SCRIPT 207 Endemic Violence

 

00:36 Niall Aitchenson – Crime Reporter “The Star”

People generally don’ give a damn about killing you. If you resist you will be shot. Unless

you have a gun you could attempt to fire back but the best advice is not to resist.

 

00:49

Q: What happened to him?

A: They mugged the guy. Security already called an ambulance and they’re on their

way to fetch him. State ambulance.

Q: They mugged the guy?

A: He’s so drunk

 

1:10 V/O

Just another evening in Johannesburg. Here we are

following the "Flying Squad", a fast intervention team in the South African

police. In less than an hour they've been called four times. South

Africa is being confronted with an ever-growing wave of violence. The

statistics are alarming: a murder is committed every hour. Every

five minutes a car is stolen. In 1993 alone, 212 policemen were killed

during service. With a population of around 35 million, 240 thousand burglaries

were registered last year.

 

01:51 V/O

Professor Eddie Wolff is a psychoanalyst and head of the "Trauma Clinic" in

Johannesburg. Every day he meets people who are victims of the ongoing

violence.

 

02:02 Professor Wolff

So often the perception is that it’s the blacks committing crimes on the whites. That's altogether not true. If you take statistics, more black drivers get hijacked than white drivers. And they get killed just as much if not more. And the criminals are not always black. In many instances they are white.

 

02:33 V/O

The next day on the emergency ward of Baragwanath Hospital, 80 % of the patients had suffered gunshot wounds, stabbings or violent beatings.

 

03:05 Dr. Archie DEFILLO, surgeon

We cleared the peak and five minutes later it’s full again. It’s a constant mission. A constant

flow of patients into the hospital. Constantly. Minute by minute. Since 8 O’clock in the

morning. Day by day.

 

03:27 V/O

Dutch surgeon Machteld is head of the trauma department at

Baragwanath Hospital. Six years ago she decided to emigrate to South

Africa. She is daily confronted with situations she hadn’t envisaged when she left the Netherlands

 

03.44 MACHTELD VAN DE AERDWEG, Head Surgeon

The most classic cases I can do here and one never sees in Holland, is a "stabbed heart". Somebody being stabbed through the heart. It's a very acute operation. I've done some 30 of them. In Holland a surgeon can only dream of such an opportunity.

 

04:06

 - Doctor, can you tell what happened to this patient?

MACHTELD: She has been stabbed in her head by her boyfriend and the knife has been broken and is still partly in her head. And it is... It is through the bone, probably in the brain tissue. I don’t know if you can see it... There it is. And we want to remove it, but the danger is that if we take it out - there is a big arterial artery - it will start bleeding when we pull it out.

 

 

04:51 PATIENT

V : Why did he stab you, your boyfriend?

A : He stabbed me at home at my house. 

A : Why?

A : No reason.

 

05:11 Woman

The country is going crazy. People are excited to be free. You know, its like if you have a dog chained, immediately you  unchain it, it gets so excited, it moves around the yard everywhere. So its just like that for the people of South Africa. People abuse the freedom. I feel very much unsafe, because there’s too much violence here. Because I don’t have a

job and a child to support, a family to support. The best thing for me to do is to go to town.

Take money from those who work, from those who have money. If someone takes your

money, you can’t just say take my money it’s OK. You’re going to fight for your money. So

this shortage of jobs is the main thing that causes violence in South Africa.

 

06:02 Neil Aitchison

Since the elections, you have a lot of formerly disadvantaged people – the large majority of the black population are living on or below the poverty line and if you look around any open space you will see squatter settlements, corrugated shacks popping up. There are just so many homeless people. Which is typical of a country going under transition into a democracy. And don't forget we are only 12/18 months on from the 1994 elections which brought the ANC to power.

 

06:45 Father

I'll take revenge. Look at my child. They shot and stabbed him.

 

Conversation with doctor

I didn't know those guys. They just came over and stabbed us.

Q: Where did they stab you?

A : Here and here and here and here and here.

 

07:23 Father

I'm gonna kill them, those rogues.

Q: Aren't you afraid they will kill you?

A: But he is a policeman

Q: Are you a policeman?

