Cape Town – The murder of Scarborough surfer David Wolfromm has brought the entire coastal community together in a mass community event on the beach where they discussed how to stop the violence.
About 200 residents from Scarborough, Ocean View, Masiphumelele and Kommetjie all gathered on the beach to form a human heart for peace within and between their communities.
The 38-year-old father of three was murdered on May 8 in what is believed to have been a botched hijacking, after which the suspects later torched Wolfromm’s new Nissan X-Trail - with him in the boot, covered with a towel, after having been shot.
Scarborough resident Sally Berg said the gathering was what Wolfromm would have wanted.
“David was a spiritual leader, a very lovely man, part of a strong community and we believe he would have wanted us to follow up after his death to show it wasn’t meaningless, that significant change could come from his death.”
Video: Tracey Adams/African News Agency (ANA)
Berg said the Ocean View community reached out to her to organise the gathering.
“It was a beautiful experience. We hugged each other and spoke - you felt new energy of people wanting change.“I spoke a bit about my feelings, as a collective apology was necessary from the white community for the lack of acknowledgement towards the black and coloured community for the loss they experience on a daily basis. It feels like white lives still matter more than coloured lives.”
Berg said she wanted to see a change in white communities.
The communities of Ocean View, Scarborough and surrounds gathered at Wtsand Beach to commemorate the life of a murdered 38-year-old Scarborough man. The victim was burnt in the boot of his vehicle after a botched hijacking at the beach on 08 May. Picture: Tracey Adams/African News Agency (ANA)
“White systems created the suffering so badly and we are not doing enough as ordinary white people to say ‘I see you, I care, I want to be of service to you, to help make a difference’.
“It starts with daily acts of kindness making sure you are paying workers a generous wage so they can afford to feed their families.”
She said the participants all exchanged numbers and had begun discussing ideas of how the white community could offer support through homework classes for kids, yoga, taking kids on trips and having picnics to “mingle and hear each other’s stories”.