Changes happening that we had never seen before

source

This was taken a few years ago, but this is what the beaches look like over the new years festivities every year in Durban. This was a culture shock to the whites and was something they needed to get used to quickly.

Continued from the previous two posts and this is from what I saw and experienced.

I was living one road away from North Beach in Durban. It used to be pleasant and one could go for walks along the beachfront. We never really had any issues with rowdy beach goers or crime. I was working as a sales representative for a cigarette company at the time and was still getting called up for my camps every year. They varied from 30 days to 60 days and it was luck of the draw. The Army can call you up for the next 10 years after you finished your National Service. Companies are not allowed to refuse the Governments request and it became part of life. Some got lucky and never received one call up whilst others had them every year.

I hated this more than ever as I had a young family and was eager and ambitious to get on with my career. I knew someone and wangled a cushy post up the road about 10 minutes away from where I lived. Township patrols were still going on and the violence had escalated amongst the ANC supporters and The Inkhata Freedom Party (predominantly Zulu's).

The Inkhata Freedom Party (IFP) had a very weak leader though and it soon became obvious that they wouldn't have the majority. Mandela was of Xhosa origin and we have to understand the importance of that. I had Zulu workers me the one day and a truck arrived from Johannesburg with 4 Xhosa's onboard. The Zulu's wouldn't help them off load the truck. There was a hatred amongst the tribes especially with the older generation. They respected their Zulu King and went along with his wishes. The younger Zulu's wanted change and they saw that with the ANC and that is why they got into power.

source

Inkhata Freedom party supporters being fired on by gunmen (ANC).Police caught up in the middle of the intimidation.

Intimidation and faction fighting was what the army patrols were sorting out and it wasn't fun. The ANC had a call to arms for all their members and there were hot spots that you just avoided like the plague. Intimidation by using "necklaces" which is a car tire slotted over someones head and filled with petrol and then set alight. Very cruel and used by the saintly "Winnie Mandela" and her followers. trust me she was no angel and most likely the reason why Nelson shunned her.

source

The beachfront at weekends and over festive holidays became a very unpleasant place as the white beaches became black beaches. The whites stayed away as this was not normal behavior as we knew it. Goats would be sacrificed on the pavements and the party would go well on into the night. We decided to move as it became a little hairy. A young lady had been raped 6 times over a four month period who lived two doors away from us. My wife was chased whilst pushing our daughter in her pram and I head the screams and went running. If we had stayed there any longer I am sure I would have regretted it and most likely ended up killing someone.

source

The beachfront bar called Magoo's was bombed by ANC terrorists killing a number of individuals. The culprit was someone called Robert Mc Bride which was important later on.Work wise, we would go out in convoys looking in the rural locations during the day to see what shops and stores had survived the violence. Many were burnt to the ground and many shop keepers were murdered saying it was political unrest but more like an excuse to steal.In those days we were always armed and still had the police on our side as back up.

source
Sugar cane fields were transformed into newly created suburbs and business parks.

source
Transformed as this is what a small part of it looks like today.

Everyone in those days used to shop in the city center and it wasn't that pleasant. The change happened when Business parks were starting to be built in the suburbs followed by shopping centers. Along the Durban North Coast above Umhlangha Rocks were huge tracks of Sugar cane fields. This was ripped up and replaced with houses and two shopping centers. Businesses moved out of the city center and it became more pleasant and less dangerous. I had a contact at Cadbury's who was an ex Brigadier in the Police Force and I used to get updates over a cup of coffee weekly. I used to drive away with the information for my company and a boot full of sweets traded for a few cartons of cigarettes.

source

It was rumored that De Klerk was meeting with Mandela on regular occasion sand something was brewing. The day finally came and it was announced Mandela would be released in the near future. Uncertainty and fear gripped the white population and we were very uncertain as what this all meant. We had been fed propaganda for years and most of it was lies. I can remember bumping into the Sky News team who were packing up their offices in Durban. I asked the one guy what was happening and his comment struck home saying "our job is done and the government has fallen".

source

An interim government was put together trying to please everyone and that wasn't good enough as the black people wanted it all. This wasn't going to work but believe they should have stuck with it as changes needed to be done properly. The blacks had no experience about handling finances and law and order. They had been fighting the law for years and with their call to arms had most of their people owning illegal firearms. not just pistols, but AK 47's.

Schooling changed as now black kids were allowed into the government schools. I remember my old school had a black minister come and have a look around and when he realized other ministers kids were still going to private schools he changed his mind. It was a status thing to them showing everyone what they could afford. Areas that had two high schools combined leaving the one school for the black kids filling up the other school to capacity not allowing an influx of blacks in. They were trying to protect what they had and were trying to be smart by playing a game.

source
Head of the Police Force Mc Bride.

The group areas act was a big thing and it was thrown away allowing anyone to live wherever they wanted. Durban's city center was becoming a slum like most city centers around the country except for Cape Town. Head offices of banks and businesses were now turned into accommodation for black families flooding to the cities seeking work. Not much changed for them though as the money stayed in the hands of the ANC cronies and anyone connected with them. If you had done time in prison for the struggle you were rewarded with government posts. Mc Bride who was the bar bomber became Chief of Police. This was going to be a rough ride for everyone, white and black.

source

Within months I had organised a transfer overseas as I was not going to get caught up in whatever happened next.I wanted my children being raised in something that was normal and not knowing and seeing the difference in someones color. I wasn't overly happy how it was arranged as I thought for it to work properly an interim government should at least rule for 10 years. The changes were so drastic after so long being one sided it needed time to fix and do it properly. This was not going to be the case and the ANC would walk this one. The only hope for the whites lay with the Zulu Inkhata Party, but the ANC came home with a landslide.

To be continued in the next post. I hope you are enjoying what I experienced over this period and it just feels weird writing about it. Still more to come for those that are interested.