Close-Up | What happened in Phoenix was neither an isolated incident nor a spontaneous mishap. It has a history, writes Fred Khumalo.
Burnt out cars in Phoenix following violence that has engulfed the community on July 15, 2021 in Durban.Some have said it is too little, too late. Others have said: at least we are finally talking about this; even after all the blood has been shed, even after families have been torn asunder, neighbours turned against each other, old friends turning into enemies.
Witnesses from the African side of the divide testified to being shot at, assaulted and called racist names such as “monkeys” and “Zuma’s people”. According to different witnesses, police refused to intervene, even after they had been told that criminal acts were being committed not far away from the police station itself.Mondli Makhanya | Another inferno in the makingOn his way home from work, he said he was stopped by a group of armed men who asked him where he was coming from. One of the men snatched his sunglasses, keys, cellphone and a R200 note from inside his car.
The police seized 152 firearms from four private security companies and 112 illegal firearms during the police raid in Phoenix. In six days, which came to be known as the Durban Riots, the violence spread as far afield as Pietermaritzburg. When the attacks finally stopped, a total of 142 people had died in the violence. Among them were 87 African and 50 Indian people.
Their children started attending schools in Indian areas. Friendships were formed. In some instances, interracial romantic relationships blossomed into marriages.
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