A: I'm a policeman, yes! I will kill them

 

Jessie DUARTE, Minister of Safety and security, Gauteng province

Culture of crime is part of the history of apartheid as well. Because the legend that there’s

crime is real. If walk down the street now and say to someone who’s never been mugged in

their life. What do you think about crime? They’d say it’s very bad. Because the fact of the

matter is our commitment is to expose the levels of crime. It was never done before. There

was never a commitment and a will from government to say there is a crime problem in

South Africa. Because it would not have looked good to have an apartheid regime which

was able to monitor the lives people in every way but could not contain crime. We are

saying that people need to know that crime in this country has been here for a long time.

And our commitment is to undermine that crime.

 

 

08.44 Niall AITCHESON, crime reporter "Star"

The criminal can act in South Africa almost with impunity. Because he knows there’s only a

fifty percent chance of him being caught. And B: there’s no death penalty. So he can shoot

someone and if he’s caught he can expect seven or eight year jail sentence, and with

remission he could be out in five years.

 

12:07 Niall AITCHESON, crime reporter "The Star"

People’s confidence in the government has been knocked severely. The majority of the

population here, they believe the government doesn’t live up to it’s promises. But the

government is under a hell of a lot of pressure with all the reforms. The ANC have promised

that within five years the reconstruction and development program will create jobs, will

create more houses. And basically bring the general standard of living amongst the black

population up to scratch. I personally have my doubts whether they will make this transition

within the five year time limit.

 

12:45 Jessie DUARTE, Minister of Safety and Security, Gauteng province

Overwhelmingly in our province the ANC won. Overwhelmingly. Despite the fact that the

mass media, which is primarily owned by the wealthier class of people, who have got

homes and are not struggling for homes are the people who are making the assessment

that you’re making that the government is not delivering. We have delivered land to people

in large numbers.  What we haven’t delivered is actual structured houses. If you find one

contractor, that contractor is going to build seven million houses. It’s ridiculous.

 

Boksburg jail

 

13:22 V/O

There's no social welfare system in South Africa. The unemployed are left to fend for themselves. The prisons are overflowing. Like this one in Boksburg.

 

Guard: Most of the prisons in the country are built for just a certain amount of prisoners. And the population for crime is too much. And that's why the population of the prison is overcrowded.

 

David, on the right, is 18. He was sentenced for 8 years. He shot a man during a robbery.

 

13:57 David MANOLLA - car-hijacker

He didn't wait for me. He took the car and that's how he got shot.

Yes, it was my intent to kill him. I saw he wanted to keep the car. I wanted to sell it to raise money to feed my family.

Q: You didn't found it hard to kill him?

A: No.

Q: What's the reason? It's the hunger that makes my heart react so.

Q: You had to shoot him.

A: Yes.

 

14.53 V/O

Carl was handed a 12 year sentence. His record includes crimes such as burglary, armed robbery and murder.

 

15.03

 

Carl Robert REDDAN

Q : Why do you think there's so much crime in South Africa

A: Unemployment. There’s a lot of people without jobs. And where you can get a job.

Pay. With the prices of things now days. Pay doesn’t go far. I grew up living a wealthy life, I

had wealthy parents. And when I left home I was on my own. So I’m used to living as a

wealthy person.

V: So you had to go to crime to survive?

A: To survive. Yes.

V: When you get out you’ll commit crime again to survive?

A: If I can’t get a job, can’t earn a living I’ll have to. There’s no other way of surviving

without either working or committing crime.

 

15:47 Jessie DUARTE, Minister of Safety and Security, Gauteng province

We do have a high unemployment factor in this province. Because we attract people from

other provinces as well who are unemployed and believe that there may be jobs and or accommodation in Gauteng area. Very soon they move away from western Cape, eastern Cape, Kwa-Zulu Nataal. And find that really there are no jobs that they can find right now. If you create jobs you will definitely undermine crime. And that’s what our government’s commitment is towards doing, is to create jobs. And people are desperate. I think we must acknowledge that. So ours is to bring in as much investment as we can. To develop the possible job creation base in a province like Gauteng.

 

16:39 V/O

Violence has become a part of everyday life in South Africa. Even in business, arguments are settled this way. It's not unusual to hire hitmen to eliminate your competitors. A good example of this is the ongoing taxi-war between two leading black taxi-companies, Saldta and LTO. Each one striving for the upper hand in the market.

