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Post by questa on Jul 14, 2021 14:23:20 GMT
S**T! I remember the Mau-Mau and their atrocities. I'm getting too old.
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Post by fumobici on Jul 14, 2021 14:24:39 GMT
This is horrific, please stay safe!
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Post by lagatta on Jul 14, 2021 14:37:46 GMT
Questa, would you happen to know if any ZA citizens are trying to move to OZ or NZ?
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Post by mich64 on Jul 14, 2021 15:17:56 GMT
Gosh Tod, we will keep you all in our hearts and keep hoping this is under control very soon. It is worrisome to think of your dear husband out there and you waiting at home for any news. Best thoughts for you, your family, your staff and your business to remain safe and protected from danger.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 14, 2021 16:18:37 GMT
Besides all of the terrible news, I have also seen reports of locals helping with the cleanup efforts and protection of places that were looted. There are millions of decent people in South Africa and the situation there is not just a matter of "savages going wild."
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 14, 2021 19:18:27 GMT
In view of what is happening, I also found it heartwarming to see South African soprano Pretty Yende (from Piet Retief) performing at tonight's giant concert in front of the Eiffel Tower before the fireworks.
I hope that this will help to erase the horrible thing that happened to her a couple of weeks ago when she arrived in Paris.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 14, 2021 21:23:14 GMT
Hoping there is some kind of dialogue & that reason prevails soon with the troublemakers. I'm not sure that dialogue and reason can be hoped for in this situation. .... In any case, Tod, I hope things calm down and that both you and Mr Tod and your family and your employees stay safe. Bjd, of course you're right that looters are unlikely to be stopped by simple reasoning. My post was more about expressing my heartfelt concern for the Tods and their city, but it is true that (sometimes) in these situations a palliative approach by authorities can defuse the worst of the violence.
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Post by questa on Jul 14, 2021 23:46:06 GMT
Lagatta,There are always people migrating to Oz from SA, usually family re-union reasons. They are usually are well received in the general community unless they expect the master/servant culture to be the same. We seem to get a rush of immigrants after each incident like the present. Generally they settle in neighbourhoods near each other, have "nice" houses and the kids do well at school. There is the usual ragging when the cricket is on so a sense of humour is a must.
I don't know what the process is re documents but the Oz consulate in your city (not the Embassy) will help you. Oz is looking to increase its falling population by immigration, I don't think it would be too difficult to get information if you are interested.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 15, 2021 1:30:26 GMT
I'm not emigrating anywhere.
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Post by fumobici on Jul 15, 2021 5:02:18 GMT
In view of what is happening, I also found it heartwarming to see South African soprano Pretty Yende (from Piet Retief) performing at tonight's giant concert in front of the Eiffel Tower before the fireworks. I hope that this will help to erase the horrible thing that happened to her a couple of weeks ago when she arrived in Paris. Uniforms and positions of authority frequently attract dirtbags to the professions that offer them.
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Post by tod2 on Jul 15, 2021 10:38:36 GMT
Hi All - Thanks so much for the encouragement. I go through phases of nervousness and then when distracted with TV or like the last two hours I have been prepping veg for a huge egg-fried rice cum stirfry for all the family, when Mr. Tod gets back after his patrol shift at 2pm, I don't think too much about gloom and doom. He started at 8am in freezing temperatures. Donned a Beanie and my kid gloves lined with sheepskin.
I wish I could say this terrible nightmare is over but knowing that the whole attack was masterminded by Zuma's cronies it's not impossible they will strike again as planned. They did not expect the population to loot and cripple 45,000 businesses. Maybe the looting although too terrible for words got the army on the ground. The President sent 70,000 troops to man Covid proceedings and transgressions but when the fires were raging all we got a mere 20,000.
About immigrating. We cant just up and off. Where are we going to go at our age? We will be planning something as a family and work towards a goal.
Our community is working around the clock with roadblocks and searches. They have helped us sleep at night and feel a small degree of safety.
Last night there was an appeal for anybody with a broom to come and start a community clean-up. This will too help people have some hope things are going to calm down.
The terrifying thing at the moment is the supermarkets although open yesterday and today, are running out of food. The queues are miles long down the roads. I am so grateful Mr. Tod likes to buy things on "Special Offer"
so I am well stocked for the moment.
