“Shoot now! Shoot us! Shoot us!”

“Go home and watch your big screen TV!”

May 9, 2017

Enver Wessels 2 minutes read

After the relative calm which had descended on Eldorado Park following violent protests which erupted yesterday, police and protesters squared off for another confrontation.

Things started out innocuously enough, with protesters barricading the Main Road in Extension Three with large rocks and anything which could be used to block the main entrances into the area.

Police, notably the Hillbrow Flying Squad and a Tactical Unit deployed to disperse demonstrators, would remove objects while residents would return and place them back on the road.

After a few exchanges between police and protesters, rubber bullets were fired and the crowd dispersed across the park in the Main Road towards Extension Two.

Tensions rose between community leaders who called on the throng to demonstrate peacefully without resorting to looting and damaging property.

A visibly irate resident retorted, “It’s fine for you to talk because you have a house. Go home and watch your big screen TV.

“I’ve been living in a zozo for more than twenty years. How would you feel if you had to have sex with your wife with your children watching?”

Police in riot gear returning from pursuing fleeing protesters who had been fired upon with rubber bullets, held a man by his waist and bundled him into a police vehicle.

A short while later, they returned and fired on residents gathered at the traffic lights along the Main Road.

The crowd erupted into chants of, “Shoot us now! Shoot! Shoot!” as a resident identified as Raymond Cook asked that protesters not throw stones or run from approaching the police.

An exchange between Cook and members of the Hillbrow Flying Squad can be heard in the video below.

Many residents are of the belief that the protests have been hijacked by youths and a criminal element from within the community, who are turning the already volatile situation to their advantage and without being aware of the concerns regarding inadequate housing and the alarmingly high levels of unemployment within the community.

Backyard dwellings and shacks have become a commonplace sight within many Eldorado Park yards, and while a lack housing is an important issue facing the community, the violence and lawlessness pervading the Eldorado Park community has been criticised by many community leaders who are of the view that alternative means can be sought for the problems to receive redress.