Man gunned down in robbery
A Somali man was critically wounded when shot multiple times during an attempted robbery in Pretoria West last week.
Andrew Ngozo
A 32-year-old Somali man was critically wounded when shot multiple times during an attempted robbery in Pretoria West last week.
Best Care spokesperson Xander Loubser said the victim was shot on the corner of President Burgers and Christoffel streets at approximately 07:30 on Friday.
“The victim was in his car when several men tried to rob him. Wounded, he still managed to drive away but crashed into a tree,” he said.
Loubser said the victim was not injured in the crash. “The victim had suffered several gunshots wounds, and paramedics took him to Kalafong hospital where he is recovering,” he said adding that police were investigating.
In another incident on Thursday evening, a shop owned by another Somali was almost robbed on the corner of Christoffel and WF Nkomo streets.
The criminal acts seemingly directed at Somalis have not fazed the Somali community in the metro that has become home to thousands of Somalians – most of whom have fled political and economic turmoil in their home country.
Some travelled for many months and were uncertain they would reach their destination – South Africa. Today, a section of the city centre along E’skia Mphahlele Drive behind the Marabastad home affairs refugee reception office is a thriving ‘little Somalia’.
Ali Abdi and Maxhamad Usman arrived in South Africa in 2005.
“Using my life’s savings, I set up a small grocery, which has been thriving but it has not been easy,” Abdi said.
Like any business, Abdi said, his was often a target of the rampant criminal acts aimed at small businesses. “I don’t believe that I am targeted because of my nationality. Crime doesn’t know nationality and most of us believe that we fall victim to opportunist criminals,” he said.
He said integration into the South African way of life had not been as smooth as his business operation. “Although we are Africans, we come from a different part of the continent and our culture is very different to that of South Africans. Most of the foods we ate at home are available here, and even the local dishes are not so different from traditional Somali ones,” he said.
For Abdi, his greatest obstacle integrating into the local culture, after more than 10 years in South Africa, has been language. “Our languages are very different and it is difficult to learn any of the ones spoken in South Africa. We only had one Somali language and we use that among ourselves. We speak English with our customers and other people. Here and there we throw in a local word or two,” he said.
Abdi said they hardly spoke English in Somalia hence most of his countrymen had to learn the language to survive here .
Although they came from different parts of Somalia, in South Africa they are brothers and sisters. “We have to unite in order to make the best of our time in South Africa. We strive to make an honest living and I don’t know any criminal who is Somali. Instead, we have boosted the economy and created jobs.”
One of the elders in the Somali community, Ali-nor Muhamed, said his biggest concern was the constant harassment of Somalis by authorities. “Ordinary people do not harass us that much because they are our customers but the police and home affairs officials don’t care whether you are legal or not. Tthe police can bundle you into their van for no reason but a R100 bribe.
“At the Marabastad home affairs, the corruption is worse. It starts with the security guards right up to the officials inside. An official can ask up to R2 000 just to process your papers. That is very bad because contrary to popular belief we are not as ‘loaded’ as people make us out to be. We are just a desperate people trying to make the best of our individual situations,” said Muhamad.
He said the home affairs department was dragging its feet to process Somali applications for permanent residency or citizenship. “Some of my countrymen have had to wait as long as eight years to get a response from the department. Many are still waiting. No one from the department ever seems to have any answers for us,” he said.
Muhamad lamented crime within the Marabastad precinct alleging it was mostly foreign nationals against Somalis. “We are safe only to the extent that there are many of us here… so we are our brothers’ keepers,” he said.
Muhamad urged the government and the department of home affairs for transparency in the processing of their papers to prevent corruption.
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