie en toe word hy met diabetes gediagnoseer. Tog is hy die een wat vrolik in die kantoor inkom en se, “Write a Kytie, I have an idea for you.” Dan spot hy met sy eie tekortkominge en siektes en lag te lekker daaroor. My ma het eendag vir my gese sy mis my so omdat ek en sy so lekker saam kan lag dat die trane loop. “Saam met wie lag jy nog so lekker,” vra my ma toe. Ek het op Grahamstad geswot en dink toe dat ek nie juis saam met iemand kan lag nie. So asof die Ingilse maar net saam met jou gelag het dat jy nou nie alleen moet lag nie. Later het ek obviously die Ingilse humor gegrasp en meer spontaan begin saamlag. Ek het nog nie saam met ‘n enkele Amerikaner gekruip soos ek lag nie, behalwe saam met my Baas. So mam, ja, ek het iemand saam met wie ek lag. Rol en kruip en hik soos ‘n donkie as ek lag. En as jy iemand het wat saam met jou kan lag, dan is die lewe mos honky-dorie. Al is dit dan nou ook in moeilike tye. 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 ] Boks tackle the Eagles in USA The test match will be played in the recently up-graded Robertson Stadium at the University of Houston, kicking-off at 2.00PM, and is certainly one not to be missed. 
Houston Mayor Lee Brown announced the test to the City of Houston at a well-attended City Hall press conference recently. Paul Mabry, a board member of USA Rugby and a director of the Houston 2012 Foundation, said the Springboks' trip to Houston would be the most significant international match ever played in the modern history of the game in the United States. "The US is finally on a rotation system with the rugby powers of the world." he said. "We have played England and will go to Scotland and Wales. But this is the biggest one we will have had in the US."
General admission tickets for the game only cost $20 and reserved sideline seating $25. Great news for young rugby fans is that entrance to general admission areas for children under 12 are free. Unlike the first test of 20 years back, at which only a handful of spectators were present, this time around the stands of Robertson are expected to be filled with enthusiastic supporters of both teams. Over 3000 seats were snapped-up in the first 2 weeks of sales and the match is still over 2 months away! Tickets for spectators who prefer the comfort of box seating, including catering and beverages, complimentary parking and a match program, cost $100. These seats are proving very popular and will be sold out soon. Parking at $5 per vehicle, is payable at the ground. Tickets are available online at www.usa-eagles.com or call toll-free 1-866-RUGBY4U (866-784-2948). Supporters traveling to Houston for the match will find ticket, travel and accommodation packages available from TravelCorp, the event's official travel agency. Travel Corp is owned and operated by Michael de Jong, a former Eagles player and coach, who has been in the travel business for many years. Contact Terry at 303-820-0305 or terry@travelcorp.net or visit their website at www.travelcorp.net To add a touch of South African flair to the match, the day's entertainment also includes a traditional South African braai (commonly known as a BBQ in the USA). Spectators will be able to sample some of South Africa's favorite Castle Lager and BBQ'd meat, the way they serve it on the veld. The braai will be held immediately after the game, outside the Robertson Stadium behind the West stand - everyone's welcome, join the party! [ Top ] South African player dies following weekend match in USA The death of a Maryland Exiles player from an aneurysm following a match against Philadelphia-Whitemarsh in the USA– was the result of a congenital brain defect – and had nothing to do with a head injury as reported earlier by team officials via a press release. The president of the Maryland Exiles – David King – wrote in an e-mail to Planet-Rugby.com: “There was no blow to the head. The doctor was 100% positive that there was no head trauma, and there is going to be no inquiry, because the medical examiner concurred with the doctor on this assessment.” Charlie Nortje (pronounced no-KIA) suffered an aneurysm which doctor's confirmed was a congenital defect in his brain and not expressly related to the game. Surgery late Saturday night, as the entire Exile club held a vigil at the hospital, was unsuccessful. The neurosurgeon assured team members the incident was a freak occurrence. The EMTs, the doctors and hospital staff wanted to especially pass on their commendations to medical personnel at the field that assisted Charlie, and gave him the best possible chance at survival. This includes Maryland Stinger and Eagle Kim Cyganik, Washington Furies Meg Madden and Dr. Andy Bonwit, among many others. Jason Maloni was a centre on the Exiles team with Charlie. He said: “This is an enormous loss. The entire team is absolutely in a state of shock. Charlie was as deeply a part of our club as our oldest veterans and the club is doing anything and everything to help his family at this time.” Charles, who would have turned 27 in November, is survived by a mother, father and two sisters in his native South Africa. In recent years Charlie was a member of the UK's London Irish Rugby Club and was briefly part of the Eastern Province Mighty Elephants Currie Cup team. "Chunk" had been with the team since June and played a big role in Maryland's 5th place tie in this year's National Club 7s Championship and in their recent 15s resurgence. His was MDX's leading points scorer this Fall. A memorial service is taking place Tuesday night, 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm at Chevy Chase United Methodist Church 7001 Connecticut Ave. 1.5 miles inside the 495 Beltway near Bethesda, MD. The service will include remarks by Charlie's friends and the event will be filmed for Charlie's family to convey how much we loved him and how much he was a part of our family. In lieu of flowers, the Exiles ask that you make a contribution to a "Charlie Fund" which will go toward a charity at a later date at his family's discretion. Maryland Exiles Rugby Club c/o "Charlie Fund" 4438 Q Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20007 USA The Exiles leadership will accompany Charlie's body home to Port Elizabeth, South Africa later this week. