Shocking scene of our local beach!
By Annie
@Anniedup (3651)
Richards Bay, South Africa
September 5, 2009 5:00am CST
Sorry that my first discussion here in a long time, is about bad behavior and carnage but this is what goes on week after week at our beach. Which I have personally not visited for over 10 years because of the filth and danger of being attacked in broad daylight.
Now it got way out of hand, hopefully the authorities like van Biljon will do something about it, but somehow I doubt it because we have been hearing the same words "we will put an end to this" over and over again and again!WHILE the City is striving for Blue Flag beach status, drunken louts are turning Alkantstrand our local beach front) into a den of iniquity.
A wild party last Friday night saw at least six people stabbed, including a security officer with multiple wounds, and the main car park turned into a minefield of blood and broken bottles.
Ambulances ferried victims to hospitals during the night at regular intervals, while reinforcement police and security officers were brought in.
The incident appears linked to a bash at the restaurant adjacent to the car park, which continued until daybreak."We will put an end to this," vowed uMhlathuze Director for Parks, Sport and Recreation, Ernst van Biljon, who was on scene to witness the chaos early Saturday morning."I would personally like to see the security officers given powers of arrest, so that they can intervene more strongly."
Van Biljon’s words will be welcomed by the neighboring sports and angling clubs, as well as the Sharks Board and helicopter base, who are subjected to the drunken parties and loud music every weekend.
Overseas tourists were among the horrified and outraged people who witnessed the shocking state of Alkantstrand on Saturday morning
5 people like this
6 responses
@cloudwatcher (6861)
• Australia
5 Sep 09
Firstly Annie, welcome back!
It is so hard for people living in a country like mine to imagine all the troubles in your country. You have previously shared many of these horrifying situations and the very real dangers present there.
To think that this sort of behaviour is happening so close to you is alarming, and I'm so thankful that you have good security at your house.
"We will put an end to this" is easier said than done. Things should have been done years ago and this type of behaviour nipped in the bud. Now it is out of hand and more likely to get worse than better. I hope something can be done. Please take care.
4 people like this
@Anniedup (3651)
• Richards Bay, South Africa
5 Sep 09
What is so alarming Angela, is the fact that the 2010 Soccer World Cup is just around the corner, and the whole of SA is waiting for this huge economy boost. Richards Bay is a very small coastal town, (population 252968, comparing to Johannesburg's 3,888,180, but again the last census was in 2001 !! for heaven sakes !)more disastrous things are happening in our big cities which will soon be filled with innocent tourists pouring into the country, which I might add is not NEAR ready for the influx of people. Our infrastructure, unfinished stadiums, and the most important aspect is our policing and the combating of crime. This event is either going to break or MAKE South Africa, let's hope and pray for the latter.
2 people like this
@cloudwatcher (6861)
• Australia
5 Sep 09
I hope it is "make" not "break" but I'm not so hopeful. I think the only hope for SA is a change from the top down, and we know that is not likely. Crime needs to be addressed, but how? It has gone so far now that a remedy seems almost impossible. If only there was a strong, ethical leader!
2 people like this
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
2 Nov 09
Hi Anniedup, hope you don't mind me reviving this one but only just seen it. The situation you describe is just terrible but believable as I've heard from friends who've moved back here from South Africa that it is common to be held up at gunpoint whilst just driving in traffic on busy streets.
Is it a case now of things like the beach scenes you descibe just being one of too many to control? If six were stabbed what kind of numbers are actually involved in such things? I hope for your sake that they do start to tighten up.
1 person likes this
@Anniedup (3651)
• Richards Bay, South Africa
3 Nov 09
Thea no I don't mind at all. The situation is not likely to change, because it is not at root level where decay is taking place, but rather at the top, corrupt government officials and lawlessness. Hopefully it will improve with the 2010 Soccer World cup, or it will really highlight the problem areas so the whole world will be more aware of what is REALLY going on here. But then again the whole of Africa is known for being corrupt and ungovernable ! The whole world knows about the situation in Sierra Leone west Africa and Somalia, and if we don't get assistance from America and the rest of the world South Africa is following in the same footsteps as the countries north of our borders.
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
3 Nov 09
It really is a case of not much news filtering through to here about it these days, when there was an issue involved with aparteid it was always in the news and then afterwards it is as if the issue is all sorted so no need to report much. The images are more likely to show it as a tourist spot rather than issues of government and lawlessness. I've become more aware of it now as I say because of people moving away from there because of the constant danger. It must be an awful thing to live in fear. I wouldn't hold out for American intervention unless theres lots of oil there.
@GardenGerty (157555)
• United States
6 Sep 09
Hard to buik=ld a tourism industry with that kind of action. It is a shame that you are unable to visit your local beach because of dangerous behavior like that.
1 person likes this
@Anniedup (3651)
• Richards Bay, South Africa
8 Sep 09
So true my friend, South Africa rely so much on the tourism industry, with our Game Parks, and beautiful beaches and open spaces, but with such a high crime rate it is not just harming our nation but the tourist industry immensely. Our government can't even keep their own citizens safe let alone foreign tourists!
@lyzabelle (1668)
• Philippines
6 Sep 09
Oh...i'm really sorry that this happen.
of all places,in the beach? It is a place for
relaxation and relax your mind from stress not
a place for murder and violence. So sad.
1 person likes this
@TickleMeBreathless (590)
• United States
10 Nov 09
That is horrible. What a disgrace. First of all, I wouldn't go there either! That's horrible, why do people even think of such things? What good comes of stabbing people? Nothing as far as I can see. I would lose faith if I heard those words from the police for years with nothing being done too. Bad for tourism, bad for people's lives, bad for the environment... Just bad! I'm sorry you have to witness such things! I would be mortified.
