Voices of Joburg: Living in and loving the bad city
JOHANNESBURG – Nomsa Qobose tells City Buzz of her frightening ordeal in the city.
City Buzz found a happy-go-lucky character in the city and she had a story to tell.
The woman with a cheery disposition is Nomsa Qobose and despite the harrowing ordeal she faced in the city, it is still a place she enjoys to live in. She explained that she has been robbed three times in Johannesburg and said that none of the bystanders tried to help.
“One evening around 6pm, my friend, Portia and I were on our way home,” she began the story of her most recent incident.
“Portia is a fast walker and she was a bit ahead when I felt a gun on my back and a deep voice asking for my cellphone. For a second, I went blank and just came to a standstill. Portia was still walking as she hadn’t realised that we were getting mugged. Once she realised this, instead of walking on, she walked back and we got robbed together.”
She went on to explain that while the robbers stole their cellphones, bags and wallets, they were ‘kind enough’ to at least give her ID book to her before walking away as if nothing had happened.
Able to put her own feelings of fear and anger aside, she considered the struggles that the robbers may have been going through.
“To what extent do people have to go to in order to put food on the table every night? I’m not making an excuse for what they did, but it does leave you thinking hard about the issues facing South Africa and the rippling effects it has on all of us.”
Residing in the CBD, however, Qobose decided to rather put the situation behind her, remembering that another day is not guaranteed, but being a little more cautious with her belongings and not being fearful of the streets, but wary of them.
