WITH cleaning utensils in their hands and a desire to spread hope in their hearts, Durban residents rolled up their sleeves and united to clean up the Queensmead Mall which was looted and destroyed during the unrest which erupted in KZN last week.
Speaking to Berea Mail about devastating events that unfolded throughout the province and in Gauteng, marketing manager of Artemis Properties, Lauren Greeff said the damage was immense.
“Not only did the tenants experience a monumental stock loss, but entrances to the mall and the stores were smashed and destroyed. The mess and debris that was left behind was devastating,” she said.
In regards to the clean up, she said cleaning services and teams were hired to clean up the mess and restore the mall.
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“What we didn’t expect, however, was the incredible input from the community. Community members arrived with mops and brooms in hand and without any prompting, got to work with assisting to clean up our mall. It was massively humbling. Community members began presenting themselves in numbers – all getting their hands dirty and giving of their own time to clean up a mess that they didn’t create. Our social media has also been inundated with willing community members offering assistance,” she said.
Greeff thanked the community who contributed to the restoration of their mall.
“You are the true heroes and you have shown us what it means to be resilient and proud South Africans. Thank you for giving us hope in a challenging time. The memory of watching the community clean up together while singing the national anthem will forever invoke a lump in our throats,” said Greeff .
She said the damage is still being repaired in preparation for the reopening. “We will keep the community updated via the Facebook page with regards to the reopening dates,” she said.
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