Fire victims clear the air
Fire victims have taken much criticism since their plight was highlighted in the local media.
Fire victim, Nella Bezuidenhout, has been reproached by members of the public who criticised the fact that only her family benefited from generosity of the community, when another family living in the same house had also suffered immense losses.
After her third angry phonecall, Mrs Bezuidenhout decided that she needed to clear any misconceptions around the tragedy that claimed her home and all her belongings.
The Bezuidenhout family lost their Ncandu Park home in a blaze two weeks ago. They consider themselves lucky that no-one was hurt and thanked the community in an article in last week’s edition of the Newcastle Advertiser for for its generosity in helping them get back on their feet.
However, they were criticised when the Huiseman family made a public plea for assistance having also lost their possessions in the fire.
“The community is under the impression that only we benefited, when another family lost just as much. All the furniture in the house belonged to me, and my family really had to start over from scratch.The Huisemans had been living in a room in the house for 12 days, when the fire gutted our home. They did lose their television, DVD player, hi-fi, toiletries, and their baby’s nappies, and they say that their clothes were damaged by the smoke, but because they hadn’t been living with us for very long and were only intending to stay till the end of the month, that was all they had brought with them. The furniture in their room was also mine. My family, however, had been living in the house for more than 18 months and this was our home,” she explained.
“I hope that this will put the matter to rest,” concluded Mrs Bezuidenhout, who also wished to express heartfelt gratitude to Tian and Karin Potgieter for their unfaltering support during the crisis.
