When a white South African, Brandon Huntley, was granted asylum in Canada after claims of being the victim of racist violence, many of us - Richmark Sentinel included - went pear-shaped and labeled the board who had approved it, a bunch of morons who never took the time or trouble to investigate the reality of the situation.
Martin [& Janet Stern, robbed and stabbed by two black men in Hermanus] told a reporter from the Cape Times newspaper that it was their faith that got them through the ordeal. “Janet said to me in Hebrew: `We're going to pray to God,' and then they left us,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.
Insp. David Payne with the Hermanus Police Service said he visited the couple, who are recovering in hospital in the coastal vacation town popular with tourists. Payne said the couple were hiking along a trail deep in the Kleinrivier Mountains when they were attacked by two black men.
The attack, two weeks after an armed assault on a 70-year-old Canadian priest that left a [French] priest dead, is provoking another round of soul searching over South Africa's high rate of violent crime, along with fears that the country's tourism business could be damaged as the soccer tournament approaches.
Erasmus police station Commissioner Superintendent Sam Mogonyana said: “I am confident that we will catch the bastards who did this in the house of God. It is very sad, I have no words to describe this. It is barbaric.”
Fr Blondel is the fourth Catholic priest to be killed in South Africa in 2009. The three other priests are: Fr Daniel Matsela Mahula, in the Diocese of Klerksdorp, killed on 27 February while driving his car, by four highwaymen near Bloemhof; Fr Lionel Sham, parish priest of Mohlakeng (Archdiocese of Johannesburg), killed on 7 March, and Fr Ernst Plöchl, a 78 year old Austrian missionary of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Mariannhill, killed on 31 May in the Cape Province of South Africa.
South Africans need to think long and hard about this culture of violence and intolerance so that some day they can laugh off the claims of the Brandon Huntley's of this world. That day is unfortunately still some way off.
 |
Stabbed Canadian couple's trail leads straight to Huntley
Mike Trapido, Richmark Sentinel
Friday, December 25, 2009
 “Criminal violence remained high and tens of thousands of under-18s belonged to armed gangs. Gang members deliberately targeted vulnerable young people for recruitment. Young gang members were reportedly used to carry out attacks because, if arrested and tried, they were less likely to face a long prison sentence. Initiation rituals included rape or killing rival gang members, and gang members adopted particular styles of clothing and were encouraged to have gang tattoos and learn the gang’s history. Attempts to leave a gang could be punished by death.” |
When a white South African, Brandon Huntley, was granted asylum in Canada after claims of being the victim of racist violence, many of us - Richmark Sentinel included - went pear-shaped and labeled the board who had approved it, a bunch of morons who never took the time or trouble to investigate the reality of the situation.
South Africa, after all, does not condone racism in any form and had this panel bothered to check their facts, they would have noticed that Huntley was one of 5 million whites, rather than some sort of isolated survivor from the switch over from apartheid to a multiracial democracy.
The Canadian government itself then slammed the ruling as perverse, irrational and based on a "jaundiced assessment" of South Africa.
This however is all going to come under intense scrutiny following the stabbing of two white expatriates, now living in Canada, who were hiking in Fernkloof Nature Reserve near Hermanus.
Janet and Martin Stern were stabbed in the back, pushed us to the ground - where Martin was hit in the face with a rock - robbed and then bound. They managed to break free after their assailants had left and summon help from the Joubert family from Bloemfontein. This has resulted in their being hospitalized from which they have now fortunately been released.
Needless to say that if you Google this story, with reference to Canada, you will find that all of their newspapers have covered it and will no doubt be following it up with the Sterns upon their return home. Questions being asked about the so-called" jaundiced assessment" of South Africa by the board in Huntley and whether in fact it was not accurate after all.
The fact that nowhere (correct us if we are wrong) does it appear what race the attackers were, is not going to be noticed in the clamor to regard South Africa as a no-white zone. That just a few months away from the 2010 World Cup, the venue is a crime-infested cesspit.
The Canadians are going to spin this one over and over and form the opinion that South Africa is not the place to go if you are white. Their government might tell them of the reality, the South African tourism board might paint a vastly different picture but in the end each time we send home body bags and victims of extreme violence the damage done to South Africa's reputation in the countries from which these victims emanate, is enormous.
