KW 50/1

Moin zusammen,


jetzt, wo alles für die WM gerüstet scheint, sollte man sich jedoch nicht von der vielleicht einsetzenden Vorfreude auf schönen Fußball mitreißen lassen, denn...

…an den realen Lebensbedingungen in Südafrika hat sich nicht geändert. Es hat sich auch nichts daran geändert, dass Berichte, wie der nachfolgende, von der englischsprachigen Presse überhaupt nicht erwartet werden können, da sie als „nestbeschmutzerisch“ aufgefasst werden können, und das wird von der Politik nicht so gern gesehen.

Robbers shoot at tourists


Another one of those small incidences of crime in South Africa, which is only reported in Afrikaans.




The question begs, why?


Below is a translation of the article.






Marloth Park, 2009-12-02


Buks Viljoen of Beeld newspaper reports that four elderly Dutch tourists were shot at enroute to their Marloth Park holiday cottage near the Kruger Wildlife Reserve and robbed of about R100,000’s worth of electronic equipment and personal documents.


Their rental car was hijacked and they were left stranded at the roadway in the pitch-dark. The attack happened at 20:30.


“It was a shocking incident but fortunately we are still alive,” said one victim, Robert Haagenaars, 66.


The group arrived on 23 November in South Africa for a countrywide tour.


Haagenaars, his wife Will Haagenaars-Segers (66), her sister Anna Segers (61) and her husband Aloysiun Verhoeven (62) were attacked at 20:30 in Plaston near the Kruger Park international airport.


Haagenaars said they had left the wildlife reserve through the Kruger gate and were enroute to the Marloth Park holiday-cottage resort via White River.


The armed gang started driving alongside the Dutch tourists in a white VW Golf and gestured for them too move over and stop.


When Verhoeven – who was driving – stepped on the gas pedal, the gangsters fired shots at them.


One of the bullets cracked open the front windshield, just missing Verhoeven’s hand and hitting the control panel,


Police later found three bullet-holes in the abandoned car, Beeld writes.


Verhoeven stopped and two armed black men jumped out and forced the four tourists from their Nissan vehicle.


“They shouted that they were looking for money,’ said Haagenaars.


After looting the Dutch of their valuables, the two armed men drove away with the Nissan and the VW Golf at high speed, back in the direction of the petrol station – leaving the tourists stranded next to the road.


They straggled to a farm house about 100m from the scene and sought help – and the police found the rental Nissan about 2km from the crime scene, abandoned next to the road.


The car had three bullet holes and police picked up a spent cartridge from a 9mm handgun at the scene.


The tourists lost all their belongings: cameras, cell phones, video cameras, handbags, wallets and personal documents.


This was the third time the Haagenaars visited South Africa. They were going to leave for Cape Town on Thursday, but will now remain in the Lowveld while they wait for another rental car and their replacement passports from the Dutch embassy.


They plan to return to the Netherlands on 18 December.


White River detective-captain Erhard Ströh said no-one has been arrested.


“Our investigation is hampered by the fact that there are no security cameras at the petrol station, ‘ said he.

Bezogen auf die WM sollte jeder Besucher sich darüber im Klaren sein, dass das größte Problem für ihn nicht die Sicherheit in den Stadien sein wird. Das größte Problem wird der sichere Transport zwischen der jeweiligen Unterkunft und dem Stadion sowie der Transport zwischen den Spielorten sein. Darüber hinaus finden die Spiele der deutschen Nationalmannschaft in Durban und Johannesburg ab 20.30 Uhr statt. Und das in einem Land, in dem Touristen davon abgeraten wird, nach Einbruch der Dunkelheit unterwegs zu sein.