Pta family’s escape as holiday turns into nightmare
“The shop was open for two hours and we stood in line to buy what little we could get, as they had quickly run out of bread, eggs and fresh milk.”
What was supposed to be a quiet holiday for a Pretoria family in Port Edward, ended in a nightmare when apparent looters struck the nearby town, keeping them from leaving their holiday resort.
Celeste Wolvaardt along with her husband and children, escaped the chaos of violent riots and lootings in KwaZulu-Natal this week – which had even reached the small resort town situated on the south coast of the province.
“We had planned to leave on Monday, but then the trouble started on Sunday,” said Wolvaardt.
“We didn’t think it was safe to leave, so we waited a few more days.”
Her husband Kobus uploaded to YouTube a video taken by drone on Tuesday, showing apparent looters storming several shops and stores in town.
Watch here:
Wolvaardt thanked patrollers, community and holiday resort security, for keeping rioters out of residential areas.
“We were safe near the beach, and thanks to the massive support of the community who came together to protect their people and homes, there was never a concern for our safety.”
Wolvaardt said there were many false reports of what was happening around them circulating on social media.
“I can understand people are scared and want to warn others, but it made it difficult to tell what was true and what was overly exaggerated.”
Wolvaardt praised the Port Edward community who had jumped in to clean the town after the looters had left.
“There were food taken to the local church to help people who were affected by the looting and everyone just stood together to help where they could – it was truly wonderful to see.”
Wolvaardt said the looting in town, unfortunately, affected food supplies at stores outside.
“On Tuesday, we went to the local store to get a few necessities,” she said.
“The shop was open for two hours and we stood in line to buy what little we could get, as they had quickly run out of bread, eggs and fresh milk.”
The Wolvaardt family left the following day, taking a detour through the Eastern Cape so they could get fuel for their car.
“Some of the fuel stations were also hit and looted during the riots.”
The family did not encounter any more trouble on the road and made it safely home.
“It is really sad what has happened. These people (looters) didn’t just steal from businesses and people who had already suffered loss of income during this pandemic but also caused so much destruction. Who knows how long it will take for SA to heal from this?”
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