Being the target of some sort of xenophobia

Living in a province where renewed xenophobic attacks, similar to what was witnessed in Polokwane earlier this year, could rear its ugly head at any time should be a fear any foreign national would want to have allayed.
A Zimbabwean school principal who recently had to deal with the harrowing ordeal of being attacked by a group of knife-wielding thugs in the parking lot of at a city centre mall, told of an unwritten code on the streets of Polokwane determining that vehicles with Zimbabwean registration numbers will get targeted. For the sake of his safety and the fact that he is employed in Limpopo, his name is not published.
That particular Saturday afternoon he waited on his friend and his family – who were still shopping at the mall – in their vehicle with Zimbabwe number plate in the parking lot when accosted by a group of seven to eight young men crowding the car. They had immediately started searching for valuables, but in the end he was even been robbed of the groceries he purchased minutes before, he explained.
Only two of the criminals communicated with him, he said and recalled a knife-bearing youngster warning “Don’t scream. Just give us money. We don’t want anyone to die today”.
The one passenger door of the van was opened wider and the one attacker immediately reached for his wallet and his passport in his pocket. Having asked his passport back, the thief removed R530 from his wallet which he threw back at him.
According to the headmaster one of the others had by then opened the front passenger door to demand his bag with his laptop that he had to take in for repairs earlier that day. The victim said while the thief was checking the contents of the bag, he pleaded for his documents kept inside. The criminal turned a deaf ear to him and left with the bag.
In the meantime the others were fighting among one another about wanting to loot the vehicle, only to take off with some of his groceries. And calmly they left again. He described it as a bad experience and at the time of the interview hadn’t gotten over it yet. The impact of the crime had catapulted to a situation where it was difficult for him to conduct his work without the documents stored on his laptop.
Although the matter was reported, no arrests had been made, he mentioned.
Based on his own experience and reports received from fellow-countrymen, he made the assertion that Zimbabwean nationals in South Africa were rather susceptible to crime and in specific robbery. Being easy targets, travellers in vehicles with foreign number plates were exposed, he reckoned.
He relayed a story of a Zimbabwean woman having parked her car in Market Street in Polokwane and upon having been warned of the danger loose on the streets of the city centre she rushed back, only to be confronted by the sight of seven to eight thugs who had already closed in on it. She had managed to get away without anything being taken, he said.
He concluded stressing that the commission of such type of crimes in central Polokwane was a given, but the question remained what the Police were doing about it.

Survivor stories: When victims share recollections of crimes against humanity, be it violent or not. It still remains crime.

Story: YOLANDE NEL
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