Durban - ‘The South African government has failed me.”
These were the words of Malawian Yusuf Jake who, together with two friends, was almost killed during a xenophobic attack at his Crossmoor, Chatsworth, home earlier this month.
Jake, 30, was among thousands of foreigners who were placed at the Chatsworth refugee campsite in Westcliff, Chatsworth, earlier this week.
He was at home when a group of men posing as visitors attacked him and his friend Sam Justin, and a man known only as Eric.
The men threw him out of his house, cut off part of his ear, kicked him in his abdomen and tried to gouge out his eyes.
“All I heard them say was we were foreigners,” said Jake, speaking through a translator, on Saturday.
“The attackers had so much hatred in their eyes. Their intention was to kill us, but we are glad the police arrived in time,” he said.
Jake moved to Durban in 2010. It was during this time that many other Malawians entered the country. He came to the city in the hope of finding employment as unemployment was rife in Malawi.
“I was able to find a job as a machine operator at a very promising company and everything looked up for me. We were so content living in this beautiful country. But there is nothing left for me now. I am afraid they may strike again, and this time I may not be so lucky,” he said.
While Jake and Justin are contemplating returning to Malawi, Eric is nowhere to be found.
“We last saw him in hospital, recovering from his injuries, but somewhere along the line he was separated from us. We hope he is safe.”
He said he was saddened that foreigners were being subjected to such “torture and pain”.
“My only crime was hoping for a better future. I am sad to leave this country, but I do not want to end up being murdered,” he said.
Sunday Tribune