Durban: South Africa is by and large a community that is united, even in the midst of the unrest we are seeing – and this week we have proven this.
This is what local comedians have said in an interview with the POST.
Kamz Govender said he had left for Pretoria for a business trip two weeks ago and was due to return to Durban in the week that the riots and looting started.
“I am experiencing this via my family who are still in Durban and it is a worry as we are not there with them to help. My granny is not mobile and she lives in the heart of Phoenix. She needs to get food and essentials, so it does leave us in a bit of a stressful situation.
“It has been a relief to see the community standing together and trying to protect neighbourhoods. That said, I don’t approve of some violence that has been happening in some places. Let’s catch those responsible and hand them over to authorities. Please don’t hit them and post this on social media. Those kinds of actions don’t prove that we are protecting our communities, it just incites violence.
“It is a relief however to see social media flooded with the different communities who are rallying together and supporting each other, when we unite together, we definitely make a plan,” said Govender.
Rory Petzer said while we have seen lots of doom and gloom, violence and destruction, deaths and the damage to our economy, there are a lot more heroes to be celebrated.
“Our communities have been standing up, barricading areas and patrolling 24/7, fetching food for people. There is only a small percentage of people who are causing all of this destruction. The majority of South Africa is standing up and saying we are not going to accept this.
“I do believe we need to exercise caution with regards to social media. Personally, I don’t share anything that I come across on social media. If I was not there, I will not share it. We must be careful. Ensure that pictures, videos, voice notes, etc, are verified and not old materials or even, in some cases, materials from another year or another country. My rule of thumb is, I don't share anything unless I was there personally to see it with my own eyes. Rather get your news from credible, verified information from credible news sites,” said Petzer.
Comedian David M said while the violence and looting have left a lot of people in fear and concerned over food and essential resources, South Africans have largely pulled together to help each other.
“Watching the news and watching the riots and looting unfold, it annoyed me. My own black people who did this, tomorrow they will also need employment. They will need food at shops, they will need to travel in taxis and so forth, and yet they are the ones who are destroying petrol stations, looting shops, destroying distribution warehouses...
“But I have also seen people unite. I have personally witnessed neighbours coming out to help each, sharing food and sharing information on where food and fuel is still available. We have seen our taxi associations out in our streets in Durban, cleaning up the mess left behind by looters. We have seen them rally to help barricade off communities and protect them. I just wish we could have seen this kind of unity a long time ago.
“We might be different races in South Africa. I am black, I know people who are coloured and white and Indian and so forth, but when it comes to really helping one another, I know that we don’t see the colour of our skin and our backgrounds. We focus on how we need to work together to make things better for us as the South African nation,” said David M.
He also encouraged people not to share unverified materials on social media.
“Social media is very important in terms of keeping up with what’s happening in our country, but there are also too many who are sharing jokes about the situation, or sharing materials that stir up unnecessary fear and panic. We have got to be responsible about about what we share on social media.
“Even as a comedian there is a fine line in terms of when to make fun at something and turn it into something funny, and when not to. At this time, personally, I don’t think theres anything that should be put up on social media that could joke about the situation or stir trouble around it,” he said.
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