South Africa is burning for days, and it seems the country is slipping into a civil war. On July 7, former President Zuma got arrested, and the nation has been in a state of chaos and unrest since then. The visuals that have been coming out on social media platforms are enough to raise concerns across the world.
A Twitter user, ‘FaeceSocietatis,’ has been sharing videos of the rampage rioters have caused. A shocking video that the user shared was of a baby being thrown from a burning building. The caption of the video read, “Baby has to be thrown from a roof to safety after looters set fire to building they are on.”
Baby has to be thrown from a roof to safety after looters set fire to building they are on. pic.twitter.com/2LLgAxZyMP
— Kobayashi’s Basilisk (@FaeceSocietatis) July 13, 2021
In the video, a person was holding the baby on the first floor of the building while a group of people was standing on the ground floor, all set to catch the baby. The person on the first floor carefully let the baby go, and the group standing down immediately caught the kid. Everyone was seen cheering as the kid was saved. Though the video ended with a slight ‘happy ending’, the other visuals show the grim situation in the African nation.
Gun shops looted
In another video, visuals of a now-empty gun shop were shown. According to the user, the gun shop was looted earlier, and nothing was left behind in the shop. In the current situation, rioters and looters with guns on roads is a significant security concern for the riot-hit regions of South Africa.
Footage of a gun shop that was looted bare earlier. Not good pic.twitter.com/meIsa9wFfD
— Kobayashi’s Basilisk (@FaeceSocietatis) July 13, 2021
Covid followed by riots in South Africa will hit the economy hard
Covid lockdowns have caused severe unemployment across the world, and South Africa suffered the hit too. The current situation where the country is descending towards civil war will worsen the employment scene in the country. Notably, the rioters have been burning down commercial buildings that will result in severe unemployment in the coming days. Even if the African nation comes out of the hands of Covid, the damage these riots have caused to the infrastructure will push the country further back.
Another mall burning down tonight, this one Reservoir Hills Mall in Durban. These are critical blows to South African infrastructure, compounding on top of the huge amount of unemployed people due to covid lockdowns. This will lead to further rising tensions, and eventually war pic.twitter.com/ys4pHFHRPW
— Kobayashi’s Basilisk (@FaeceSocietatis) July 13, 2021
As per reports, all sugar mills in Kwazulu-Natal, one of the major sugar growing provinces in the country that has been hit with the violence the most, have decided to shut down in light of the current situation. Meanwhile, farmers have been forced to dump hundreds of thousands of milk due to the breakdown in the supply chain.
Colin Wellbeloved, chairperson of the South African Milk Producers’ Organisation (MPO), was quoted as saying, “I am also concerned that retail milk stocks are going to decline alarmingly because of the logistical problems caused by the protesters. [Another concern is] that we find it increasingly difficult to get products such as animal feed delivered to the farms because of road closures and attacks by looters.”
In addition, numerous malls have been destroyed and other infrastructure have also been affected.
Distell beverage company, Pinetown, KZN, up in flames pic.twitter.com/CzXI7WNmTW
— Kobayashi's Basilisk (@FaeceSocietatis) July 13, 2021
Attack on the Indian community in South Africa
Several reports have emerged where the rioters and looters are targeting people of Indian descent. It is believed that the locals are using corruption accused Gupta Brothers as an excuse to target the Indian community. In a desperate attempt to protect their businesses from looting, Indians have now stepped up their fight against the arsonists and looters. Visuals had emerged where the Indian community retaliated and shot at the looters.
They have looted the businesses dry, and are starting to loot residential areas. Indian homes being broken into in South Africa by black looters. pic.twitter.com/rvesWTjnza
— Kobayashi’s Basilisk (@FaeceSocietatis) July 14, 2021
Members of the Indian community were seen armed with guns and artillery to ward off rioters, looters, and arsonists. Willem Petzer, the Chairman of Taxpayers Union of South Africa, tweeted, “I have to say, after watching everything that happened today, I am looking at the Durban Indian community in a whole different light. These guys showed us they are willing to go all the way to defend their communities when they are threatened, whatever it takes.”
Reports suggest that the South African government has decided to deploy the military to curb the violence. The sources in the military have also confirmed the development.
Note: OpIndia cannot vouch for the authenticity of the videos circulating on social media.