 

17:11 Wesly MBAWU - spokesman SALDTA

This is one part of the taxi industry, whereby shootings have taken place. I would like to

point out on the wall here, as you can see. There came a truck, with gunmen who opened

fire randomly, shooting and killing innocent people. This is one of the victims as you see. A

bullet wound has struck him on the neck, and again one that struck him somewhere over

here. Poor women, who are making a living out of cooking and selling food stuffs for the commuters who get into our taxis for different angles, were also struck by bullets. Passing people. Passers-by met with bullets. They were killed. Innocent. We are pedalling hard to get a way of solving this problems and bringing this taxi violence to an end. We are looking forward to getting a solution whereby all taxi operators will operate towards peace, harmony and tranquillity.

 

18:24 S. MUFAMADI - National Minister of Safety and Security

The industry itself is saturated. There are more taxis out there in the industry than are

actually necessary. Coupled with the fact that the industry was deregulated. So you’ve got

a scramble for routes, scramble for passengers and this gives rise, inevitably, to violent

conflict.

 

18:55 Wesly MBAWU - spokesman SALDTA

Q: Are you fighting back with guns?

A : Ah well. Presently, as you see me in office now, I always sit just here where I am.

What happens outside is what I get after it has taken place. And I wouldn’t say to you there

are no retaliations. I don’t know, but no man can be slapped at his face and do nothing.

 

19:24 V/O

There has been another victim of the war at this taxi rank in Pretoria.

 

19.31 Police spokesman: I don’t think it common assault. An argument followed, and the deceased shot the suspect now, in this case, who took the firearm off the deceased, and shot him back.

 

19:53 S. MUFAMADI - National Minister of Safety and Security

There’s nothing wrong with people competing. It’s the logic of this type of business that

people must compete. But no one has got a right to use violent means.

 

20:02 V/O

The culture of violence penetrates deeply into South African society. Some

people think that this can only disappear through educational reform.

 

20:14 Jessie DUARTE - Minister of Safety and Security, prov. Gauteng

The decision we’ve taken is to annex a very very high profiled education program, within

the schools and also broadly within the community. We’ve got a program where police will

begin to lecture for one hour a week at schools. And begin to talk through the

consequences of criminal activity.

 

20:40 V/O

Alexandra, a town on the outside of Johannesburg. The police patrol we are accompanying are clearly not at ease. They are afraid.

 

Police and gun

20:53 Captain TWALA - South African police

Q : You always have to have your gun in your hands while patrolling?

A : If you want to survive.

Q : What do you mean?

A : If you want to survive, yes you do, because you are shot at any time. And how are

you going to retaliate if you have your gun in your holster. We are already shot at with

automatic rifles like AK47s and all that.

 

21:23 V/O

Morale is low with the South African police. The average salary of a policeman is just £200. Security agents working for private companies can easily make twice as much. And the police suffer from a serious lack of resources.

 

21:40 Jan VERMAAT - Inspector South African police

The shortfalls at Alexandra and at all police stations must be met before we can even start fighting the war against crime. Because we need better vehicles, better equipment and more policemen.

 

21:57 V/O

With the end of apartheid the police got a whole new array of tasks to solve. Before they did not concern themselves with violence amongst the black population.

 

22:12 Jessie DUARTE, Minister of Safety and Security prov. Gauteng

The style of the policing in South Africa, historically, has been police waiting in the police

station for a complaint. And going out to deal with the complaint. And in addition to that,

perhaps, one or two cars patrolling. We are saying our vision is turn the police stations

inside out. Police use the police station as there resource, but they’re out there, actively

involved in getting rid of criminals by being present.

 

22:44 V/O

The police and local people are working together more and more. To ensure the cooperation of the local people and to start a relation of trust, ordinary civilians are engaged.

John works as an unpaid volunteer for the Alexandrian police.  Citizens can approach him with their complaints and tips.

 

23:05 JOHN

We sort of mediate from the community side of it. Those who have information that where is

the suspect and how is he hiding. So we accompany the police to make an arrest for that.

 

23:23 V/O

But such voluntary work is not without danger. Behind the office, where nobody can overhear him, John tells us he fears for his life if he continues to work for the police.