Unfortunately Canada is by no means unique with examples from many countries around the world.
Worse, South Africa is also not a country for black foreigners either as the horrendous violence of xenophobia demonstrated. Countries who had risked enormous backlash from the apartheid regime in order to liberate black South Africans watched in horror as their citizens were attacked and killed, driven into sanctuaries and the subject of verbal abuse.
An absolute disgrace and a kick in the teeth for South Africa's African friends.
Recently we were even treated to claims of a new threat in the form of the "yellow peril" which makes one shudder at the thinking that has to be going on behind that one.
The answer to this national disgrace is not to tell the police to shoot anything that moves, as an innocent 3 year old boy found out recently. It lies in a credible criminal justice system underpinned by politicians who walk the talk.
A good example being Kader Asmal in his quest to find justice over Judge John Hlophe. Give the man a medal and pin his picture up in parliament - there is a role model for government to follow.
South Africans need to think long and hard about this culture of violence and intolerance so that some day they can laugh off the claims of the Brandon Huntley's of this world. That day is unfortunately still some way off.
» » » » [Richmark Sentinel (PDF)]
Canadian couple attacked [by two black men] while hiking in S. Africa
By DONNA CASEY, QMI Agency
Last Updated: 23rd December 2009, 1:58pm (Emphasis Added)
A Toronto couple who were stabbed, stoned and left for dead on a remote hiking trail in a South African nature reserve are lucky to be alive, according to the police officer investigating the violent attack.
Martin Stern, 59, and his wife Janet, 57, are recovering in a South African hospital after a vicious attack in the Fernkloof Nature Reserve Thursday.
The couple, who are South African natives but have lived in Canada for 23 years, were attacked in a violent robbery along a hiking trail Tuesday that saw the pair bound for two hours before being airlifted to safety.
Insp. David Payne with the Hermanus Police Service said he visited the couple, who are recovering in hospital in the coastal vacation town popular with tourists.
“They are fine and have stabilized and will be discharged (Thursday),” Payne said on Wednesday.
Payne said the couple were hiking along a trail deep in the Kleinrivier Mountains when they were attacked by two black men.
The attackers bound their hands behind their backs and stabbed them several times in the shoulders, neck and legs.
Other hikers came upon the couple, said Payne.
“If it hadn’t have been for the other hikers, I think they would have died up there,” said Payne.
Police said the attackers are still being sought by police.
Western Cape Tourism MEC Alan Winde condemned the attack, and said it shed a bad light on the tourist hotspot.
"We must not allow these kinds of attacks or crimes against anybody in our country, specifically because the eyes of the world are on us at the moment, as we are gearing to host one of the biggest events in the world," Winde told South Africa's Eyewitness News, referring to the 2010 FIFA World Cup of soccer, to be hosted by South African next summer.
» » » » [Toronto Sun (PDF)]
Canadian Couple Stabbed [by two black men] on African Hike
Brendan Kennedy, Toronto Star
Published On Thu Dec 24 2009
 Marten & Janet Stern. Photo: Leah Bader |
A Toronto couple viciously attacked on a hiking trail in South Africa are recovering in hospital near Cape Town.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce executive Martin Stern, 59, and his wife Janet, 57, were stabbed, stoned and beaten by two men, who tied them up and robbed them of their digital cameras, cash and cellphones before shoving them into a bush and leaving them bound and bleeding on a remote coastal mountain.
The attack comes little more than six months before South Africa hosts the 2010 FIFA World Cup, amid existing concerns about the country's high crime rate.
"We're just grateful that they're alive," said Leah Bader, one of the couple's three daughters.
The couple, both originally from Cape Town, were walking on a trail in the Fernkloof Nature Reserve in Hermanus, a popular whale-watching tourist destination about 120 kilometres southeast of Cape Town, when they were attacked around 6:30 Tuesday morning.
Bader, who spoke to her parents by phone late Tuesday night, said they walked past the two men along the trail and were attacked shortly after from behind.
"My father said hello to them ... and then they felt sharp pains where they had been stabbed."
The attackers then used the couple's shoelaces to tie them up and continued to beat them and throw rocks at them, becoming frustrated by the lack of money and valuables her parents were carrying, Bader said.
"They left them there bleeding very heavily," she said, adding that at one point the muggers held a knife to Janet's throat and demanded more money.
