HEARTBREAK, fear and uncertainty are emotions that dominate the mind of Beatrice Pierre, a foreign national, who has become a victim of the recent xenophobic attacks in Durban.
Pierre, who previously resided in the Democratic Republic of Congo, spoke to the Berea Mail recently and shed some light on the painful attacks and its severe consequences.
The concerned mother, who previously worked at the Durban Workshop as a nail technician, said she is constantly worried about the future of her children and her income as she is unable to work freely.
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Speaking on behalf of foreigners at Medwood Gardens in Durban, where a group of church leaders gathered last Thursday to participate in a silent protest, Pierre said, “They always tell us to go back to our country. Our country is good, but the problem with our country is the fighting. I was working at the Workshop doing nails, but they took everything from us. I tried moving elsewhere to sell avocados, but the police took everything that I had as well. The police told me, ‘You must go, we don’t want you guys here’.”
Currently, Pierre has no source of income as she is afraid to start a new business.
“I have my children, I can’t survive without working. I also tried to go sell second-hand clothing at the market, in Warwick Junction, and they still took everything from me.
“We don’t know what we can now do as foreigners. Our hearts are sore and we are under a lot of stress because some are dying, we don’t know what to do with the children. I am a single mother working for my five kids,” said an emotional Pierre.
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