The areas of lower Richmond Hill and Central are punch drunk and reeling from neglect and crime. Oftentimes we get a wake up call from people foreign to the area and you will be shocked and sad to see how one tourist observed this historical area of Gqeberha.
This video – In Central They is so Many Business Going on but This Shocked Me in Qgeberha South Africa – the creator, Chunguzana, hits the streets of Central and chats to those who live on the streets.
Frankly – the SAPS should be watching videos on YouTube as a crime intelligence exercise.
The interviewees talk of Crystal Meth and Heroin whilst they walk up from the municipal buildings on Govan Mbeki to Evatt and between Hartman and Smith Streets.
The state of the area is heart breaking to see – houses broken down, litter and rubble everywhere.
The main interviewee tells of the SAPS chasing the homeless out, then the drig dealers, then the scrapyards, saying that the SAPS are “fukking skelm” in the way they rid the area of people.
To see the area that they walk through and how much it has degraded into a literal slum is certainly not a view to inspire confidence in our city.
It is like touring a war torn area after the bombs dropped and people fled.
Then the ‘tour’ takes us up alongside Russel Road towards the cemetry where the ‘tour guide’ talks about being saved by a Nigerian after he overdosed on Heroin.
At the bottom of Campbell Street the ‘tour guide’ talks about how the community suffered with needles all over and petty theft on a daily basis. “I only run from th epoilce, nothimg else,” says the guide.
Oh the irony when the ‘tour guide’ talks about the lamp posts from the 1800’s and the old historical buildings without acknowledging the hard work that goes into preserving them. The the ‘influx of Africans from the western regions of Africa’ is blamed for the problems.
The talk is about how many times the homeless cut wire to steal copper using plastic wrapped around a hacksaw blade whilst the power is still on.
‘Uncle Eddie’ – from the Richmond Hill area is cited as a man to be afraid of.
The ‘tour guide’ talks about his 26 Brothers. The 26 gang forms one-third of the traditional “Nongoloza” alliance, working alongside the 27s (the enforcers and legal judges) and the 28s (focused on combat and protection).
Entering Central the talk turns of how people’s belongings are stolen and sold off with the ‘tour guide’ saying that even aunties ID books are sold only for them to find out later that they have been ‘married’ to a Sudanese for the last 10 years.
The filth along Rose Street is shocking.
Towarsd the end of the video they turn down Havelock Street as the ‘tour guide’ wants to have a look saying that he hears that the Somalis cleaned the street. Yes, it was much cleaner than Rose Street.
Just listening to the ‘tour guide’ one gets a sense of just how many people from other African countries have settled into this historic area – almost a redo of colonial times – only with less dignity.
