África do Sul, à Beira do Vulcão - South Africa, on the brink of volcano

Era uma questão de tempo…

Há muito que se sabia, que algum dia o vulcão adormecido ia arrebentar nas ruas!

«Residents laugh as foreigner burns in his own blankets

As we made our way through the Ramaphosa squatter camp in Reiger Park on Gauteng 's East Rand , a woman's words made us freeze in horror. "They are burning people down there," she said.»

A desilusão espreita em cada canto!

Confrontados com um desemprego na ordem dos 40 % e com a pobreza, muitos sul-africanos culpam os imigrantes, acusando-os de ficar com os empregos e de contribuir para a criminalidade!

«I ran to the nearest police officer and said: "The locals say they're burning a person at the other intersection."

Officers leapt into a Casspir and a Nyala, and drove through the debris and barricades in the road.

I ran after them, with other photographers following.

Two hundred metres down the road we found the first man. He had been severely beaten and was semi- conscious. Police thought he was dead, but later realised he wasn't.»

Um Homem, um voto!

Igualdade racial!

Promessas de vida fácil por cumprir!

Num dos mais ricos países dos mundo, onde estão localizadas as maiores reservas de ouro e de diamantes do mundo. Interrogamo-nos como isto é possível?

«About 25m from him a man was on his knees. There was a mattress covering him, and it was on fire.

He, too, was alight.

Police threw the mattress off him and kicked sand onto him to put out the flames. Another officer ran over with a fire extinguisher, pointed it at him and extinguished the flames. Other officers radioed for medical help .

The man was alive, but barely. He groaned, but he could not speak.»

A desigualdade de rendimentos é uma constante, agora não se vive, sobrevive-se num dos países mais perigosos do mundo!

«It was all over in 20 seconds.

There was a concrete pillar lying near him, splattered with blood. We can only imagine what was done to him before he was set alight.

The police stayed with him until the paramedics arrived, doing what they could But residents gathered at the scene were laughing.

Kim Ludbrook, a photographer, admonished them, and we reminded them this was human being and that what had happened was barbaric.»

O que falhou depois da suave transição de De Klerk e de Mandela?

«Still they laughed.

The burn victim, whose name has not been released, died last night in hospital.»

A indiferença de Mbeki é uma constante em relação ao Zimbabwe, aos sul-africanos que morrem com SIDA e agora em relação ao genocídio efectuado por sul-africanos contra trabalhadores imigrantes indefesos de Moçambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzânia, Ruanda, Burundi, Congo, Nigéria, Etiópia e Somália.

«Sunday, Bloody Sunday

Man 'necklaced' in Reiger Park as marauding gangs hunt down foreigners in the streets.
Heavily armed police fought a ferocious battle across the greater Johannesburg area yesterday as xenophobia-related attacks spread like wildfire.»

As televisões falaram em Joanesburgo e em Cape Town, mas há quem diga que os massacres e as perseguições se estenderam a todo o território, perante a passividade do ANC.

«Since Friday, 12 people have been killed in attacks by rampaging South Africans trying to purge foreigners from informal settlements and central city districts in Johannesburg and the East Rand , following violence in the Alexandra and Diepsloot townships.

By late afternoon marauding gangs roved Johannesburg 's streets setting alight shops owned by foreigners in Jeppestown, Cleveland and Malvern, and engaging in running battles with police. Earlier, mobs attacked foreigners in Hillbrow.»

Milhares de Moçambicanos estão de regresso a Moçambique. O Malawi e o Zimbabwe estão a repatriar os seus cidadãos.

Mas há ainda, quem fale, que depois do Mundial de Futebol, quando Jacob Zuma for presidente será bem pior, que nessa altura é que se vai limpar toda a África de Sul de estrangeiros.

"Is this how you South Africans are going to treat foreigners when they come here for the World Cup?" asked one irate Zimbabwean, identifying himself only as Charles.

"This is a s**t country. It's a shame to the rest of the world that they are allowing the World Cup to take place here. South Africans seem to think that no one's life is precious."

David Mokone, 22, came to South Africa three weeks ago, seeking a job and a better life. The young man, tears welling in his eyes, sat outside the church as others scampered for weapons to defend themselves.

"It's better in my own country than it is here," he told The Times. "I would rather go back and die in Zimbabwe than be killed by South Africans," he said.

Tony Maara, 30, said: "I have never been more frightened. I didn't go to work on Saturday because I was threatened. The world must take note of what is happening here." His sentiments were echoed by 25- year-old Brian Burayai of Zimbabwe .

He said his brother was beaten up on Saturday when a group of Zulu-speaking men asked him if he knew the Zulu word for "elbow". When he could not answer, they started beating him.

"I thought I would be safe here because Mugabe is a serial killer. But these locals are just as bad," he said.

«President Thabo Mbeki said a panel had been set up to look into xenophobic attacks.

ANC president Jacob Zuma, speaking in Pretoria also condemned the attacks, saying: "We cannot allow South Africa to be famous for xenophobia. We cannot be a xenophobic country."

In Jeppestown shop-owner Ntombi Mbokazi, 45, was in tears after thugs looted her clothing store.

She cried as cops ordered her off the street. "Help me. they have taken everything!" she protested, but the public-order police were only interested in containing the violence.

Throughout the day police sirens were heard across the city as police and Metro police raced from one scene to the next.»

Contudo há quem relembre que os sul-africanos tem memória curta, há uma boa meia dúzia de anos, os líderes do ANC foram acolhidos como irmãos em Moçambique.

«Armed with a shotgun, a police inspector in Cleveland said: "It's getting worse. This thing is like a wildfire; just when you think you've contained one area you hear its erupted again in another."
International aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) described the situation as an imminent humanitarian crisis.
Spokesman Eric Goemaere said the attacks were a crisis.
"I have been to many refugee camps and situations and this definitely is along those lines," he said.

The ANC government was warned!»

«"This is war!" said Methodist church Bishop Paul Verryn, calling for a state of emergency to be declared and the army's help called in.

Verryn's plea came on Sunday after gangs targeted immigrants at the church in continuing attacks fuelled by xenophobia.

At least 13 people have died, two by the necklace method, in attacks which have raged in Johannesburg 's city centre and across the East Rand and West Rand .

An estimated 60 people were injured in the attacks, with attackers not sparing immigrants who were sheltering in the Central Methodist Church in the city centre.

Verryn said the police had warned on Saturday that they should expect an attack even on the Central Methodist Church .

Many Zimbabweans, Mozambicans, Ethiopians and Malawians have been regarding the church as a safe haven.

Armed themselves with bricks

The atmosphere was tense after immigrants were assaulted outside the church on Sunday afternoon.

Many immigrants armed themselves with bricks and feared the worst.

Verryn said that, as a church leader, he could not encourage violence, but it was difficult to preach his high ideals when his life was not under threat.

"It would be a howling shame, a disgrace on this nation if an attack was launched on this church."
"May God protect you," he said later to the immigrants.»

África do Sul, fugir ou morrer?

Ou África do Sul à beira da balcanização?

Texto – Mário Nunes

Mensagem (inglês) e fotografias – reenviada por IV