Is it too much to hope that other countries will come to our aid with supplies? Our neighbor Kenya send a lot of vegetables to our supermarkets so they could help.
To end this post I must tell you my gardener arrived this morning. I was pleased to see him - he thinks the looting is over. Gosh I do hope he knows something we don't.!
I'm sending him home with maizemeal and vegetables.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 15, 2021 10:49:11 GMT
I’m always so pleased to hear from you each day tod.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 15, 2021 10:52:11 GMT
And I think all the gardeners on here would want to send their best wishes to your gardener. He’s a bit of a hero.
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Post by htmb on Jul 15, 2021 11:30:08 GMT
Here's hoping the worst is behind you and things will improve as you move forward. I certainly admire your strength and courage, tod.
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Post by bjd on Jul 15, 2021 13:12:36 GMT
Thanks for checking in here and letting us know you are alright, Tod.
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Post by Biddy on Jul 15, 2021 19:35:46 GMT
God Tod2 - thank you for letting us all know what is happening. I hope everything quietens down - sending you and yours good thoughts.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 15, 2021 19:46:06 GMT
Tod, I wasn't thinking of the Tods emigrating - younger people with desirable skills.
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Post by onlyMark on Jul 15, 2021 20:38:08 GMT
And even further back in time - my parents got out of Kenya just as the Mau=Mau were marauding. Funnily enough, so did mine. |
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 15, 2021 23:50:45 GMT
I’m always so pleased to hear from you each day tod. ^ ^ ^ What he said! Thank you, Tod. ❤️ |
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Post by tod2 on Jul 16, 2021 11:15:00 GMT
Hello to all. Another sunny day in paradise.....it used to be. I have received two very good articles which may help to explain just what happened to South Africa.
As for me and the family - we are fine. Things have gone quiet and some roadblocks removed as there has been negotiations with the taxi industry who want to get back to ferrying workers to what's left of their jobs and earn an income themselves. Mr. Tod reported again for duty but left within half an hour to attend to the surveillance cameras in our shop - went offline for some reason. It is not necessary for him to go back.
The supermarkets that are open are trying to ration what food is left on their shelves but I heard that supplies are coming through slowly. The only problem the bakeries have is that the looters burned down the yeast plant so they cant bake normal bread. I'm sure they will think of something. At any rate I took stock of my deep-freezer this morning and reckon I have enough for at least another 10 meals without having to open tinned food.
Im sure when I'm halfway through the supermarkets will have stocked up.
Here is one article:
Copied; Message from. Zimbabwean...
My fellow South Africans, do not be fooled, do not be used. We were once fooled in Zimbabwe and were made to loot farms, destroy our infrastructures, burn down industries and made our country ungovernable, all in the name of some selfish politicians and individuals who have nothing but their own interest at heart.
Yes we looted groceries that lasted us just a week or a month, and look at us now, we are now a basket case, while their children are dinning and whining abroad.
We burnt our factories and industries were our fathers and brothers worked and took us to school, now we are nothing but gardeners, waiters and vendors.
We looted productive farms and burnt down machinery that provided enough food not just for us but the entire region, now we crossing boarders just to get basic foods.
We were made to run around singing and chanting their names day and night, while they were busy planning for their future,
We burnt each others houses and homes, while they build high walls around their mansions, now we are renting shacks and back rooms in foreign countries.
We killed each other for no reason, we destroyed our own country our future, for old people who had achieved and lived their lives.
Most of them are dead now, given, yet we remain with no future, we are now a laughing stock. We are now labelled refugees, asylum seekers and many other painful names. We are scatted all over the world, separated from our families and loved ones, the so called heroes who used us are nowhere to help us.
My fellow South Africans, learn from us.
I wish i could be given a platform to warn you how all this will end.
Don't be fooled, don't be used, tomorrow you'll be left in the cold.
I am a telling you from experience, this will not end well.
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Post by tod2 on Jul 16, 2021 11:19:17 GMT
And here is the other article from Clem Sunter - He sums the situation up very well indeed.
Dear friends,
Many of you outside of South Africa are wondering what is really going on. So here is a very simple outline. The thing is obviously far more complex and nuanced than can be set out in a brief note but this will give you some picture of what is really happening.
