| The Desperate
Faces Of Durban |
| South Africa's Tourist Mecca
Unraveling |
| October
2005
After 14 days
of schlepping through Southern Africa, we had crisscrossed South Africa,
Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Swaziland. After collecting 17 new stamps
in our passports, my husband and I decided that touching our toes in the
Indian Ocean might be the perfect ending. We selected the much publicized,
vibrant, seaside city of Durban, South Africa for our “grand finale”.
Durban is billed
as having the most unique, African feel of any South African city, with
a complex interweaving of Zulu, Indian and Dutch African culture. There
are many superlative descriptions of Durban – the 3rd largest city in South
Africa, the busiest port city, and the most visited seaside tourist area
in the country, to name a few. |
|
|
|
|
|
The guidebooks
rave
about the white sand beaches that skirt the entire coastline of Durban,
where tourists flock to enjoy the warm Indian Ocean waters, of delectable
seafood and scrumptious Indian curry food.
| Search
4Escape - The International Lifestyles Search Engine |
| -
4Escape is a search engine that searches our network of websites each of
which shares a common theme: International relocation, living ? investing
overseas, overseas jobs, embassies, maps, international real estate, asset
protection, articles about how to live ? invest overseas, Caribbean properties
and lifestyles, overseas retirement, offshore investments, our yacht broker
portal, our house swap portal, articles on overseas employment, international
vacation rentals, international vacation packages, travel resources,
every embassy in the world, maps of the world, our three very popular eZines
. . . and, as they are fond to say, a great deal more. |
|
|
The Casino
and Entertainment Park owned and operated by Sun International provides
the visitor with evening excitement. The Indian Market, the Jumah Mosque,
and the Victorian Market are consistently linked together as an essential
walking tour to breathe in all the smells and soak up all the sights of
a culturally blended community of Muslim, Zulu, White, Indian and Black
cultures. |
|
|
| It sounded
like an environment that seasoned international travelers immerse themselves
into. We planned our itinerary carefully, jamming it as full as possible
during our short two-day stay. We followed the recommendations carefully
and chose a hotel conveniently located in the center of the Golden Mile
– a marine promenade fronting the beach between North and South coastal
areas. Reportedly, this section is chocked full of restaurants, curio tents
filled with African handicrafts vended by Zulu ladies and hundreds of people
just enjoying the beachfront energy.
The travel
guides we consulted made minor mention – no more than a sentence - about
not wearing expensive jewelry when out walking about and not walking in
isolated areas at night. These tips sounded like common sense rules for
any large city in any country. |
|
|
Offshore
Resources Gallery
|
|
|
| We took the
precautions suggested, removed watches and jewelry, divided up our Rand
and tucked the currency in inconspicuous places on our person. With me
being a travel writer, and my husband being the photographer component
to this duo, the camera has gone with us to every corner of the world.
A photographer cannot capture the essence of a culture if the camera is
locked in the hotel safe. A photographer takes pictures – and the tool
of this trade is his camera. So, at 3pm, hours before dusk, all buttoned
up and stripped down, we and the camera set out to explore Durban. The
superlative adjectives for Durban were about to exbound – and astound!
We left the
hotel, excited and eager as the familiar, travel adrenalin rushed through
our bodies. Without the luxury of foresight, the excitement was about to
turn to fear; the sights and sounds were about to become ugly; the zest
for this culture was about to sour. We were to witness a city that bared
no resemblance to a playground for sand and sea enthusiasts. The next 20
minutes would reflect an environment dotted with desperate souls, who had
nothing to lose, who just lived for the moment and who eyeballed every
tourist as potential prey. |
|
|
| We had just
explored Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve prior to our arrival in Durban.