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Nel's KitchenRagel Nel Ragel Nel Washington D.C. - I thought that, because I type relatively fast, my fingers would be nimble enough to play the piano. Forget the fact that I'm completely tone-deaf. (Besides, isn't that a bit of an oxymoron and an unfair term? How are you supposed to know you can't carry a tune if you are tone-DEAF?!?) I had no reason to doubt my (in)abilities. After all, I type very well to the beat of anything from Miles Davis' "Round About Midnight" (forever blaring while I'm writing.), to U2, to Rachmaninov's third. Blame my typing lecturer. I went to one of those practical-training-is-far-more-important-than-volumes-of-theory kinds of colleges. (That was a big incentive for choosing it.) So, in the journalism department during our first semester, we learned one of the most helpful and useful skills to have when venturing out into the headlines and deadlines world of journalism: how to type. Said lecturer was a rather robust lady. I think her secret fantasy was always to be a Major General in the South African Army. Unfortunately she was born just two decades too early for her advanced ambitions. She matriculated during those days when it was expected of girls to get married and to: a) have as many babies as they could as soon as possible; b) become career typists; or, if they were very forward and insisted on furthering their education: c) go to college and become either a nurse or a teacher. She must've been VERY stubborn, because she combined two of the above by becoming a typing teacher - who behaved more like a frustrated drill sergeant, mind you. By the time we crossed her career path, she had her teaching method down to a no-nonsense art. She believed that the only way to teach a bunch of lazy, bored first year students the sequence of the letters on the keyboard, was to combine death threats with a cloth over the hands and the keyboards, pop Rossini's William Tell Overture into the radio, order us to type ASDF JKL'N (according to Afrikaans keyboards) over and over and keep up with the beat of the music. Thanks to her threatening yet effective methods and the Tell Overture, all fifty students passed Typing 101 with flying colours, a 60+ wpm average AND the ability to type in perfect sync to the rhythm of any kind of music. Unfortunately, that rhythmic connection between brain and fingers reserved for banging out letters on a keyboard is the only remote rhythmic talent I've been blessed with (as those of you who have been following this column religiously (don't dare laugh! We all have our fantasies...) would know from reading about my near disastrous encounter with an Arthur Murray Dance School instructor.). Sadly, inability and lack of talent has never stopped me from at least trying something. One night, plagued with insomnia and haunted by my roommate's dusty piano in the basement, I ventured downstairs. Minutes later, my fingers were stumbling over the keys. Hardly lyrical sounds emerged, but I'm tone deaf remember? So I was blissfully unaware of the cacophonic dissonance. As the minutes ticked by, I got braver and started fumbling with the flats and sharps. Safely disguised from prying eyes (and not considering neighbouring ears), I got lost in a world in which I became a virtuoso performer with talent matching the likes of Tori Amos, Billy Joel and Diana Krall. With the help of Piano for Dummies (great book, by the way) and loads of imagination, I managed a few chords. I had a fabulous time confusing fortissimo with pianissimo (not on purpose, I'm afraid.). Prematurely, I attempted an ambitious jazz riff, and the Dummies book came crashing down onto my hands. With my ego nearly as crushed as my fingers, I decided to take a break for a midnight Cappuccino (seemingly the only Italian word I understand). It's now a few months since my nightly rendezvous with the instrument. Unfortunately for the neighbours, I still haven't given up on trying to master at least one sweet melody. Believe it or not, but there is some method in my madness: I want to prove that it's never too late to teach an aging dog a new trick, or at least a new tune. And although the dexterity my fingers so deftly display as I'm typing this hasn't yet emerged during my piano playing attempts, I genuinely enjoy myself when I'm down in that basement, tickling the keys in my own awkward way. Strangely enough, but whenever I'm hunched over that piano - behaving like a very badly cloned Liberace and hardly able to repeat two notes in a row - it makes me feel a little bit more in tune with myself. Isn't that what matters the most? Perhaps I have succeeded after all. © RSA-Overseas [ Top ] Anthrax scare plunges SA campus into chaos Two buildings at the University of SA were evacuated and about 20 people taken to hospital on Monday morning following an anthrax scare. The evacuation of the administration building and library was ordered after mail covered with a white powdery substance arrived at the institution, Unisa spokeswoman Doreen Gough said. "We could not afford to take any chances," she said. About 20 people who were believed to have come into contact with the powder were taken to the Muelmed Hospital for tests. By mid-morning the staff had still not been allowed to return to their offices in the two buildings. Emergency services personnel were decontaminating the airconditioning system, Gough said. National police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Joseph Ngobeni confirmed the incident, but added: "We are receiving information about a lot of hoaxes... Up to now nothing has been confirmed in South Africa." He said the packages involved had been sent to the forensic science laboratory for analysis. It will take at least a week before the results are known. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] |
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