Following the 1994 democratic elections in South Africa, South Africa did really well economically until about 2008. That was also the year that Jacob Zuma was elected president of the ANC. At that point in time, some of us had a sense of disquiet already. But little did any of us understand then the extent of the corruption and weakening of government institutions that would follow. We have no clear idea of the extent of what was stolen during the Jacob Zuma years, other than that it is a stupendous sum of money which this country certainly cannot afford. Eventually however the internal tide within the ANC started to slowly turn against Jacob Zuma. On 18 December 2017 Cyril Ramaphosa was elected as the president of the ANC (and also subsequently became the president of South Africa). But it was a very narrow margin of victory.
The thing about Cyril Ramaphosa is that he is fundamentally a principled man. And certainly, determined to clean up the history of corruption we have seen since 2008. Various steps have been taken by him and the ANC under his guidance to give effect to this. One of the things that was done was to establish a commission chaired by Raymond Zondo, who is the Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa. The purpose of this commission was to investigate the corruption issues and to expose them to the light of day.
Jacob Zuma was required to appear in front of the commission. He effectively refused to do so. He was ordered by the Constitutional Court to do so. He defied the order of the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court in turn ordered his imprisonment for a period of 15 months for contempt of court. This, whatever you call it, is fundamentally the rule of law in action.
Initially there was resistance to imprisonment by Jacob Zuma and his supporters. A week ago, however Jacob Zuma submitted himself to imprisonment. And then all hell broke loose.
What you need to understand is that Jacob Zuma has his powerbase in KwaZulu Natal, where the riots have been at their worst. This is also, as the name will tell you, the home territory of the Zulu nation. And Jacob Zuma is a prominent figure in the Zulu nation. Within the Jacob Zuma camp, individuals set about instigating the so-called protests, riots and looting that you have seen in the media. To a significant extent they leveraged the problems of poverty and inequality in South Africa to achieve their ends. Very often in this country we have areas where many very poor people are resident adjacent to commercial complexes. This was an ideal combination to exploit. In addition to that there are the existing fissures along race lines that exist in our society which were also available to leverage. Audio files doing the rounds encouraged people to attack and destroy what are perceived to be white and white owned businesses. In the end though, many black businesspeople also suffered considerable losses.
The gameplan was to create a situation which would force the hand of the current government. Ideally, it would result in an overreaction by the security forces, with the result that many of the poor and vulnerable would be killed (which is what happened at Marikana a few years back). If that occurred, it would likely force the resignation or removal of Cyril Ramaphosa as president. Meaning the Jacob Zuma camp would have achieved their objective. This is one reason why the security forces have been so careful not to use excessive force in dealing with the riots and the looters.
While there is still a lot of instability in KwaZulu Natal and certain pockets in Gauteng, what is now starting to emerge quite clearly is that the gambit by the Jacob Zuma camp has failed. South African society of all walks has turned its face against this insurrection. In effect, an attempted coup has failed.
South Africans are a strange nation in many ways. They argue and fight amongst themselves but when pushed to the edge, they always pull together for the common good. This has happened again and again over the decades.
This has been perhaps a necessary test of our democracy and of the rule of law. Make no mistake but that South Africa has many very real challenges. But South Africa will pass through this and will put the locust years behind it.
Intel on the ground is as follows (from interviews with looters)
- All ANC members under investigation ie. Ace, Zuma, Duduzane, Carl Niehaus etc and the previous Mayor of Durban - Zandile Gumede have orchestrated a grand plan to get away with their corruption by regaining control of the cabinet.
- Cyril has made it clear that all he plans to clean up house and those implicated in corruption will be prosecuted. Zuma being the one the NPA has started with, the NPA have also been hot on the heels of Ace, Duduzane and Zandile.
- Ace, Zum, Gumede stand to lose everything and will see jail time if this happens.
- The plot was simple, Ace as secretary general and Gumede as previous Mayor have full control of all ANC ward councillors and leaders in community. Gumede controls the Taxi association, through corruption,
and uses the taxi association to extort money from business, this is a well known fact in Durban.
