The unrest has been made into an old SA tale
This is not who we are.
The first task to heal from a trauma is to write down your thoughts; it might not please or be acceptable to all, but it is the first step in recognising the ordeal and it allows your mind to move forward. I urge you to do the same.
I grew up in Phoenix and moved to Westville in my high school years before I left home for university in the Free State. I returned to specialise and serve in my province. I witnessed and experienced every face of discrimination; be it masquerading as orientation, initiation, tradition, protocol, policy or even friendship.
Living in Phoenix I remember the almost daily gunshots, conflicts and Casspirs rolling around. Unrest was the norm; it was a way of life for everyone who lived in the less-privileged areas.
Phoenix and its surrounding areas have historically always been the first to spark in times of civil unrest. These areas always bore the brunt of conflicts internally and externally. The scars of old conflicts run deep in the adult and elderly communities; many wounds have not healed.
There are many people in this country who might think they know what happened in Phoenix based on what they have seen, heard or read. I offer my thoughts.
For the past week, people in the affected areas of this province were alone; the police station phones rang off the hook, unanswered; private security companies were overwhelmed. We were helpless, taken by surprise by the events.
The looters themselves were probably surprised by the lack of resistance, which is why the unrest mushroomed beyond the “hotspots”.
I joined our community watch, set up overnight, because it was the only way I could hide my own helplessness. I stood watch over a major intersection and garage in my normally peaceful suburb.
On my midnight to 4am shifts I saw vehicles with no numberplates park next to the complex. I reported the almost hourly event. As I did, they would leave as suspiciously and sinisterly as they had arrived.
This was organised crime, either planned or an opportunistic attempt under the camouflage of the chaos created by an incited group of looters. What might have started or dressed up as a protest soon descended into a real-life set of a John Carpenter movie. But the gunshots, explosions and flames were real. The fear, helplessness, frustration, desperation and anger were visible in everyone’s eyes.
Being part of a third generation of doctors in my family, providing service to all who live in every area of KwaZulu-Natal that experienced unrest, I wanted to find the logic behind how this happened.
Understand that there were three crowds involved. Focus on the cause of the origin of the actions of all three groups. Understand the factors that influenced and the forces that manipulated them. All three were influenced by mob mentality, which describes how people can be influenced by their peers to adopt certain behaviours on a largely emotional, rather than rational, basis.
The first mob received attention early on: looters and/or protesters with nothing to lose resorted to violence built up over generations of poverty and inequality. They were manipulated by so-called leaders bent on using the most vulnerable to bring our country to its knees.
The second mob started getting attention once the government admitted it could not help. These were community members, with no option but to stand their ground and defend their property, businesses and family. Untrained, unprepared and panicked citizens needed to face their worst fears.
The third mob getting all the attention now is everyone else who is forming their opinion using media reports, social media posts or videos (some confirmed to be fake) and unverified information. Many are being manipulated to divert the attention rather than focusing on the whole cycle of unacceptable events and circumstances that have put this country’s fragile spine of democracy at risk and already pushed us all 10 steps back.
By making this an old South African tale it makes it more palatable to swallow because race has always been a default position we fall into at times of conflict, because it is visually the clearest difference, and the most comfortable beam to balance on.
This should not be swept under the carpet. We need a formal truth and reconciliation commission body to be assembled. Witnesses must be identified as victims of gross human rights violations and be invited to give statements. Perpetrators of violence can also give testimony and request amnesty from civil and criminal prosecution. Leaving the investigation process to the law will only further delay healing, fracture communities and dilute trust.
The looters themselves were probably surprised by the lack of resistance