Racial tension rises on Reconciliation Day

Heidelberg resident Dixon Hall will appear in the Magaliesburg Magistrate’s Court on January 17 where he will face charges of common assault after he allegedly head-butted Indian businessman Muqhtar Dosani during a Reconciliation Day (December 16) outing.

A steam train ride from Heidelberg to Magaliesburg was organised by local lawyer Bouwe Wiersma and what was meant to be a celebration of the town’s diversity turned into a huge embarrassment for the town and its people.

Dosani, who has been living in Heidelberg for 28 years,  had hired the Ghandi carriage of the train to ensure that he, his family and workers who joined in the celebration of Heidelberg’s 150 year anniversary would be able to conform to their Muslim traditions without disrupting anyone else.

It was a pleasurable day for all involved, up to the point when everyone had to travel in buses to and from a holiday resort in Magaliesburg.

The Dosani party had requested to take the last bus back to the train so that they could do their afternoon prayers. It was on this bus ride where Hall reaffirmed that the level of racial tolerance in the community wasn’t anywhere close to where it should be, considering that Apartheid was abolished in 1990.

According to eye witnesses Hall and a few of his friends also boarded the last bus and started to cause discomfort when they started singing the De la Rey song. The song has become an anthem for bigots who boast little knowledge of their own history.

Despite the provocation,  Dosani and his party kept their cool and even remained calm when Hall blew the foam of his beer into their hair.

It is further alleged that Hall proceeded to smear his drink on the head of one of the Indian travelers, but still Dosani insisted that everyone remain calm. Not even the constant racial slurs that were used made them flinch.

It was only when Hall decided to take a six-pack of cold drinks from a cooler box that did not belong to him when tensions reached boiling point.

Dosani took the drinks from Hall who is then believed to have responded by head-butting him.

“It was very unfortunate that something like this can still happen in this day and age,” explained Dosani who was the first non-white learner to be accepted into Sedaven High School.

“It was a humiliating experience and we know that although not all white people act this way, there are those bad elements in society. All we can do is hope that a rift is not created.”

The incident almost immediately made national news as many people who participated in the event were subjected to interviews. It formed part of a discussion on SABC’s Morning Live while most media houses ran the story in their respective publications.

While the charge of common assault did not lead to the arrest of Hall, Dosani confirmed that there is a very good possibility that his case for hate speech and other related charges would also be perused.

Wiersma was just as appalled with what transpired and decided that the intoxicated Hall would have to sit in one of the front carriages of the train during the return.

“I had to do something to ensure that this sort of thing didn’t happen again,” said Wiersma.

“It is really sad that one isolated event will be remembered on an otherwise very successful day during which residents from all walks of life showed that we are an integrated community.”