 

23:33 JOHN

We live in danger because of the disadvantages of the criminals that they’ve seen, you

point the CPF, they can attack us, because they thought perhaps we are in their way.

Because they are making money from committing crime.

 

Images 4-way gardens

 

23:51 V/O

Till changes for the better do take place, South Africa is reigned by fear. Security companies see their future guaranteed and new companies are being formed overnight. Citizens see to it themselves that they are safe.

More and more people opt to live within gated communities, like the people here in Fourway gardens, 3 miles outside of Johannesburg.

 

24:16 Frank Van Der Merwe, inhabitant 4-way Gardens

We came to live here at Fourways Gardens  as the violence and the thefts, the rapes, and life in general outside the walls of Fourways Gardens... is absolutely unbelievable. We cannot live like that, outside the walls of Fourways Gardens.

 

24:37 Sue Williams - real estate broker

This place is built like a fortress, because it offers very high security by means of electric fencing around the perimeter of the whole development. Street lights, which we don't have in ? And security guards on foot. The feeling of people living here is one of just total relaxation. There's no fear. Children play in the street. You don't have to panic when you come into your garage that you're going to be hijacked in your driveway. You don't have to worry that when you are sitting in your garden at night you're going to have somebody jump over your wall with a gun, and there's going to be a violent incident.

 

25:33 V/O

In South Africa it's very easy to get a fire arms license. For many it's the only way to defend yourself.

 

25:48

Man: I would use this weapon and shoot to kill. I wouldn't wait long to give a warning shot. If I met a burglar in my house, I would shoot immediately, without asking any questions.

 

Interviewer: Don’t you have any doubts about that, that it is possible to do that?

 

Man: According to the law I am allowed to shoot. I have this weapon solely for self defence. This is a self defence weapon. And I am allowed to shoot, but if you shoot a burglar in your house you first have to give a warning shot and say ‘don’t move’, or ‘freeze’, or something like that, and if he doesn’t act like that, you are allowed to shoot.

 

Interviewer: But does this happen in reality?

 

Man: I seriously doubt that. I think one would rather first hit him and then give a warning shot to act according to the law.

 

Woman: After that I went swimming and went to the shopping centre, where I viewed a beautiful cabinet.

 

Man: Oh, we were viewing those beautiful cabinets.

 

I think in the Netherlands one would not have the courage to reach for a weapon, you’re not allowed to have a weapon there, but to shoot someone... I don’t think I'd ever have this thought in the Netherlands. Here in South Africa I have changed in such a way that I would do that.

 

27:12 V/O

 

This firing school in Johannesburg is fully booked, every day of the week.

Even children come here to shoot their daily rounds.

 

27:43 Firing school instructor

Most of the crimes committed today...

 

27:59

The solution for me is to carry a gun... and my brother, and everybody if they carry a gun, it’s

the safest way.

Q: Everybody has got to carry a gun?

A: I think it’s the solution. If everybody carries a gun then there’ll be peace at last.

Q: Would you shoot somebody?

A: That is why I bought it, to shoot some thugs... who come and molest me or rob me or

whatever.

 

28:28 Prof. Eddie Wolff , trauma specialist

If the government doesn’t deal with crime effectively, this year 1996. 1997 will see the

advent of vigilante groups, we’ll see the other thing I’m afraid of... we’ll see hired soldiers.

the dogs of war, coming in to protect where communities will rent them. We will see

kangaroo courts, we will see people taking the law into their own hands. And we will see

unprecedented killings, committed by ordinary citizens. Which means we will see the

retraumatisation of this country. My impression is we have only this year. No more. If we

don’t make work of it in this year, then this cycle of violence is going to increase and the

next decade will be hell in this country. [...]

 

29:50 Niall Aitcheson - crime reporter" The Star"

We receive threats on the telephone, we get threats of violence when we go to certain

crime scenes. It does tend to get to you. Crime wears you down. Some days it does get very

very stressful. For a long time I’ve wanted to move away from news writing totally. So I’m

going into sports writing next month.

 

30:15 Frank Van Der Merwe, inhabitant 4-way Gardens

I am looking forward to emigrate. I would have loved to have my children grow up here. It is my homeland! I am a proud South African, but I have no other choice than to consider thoroughly to take my children away from here. They are not safe here, and that is a fact.

 

31:08 end