- They devised a well-orchestrated plan to create anarchy, by reaching out to all ward councillors and other leaders in communities by exploiting their frustration in poor service delivery, poverty and lack of jobs with the promise of
being able to take everything and anything they want from any business.. and to make the "white people" feel what it feels like to be without food and jobs all the community had to do was to follow their lead and loot from the stores when the time came.
- The looting has been exceptionally well coordinated, with people knowing hours beforehand where they were going to target and when.
- The criminal elements then lead the community into the shopping centeres with the promise of free food, equipment, tv's etc etc. "they will be protected by the leaders when looting"
- Co-ordinating the movement of thousands of people at the same time to the same place.
- Once anarchy sets in - they leverage the difficult situation cyril's administration finds itself in and poor public opinion that ensues to initiate a vote of no confidence in Cyril, replace the cabinet and take back the government. Dissolve all cases against them and get away "scot free"
- Failing the vote of no confidence they initiate a coup
- Either way regaining control of the government.
- 90% of the looters are there for the free goods and have no intention to be violent or any political agenda.. they believe or at least they have been brainwashed into thinking they are righteous by taking what they never got.
- The other 10% are politically motivated to incite violence and create anarchy, supported by the MKMVA in order to destabilize the country and force government to make a bad move. ie. deploy the army and kill black people, falling right into the hands of Zuma faction.
- In summary this is internal ANC battle being played out on the battlefields of Durban with the rest of the country to follow.
Intel on the ground is as follows (from interviews with looters)
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 16, 2021 12:19:44 GMT
Two very powerful articles. Thanks tod and good to hear it seems to be calming down.
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Post by htmb on Jul 16, 2021 12:24:37 GMT
Thanks for the update, tod. I’m glad the situation seems to be improving.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 16, 2021 13:49:18 GMT
The second article seems quite good to me. The first one reads like pure propaganda, probably written by a white person in disguise.
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Post by mossie on Jul 16, 2021 14:52:34 GMT
Sense seems to be breaking through, Very pleased to hear you are safe Tod.
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Post by lugg on Jul 16, 2021 20:28:35 GMT
How are things today Tod ?
Sorry when I posted that I had missed the preceding posts somehow
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Post by tod2 on Jul 17, 2021 9:42:26 GMT
The second article seems quite good to me. The first one reads like pure propaganda, probably written by a white person in disguise. Perhaps I shouldn't have corrected the spelling mistakes. I believe it to be genuine and even if it's not - what the person is saying is absolutely true. You just have to look at Zimbabwe today. It's a train wreck. We get information straight from the horses mouth so to speak with our Zimbabwean manager. He has had frank discussions with my son about what he saw happen here these past few days, and said that is how the troubles started up there, BUT not even to the terrifying degree we saw here. His brother incidentally is in the Presidential Guard in Zim. Not so long ago we sent him home to be at a very important ceremony where his brother was presented with some kind of commendation. I don't delve to deeply but he has told us about the situation on the border when he goes home - the extortion racket by officials is tremendous. On both sides. Anyway, here I am fit and well. President Ramaphosa gave an excellent speech last night. We got an apology for the slow reaction to the mayhem and re-assurances that the government is stepping up all the areas where the state failed its protection of citizens and property. We are still on alert in our neighborhoods but there is free flow of traffic and fuel and food is available. We must stay vigilant however as all 12 of the culprits have yet to be arrested although one of them handed himself over yesterday. Hopefully we will have a trouble free weekend. Our shop is open with a skeleton staff - we will see how things go today. By Monday I think the public and workers will start arriving as all taxi busses are running. Thank you all for checking up on me! |
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 17, 2021 10:37:32 GMT
Ignore Kerouac. He’s an old cynic and doesn’t believe anything.
Good to have your daily report and pleased to hear things are still going the right way.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 17, 2021 10:52:50 GMT
Ignore Kerouac. He’s an old cynic and doesn’t believe anything. I know that the information was basically correct, but I found the presentation totally artificial ---> all of that "we" stuff. Would you say "we looted groceries, we burnt factories, we looted productive farms..." etc. The person makes it sound like everybody in Zimbabwe was bad and stupid. |
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 17, 2021 11:07:12 GMT
I don’t know! I might. I’m not black Zimbabwean.
Can’t you accept the word of the person actually on the spot?!
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