The couple were discovered by other hikers more than two hours later and taken by helicopter to the local hospital in Hermanus.
Both active members in Toronto's Orthodox Jewish community, the couple prayed together as they struggled to stay alive in the hours before help arrived, Bader said.
Martin told a reporter from the Cape Times newspaper that it was their faith that got them through the ordeal. "Janet said to me in Hebrew: `We're going to pray to God,' and then they left us," the newspaper quoted him as saying.
The Sterns immigrated to Toronto in 1986. Martin is an investment adviser and first vice-president at CIBC Wood Gundy. Janet is retired.
Government officials concerned about the country's image in the lead-up to the World Cup immediately condemned the attack.
"We must not allow these kinds of attacks or crimes against anybody in our country, specifically because the eyes of the world are on us at the moment, as we are gearing to host one of the biggest events in the world," said Alan Winde, an official in the Western Cape government.
The Sterns visit South Africa every year around this time to see Janet's parents who live in Cape Town. They walked the trails of the nature preserve often on their holiday without incident.
A sign posted outside the Fernkloof reserve warns hikers about crime in the area. "After recent assaults in the reserve all hikers are using trails at own risk," the sign states. "Be vigilant at all times. Advisable to not carry valuables with you on hikes, including passports, IDs and credit cards."
The sign also advises trekkers to inform local authorities of their hiking plans.
Martin was stabbed in the back, near his kidneys, and Janet was stabbed in the arm. Photos in the South African media show the couple talking from their hospital beds. Martin's face appears scratched and his hand is bandaged.
Police in helicopters searched the area, but did not find the robbers, or the couple's cameras or jewellery.
A foreign affairs spokeswoman said consular officials were helping the couple.
» » » » [Toronto Star]
» » [Montreal Gazette: Canadian couple stoned, left for dead in South Africa]
» » [Toronto Sun: Toronto Couple Beaten, Robbed in South Africa]
[Black] South African violence strikes Canadians
Geoffrey York and Tu Thanh Ha, Globe & Mail
Published on Thursday, Dec. 24, 2009 12:00AM EST
 Question: Is there justification (as a result of crime in SA) for foreign nations to grant asylum to white South Africans? |
Fears over high violent crime rate, effect on tourism envelop World Cup host nation after couple stabbed, beaten [by two black men].
A brutal assault on a Canadian financial executive and his wife, the second violent attack on Canadians this month [by black Africans], has triggered headlines and recriminations in South Africa as the country prepares for an influx of foreign visitors during the World Cup.
Martin Stern, a CIBC Wood Gundy vice-president, and his wife, Janet, were repeatedly stabbed and beaten with rocks on a hiking trail, robbed of their jewellery, digital cameras and cellphones, tied up with shoelaces and left bleeding on the remote mountain.
The attack, two weeks after an armed assault on a 70-year-old Canadian priest that left a second priest dead, is provoking another round of soul searching over South Africa's high rate of violent crime, along with fears that the country's tourism business could be damaged as the soccer tournament approaches.
The attacks have led to front-page headlines in South African newspapers, sparking new questions about safety for the half-million foreigners who will visit the country next June and July. President Jacob Zuma has promised to reduce crime, but a spate of armed robberies at shopping malls has prompted South African police to threaten "lethal force" against criminals.
Mr. Stern, 59, and Mrs. Stern, 57, were found by hikers about two hours after they were attacked on Tuesday morning. They were flown out by helicopter, but reportedly lost a lot of blood and were hospitalized in serious condition.
Mr. Stern is a vice-president and financial adviser at CIBC Wood Gundy in Toronto. He and his wife emigrated to Canada about 23 years ago from South Africa.
"They were in quite a lot of shock, and in a lot of pain," local fire chief Riaan Jacobs told the Cape Times newspaper, describing the rescue operation. He said they were unable to walk or properly communicate when they were found.
A medic was dropped down onto the hiking trail to stabilize them before they were put on stretchers and airlifted out. Photos later showed them bandaged in a hospital. They had been stabbed in the shoulders, back, neck and legs.
One of the couple's three daughters, Daniella Weinerman, said her parents were recovering. "Thank God, they're doing well. They're fine," she said yesterday afternoon, adding that her parents were not going to change their travel plans despite the attack.
