Somalis in Nelson Mandela Bay under siege
Protests after four foreign shop owners shot dead amid protection racket war
15 February 2021 - 11:00
By zamandulo malonde AND Zamandulo Malonde
Image: EUGENE COETZEE Somali nationals picket outside the New Brighton police station after several spaza shop owners were shot dead.
Ruthlessly exploited by a protection racket that has already seen four Somalis killed and a fifth critically injured this past week, these men and women feel stuck: if they return home they risk being killed, and if they stay in SA their futures look grim.
Under siege is how they have described their lives as spaza shop owners in Nelson Mandela Bay’s townships.
“He might have been a nobody, but to his family he was a breadwinner,” were the desperate words of one victim’s devastated uncle.
For more on this article, please visit HeraldLIVE.
READ MORE:
South Africa Four Durban men granted bail after alleged robbery of foreigner and girlfriend 3 years ago |
South Africa 'I don't feel safe in SA' — Somali shop owners reeling after Atteridgeville attacks 3 years ago |