There, we had witnessed the chase, the hunt, the kill, the spoils, the
interaction between the hunter and the hunted. We respected the relationship
between animal camouflage and survival. Perhaps it was the white pallor
of our skin that made camouflage impossible. We were tourists to be sure
– we couldn’t hide. We were being stalked. We were viewed as being “the
haves”. We walked along the beachfront promenade, winds blowing at almost
gale force strength. My skirt whipped about and sand stung our eyes. We
noticed a man in tattered clothes going through the trash cans every time
we stopped. He trailed silently always keeping us in view. We crossed the
street but he followed. Feeling an uncomfortable churn in our stomachs,
we decided to turn back toward the hotel. It was within eyesight – only
2 blocks to go. Thirty seconds is all it took.As we crossed a street perpendicular
to the beach promenade, I turned to see 5 black teens lunging from behind
a building front, pouncing on my husband. |
|
|
Offshore
Resources Gallery
|
| Escape
From America Magazine - The Magazine To Read To If You Want To Move Overseas |
| - Began Summer
1998 - Now with almost a half million subscribers, out eZine is the resource
that expats, and wantabe expats turn to for information. Our archives
now have thousands of articles and each month we publish another issue
to a growing audience of international readers. Over 100 people a
day subscribe to our eZine. We've been interviewed and referenced
by the Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Washington Post, London Talk Show
Radio, C-Span, BBC Click Online, Yahoo Magazine, the New York Times, and
countless other media sources. Featuring International Lifestyles
~ Overseas Jobs ~ Expat Resources ~ Offshore Investments ~ Overseas
Retirement - Second Passports ~ Disappearing Acts ~ Offshore eCommerce
~ Unique Travel ~ Iconoclastic Views ~ Personal Accounts ~ Views From Afar
~ Two things have ushered us into a world without borders... the end of
the cold war and the advent of the world wide web of global communications
? commerce. Ten years and over one hundred issues! We're just
getting started - Gilly Rich - Editor |
|
|
| Down he went,
engulfed by the predators pawing at his pockets, cutting the camera bag
strap, licking their lips at the take. I attempted to intervene, but of
course I was no match for the pack. They tossed me down onto the macadam,
insistent that their catch would not get away. They had their prize for
the moment – the camera and along with it every single digital image/ memory
card of our entire trip to Southern Africa. They split up and tossed the
camera bag back and forth down the street like a lion playing with his
prize after the kill. I can still see their vacant, hollow faces. In less
than a minute, Durban had become the poorest, the most dangerous, and certainly
the most desperate place in all of Africa for us. As I later learned –
it has also been the deadliest for other tourists who lost more than a
camera and Rand. They lost their lives.
What the
guide books neglect to tell you is that Durban has 45% unemployment,
with an exceptionally high rate of AIDS among its populace. South Africa
has the highest percentage of AIDS cases in all of Africa. The white population
has moved from Durban city center and, similarly in Johannesburg, it has
built new communities in the bordering suburbs for safety reasons. Personal
bodyguards are now the order of the day and townhouse sub-divisions surround
themselves with fences and walls. Businesses cannot function without
armed security guards and even the Durban Police Department has hired private
security firms to defend the station. Informal black settlement communities
near Durban have recently exploded, rioting because the government is not
providing what the people believe was promised. Roving bands of teens,
desperate for a future but who see only hopelessness, have taken matters
into their own hands. They mug, they steal, they take whatever they can
get and they fear no consequences. Unsuspecting travelers congregating
in the beachfront area are their prime source of prey. Tourists’ money,
cameras, or jewelry can be easily fenced at the numerous pawn shops located
one block off the promenade.
Residents in
condos facing the beach have added “Crime Watch” to their daily activities,
for as our mugging was taking place, someone called our hotel to report,
“I
think two of your guests are being mugged as we speak”. Taxi cab drivers
who wait curbside for fares showed us their car trunks full of golf clubs,
which they use to beat the thugs who stalk tourists. One cabbie told me
“we beat their brains out and don’t even bother calling an ambulance”,
aware that their livelihood is affected by all the rampant crime. Municipal
Police, mostly former traffic cops, garbed in purple silk shirts, have
no authority to investigate crimes. They carry no guns, only long night
sticks used to intimidate possible suspects into confessing. They escorted
my husband and me to the crowded, dangerous bus station and to the park
across from the hotel to search for the perpetrators. I was scared even
whiter that they would perhaps lose us in this sea of potential enemies.
The police try, but of course they have more serious offenses to consider
than the habitual mugging of tourists. People who stood not 5 feet from
our incident said that they recognized the thugs as the same who mugged
tourists the week before in that very spot and who were in jail until that
morning. Apparently, incarceration doesn’t deter the desperate.
So instead
of spending tourist dollars in Durban – something that might help the economy
and the plight of the people – we huddled under the covers in our hotel
room, feeling violated and of course angry over our loss of control and
perfectly clicked images. I took out a cheap, back-up, digital camera used
only for emergencies and clicked the sole image of Durban from the hotel
window - the mesmerizing, enchanting, but deceiving Indian Ocean.
We watched
from the safety of the eleventh floor, as groups of teens meandered through
the craft stalls, hunting. It was so clear to us now that we were “The
Crime Watchers”. Instead of writing the piece that I planned, encouraging
other travelers to explore Durban, I am writing a piece, SCREAMING, “Don’t
Even Think of Going There.”
Southern Africa
was incredible in many ways. The wildlife, the vast expanses, the kindness
of hospitality industry staffers and the vistas offered unforgettable experiences
and life-long memories. It is sad to know that the cities in general and
Durban, South Africa in particular have more predators than all of the
savannahs, jungles, and plains that we scoured in 5 African countries while
on safari. It is here that desperation prevails and unfortunately this
desperation will be its ultimate ruination.
.
The following
are the previous articles that Carol wrote for the magazine:
To contact Carol
Click
Here
If you
would like to submit an article to Escape From America Magazine Click
Here
Return
To Magazine Index |
|
 |
|
Article
Index ~ South
Africa Index ~ |
Copyright 1996 -
EscapeArtist.com
Inc. All Rights Reserved