Mr. Stern is a former amateur boxer, according to an acquaintance, who said the couple regularly travelled to South Africa to visit Mrs. Stern's parents who live there.
A biography posted on his financial firm's website said Mr. Stern was born in Cape Town and studied at Leeds University in Britain. It said Mr. Stern's client base consists of "up-and-coming professionals, business owners and octogenarians."
Ms. Weinerman said her parents have lived in Toronto since 1986.
Mr. Stern is an Orthodox Jew and has conducted seminars to help people who intend to move to Israel plan their finances.
Yesterday, he told South African media that the two attackers had passed them on the hiking trail, then attacked them from behind without any provocation.
The attack took place on a mountain hiking trail in a nature reserve near Hermanus, a famed whale-watching town on the Atlantic Ocean, east of Cape Town. Because of other mugging attacks recently, the nature reserve was posted with a large sign, warning hikers to be "vigilant at all times" and not to carry any valuables, passports or credit cards.
A day before the attack, a group of hikers found a decomposed body on a hiking trail in the same nature reserve. At least four hikers have been attacked in the reserve, but the attack on the Canadians was the first since security was boosted recently, local media reported.
A senior official of the Western Cape government, Alan Winde, expressed worry about what the attack on the Canadians would do for South Africa's image in the lead-up to the World Cup. "We must not allow these kinds of attacks on anybody in our country, specifically because the eyes of the world are on us at the moment, as we are gearing up to host one of the biggest events in the world," he told a South African media agency.
Earlier this month, a Canadian priest narrowly survived an armed assault that killed another priest. Father Guido Bourgeois, a 70-year-old Catholic missionary from Canada, was able to barricade himself in a room when his house was attacked by armed robbers near Johannesburg, but another priest in the same house, 70-year-old Father Louis Blondel of France, was shot dead. He was the fourth Catholic priest to be killed in South Africa this year.
» » » » [Globe and Mail (PDF)]
[French] Priest shot dead in cold blood: Four [black] thugs knocked on his door and opened fire.
Pertunia Ratsatsi, Sowetan
08 December 2009
 SLAIN AFTER MIDNIGHT: Father Louis Blondel |
A CATHOLIC priest has given a harrowing account of how three “boys and a tall man” murdered his colleague 74-year-old Father Louis Blondel in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Father Guido Bourgedis of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Diepsloot, south of Pretoria, told Sowetan: “Three young boys aged between 12 and 16 entered the building through the burglar bars in the room opposite mine.
“They entered my room and when I tried to talk to them I was told to keep quiet or else I would be killed. “One of them demanded money and I gave them R50 and my cellphone. They pulled out my clothes and even searched behind a picture on the wall for a safe.”
The priest said the youths then ordered him to give them the keys to the front door – where “a tall man” was standing. “They forced me to open the door so he could enter. They asked me where the other pastor was sleeping and I showed them.
“They then knocked on his bedroom door. Blondel opened the door and asked what was happening but the next thing I heard was a gunshot … without a word spoken.”
Bourgedis then ran into the kitchen. “I blocked the door with the refrigerator … I opened the window and screamed for help.
“The neighbours blew a whistle to alert the community about the intruders.”
The thugs then ran off, taking two computers and Bourgedis’ cellphone. The priest said that this was not the first time he had come face to face with criminals.
“I have been hijacked five times before. I think I will get scared at night but I will not stop visiting the community because there are good and kind people out here.”
Church member Malindi Nkutha said: “I cannot believe that young children were involved in such a horrible crime. We are so scared and we do not feel safe. Where are we supposed to run to if this can happen in the house of God.
“We were planning to throw a surprise party for the two pastors on December 16 to celebrate their first anniversary being with the church.”
Erasmus police station Commissioner Superintendent Sam Mogonyana said: “I am confident that we will catch the bastards who did this in the house of God.
“It is very sad, I have no words to describe this. It is barbaric.”
» » » » [Sowetan (PDF)]
» » [Catholic News Agency: French Priest Killed in South Africa (PDF)]
» » [Sunday Times: Parish Priest Gunned Down in Diepsloot (PDF)]
» » [Sunday Times: Neighbours Help Nab Suspected Priest Killers]
» » [Citizen: Five Teenagers Nabbed for Priests Murder]
» » [Independent Catholic News: South Africa: Fourth missionary priest murdered (PDF)]
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