South Africans plea for understanding

South Africans in New Zealand are praying for family and friends as their homeland burnt with rioting, looting and violence amidst a third wave of Covid-19.

They are also appealing to Kiwi friends and colleagues for understanding and compassion for their heartache.

Supporters of former President Jacob Zuma went on the rampage following his imprisonment for defying an order to give evidence at a judicial inquiry into corruption during his time in office.

The unrest quickly escalated, with the death toll rising to over 200 last Friday. Parts of the KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng provinces had been left looking like war zones.

In Blenheim, a group of 15 South Africans gathered to pray for their country, families and friends last week. Tears flowed freely as they lifted their voices to God in their mother tongue Afrikaans.

The South Africans here feel despair for their families, helplessness and a certain amount of guilt that they are safe, whilst loved ones face destruction and mayhem.

In South Africa, rioters looted food, electronic goods and medical supplies from at least 800 stores, and retailers were estimated to have lost in excess of R5-billion ($490-million).

People were queueing for hours to buy bread and milk, only to walk away empty-handed as supplies ran out and doors were closed.

Buks Lundt has lived in New Zealand for 20 years. His mother and brother live in Krugersdorp, Gauteng. ‘‘They’re not safe. Nobody is safe at the moment. They don’t sleep, and we don’t sleep,’’ he said.

‘‘Even though they’re outside the ‘hotspots’ as such, there’s still no food or fuel.’’

‘‘We don’t see this on media at all,’’ Lundt said. ‘‘We wonder why New Zealand – who were on the forefront during the apartheid era – are now very, very quiet about what’s going on? There’s a deafening silence from the government for some reason, even though it’s like a civil war.

‘‘Because nobody here really knows what’s going on, you don’t get any support,’’ he added. ‘‘Even in the workplace, you have to put a smile on your face. You can’t talk about it with your Kiwi mates, because they don’t understand. It’s difficult to explain that it’s mayhem – everything gets destroyed for no reason at all.’’

Stacey Brown hails from the KwaZulu Natal region, where the unrest was at a peak. Whilst most Kiwis were understanding ‘‘to a certain extent’’ she said, they don’t completely understand, because they’ve never experienced anything like it.

‘‘It’s such a horror story that it’s almost a shock to the system,’’ she said. ‘‘They don’t really comprehend, because they haven’t been exposed to that sort of thing, but they do need to be aware that this is quite serious. We’re not making it up – it is what we say it is.’’

Sharaine Steenberg has lived in New Zealand for five years. Working in the social development sector, she said the people she works with were by nature very empathetic. ‘‘But they don’t get how terrifying and traumatising it is to just tell them about what’s going on.’’

‘‘I want to tell them why I feel as though I’ve not been able to work this week, because I can’t deal with the first-world problems that people have. Being upset about first-world problems here in New Zealand doesn’t make sense when you’re worried about your family’s safety back home,’’ she said.

‘‘I have to go home now, because in an hour from now, I’ve got a funeral that I have to attend,’’ she said with tears welling. She would join family online to farewell her uncle who had succumbed to Covid.

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