Against all odds

Asha Motala cuts a demure figure as she poses with her trophy. This diminutive thirteen year old managed to take on thousands of kids around South Africa and beat them all with a 100% test mark in the national science Olympiad. Asha comes from a humble family in Chatsworth. Mom is a refugee from Burma and her Dad was in exile in India. Asha said she started reading books at a young age and took on science as a special project. She would like to be a doctor one day. In her home there are the bare necessities. An old fuzzy TV and a tiny book shelf with some old encyclopedias . No computers or internet links just sheer hard work and a gifted brain. You go girl.

Birds of a feather

The only place in South Africa where they breed. White-naped Cranes are native to northeastern Mongolia, northeastern China, and adjacent areas of southeastern Russia. Habitat loss and degradation are critical problems throughout the range of the White-naped Crane. Destruction of wetlands due to agricultural expansion in the breeding range poses the most significant threat. Critical habitat is also threatened by a proposed series of dams in the Amur River basin and the Three Gorges Dam in China. Fortunately for Durban residents we now have five of these rare creatures. Two babies were succesfully hatched this spring at the Umgeni bird park and mom and dad are proudly showing off their chicks to the public. The "teenage" first born has been relegated to his own pen and will eventually be swopped out to breed with other captive cranes.

July 2009 Update. Seems like Durban's famous bird park will be shut down due to lack of funds. A sad day indeed!

Justice for All?

A man is accused of offering woman jobs for a fee. Together with his girlfriend the woman are then murdered and dumped in sugarcane fields. The first clue was when a dog was seen carrying a human head. Searches then revealed the bodies over a period of months. Finally the couple are brought to court. A contingent from the ANC womans league are on hand to protest the abuse of woman and children and lend their support to the victims families. A few are proudly wearing Jacob Zuma T shirts. Some might wonder at the irony of this.

Fatal Sequence of Events

It all started with a tanker parked on the side of the freeway just past the Ballito turnoff on the N3 north. At about five thirty in the morning a small pick up drove into the stationary tanker killing the driver. Polive arrived on the scene and began directing traffic. Unfortunatly the police car had no flashing blue lights and a further vehicle ploughed into the scene. The policewoman redirecting traffic was hit head on and died at the scene. A further two vehicles were then involved before road traffic officials were able to block off the freeway.Two dead and five injured some seriously.

No where to go

First they were hounded out of their own country. When they got to South Africa they were eventually met with a wave of zenophobia and once again had to run for their lives. Albert Park in Durban became their final refuge. They were given tents and food and encouraged to return to the Congo or the communties around Durban where they once lived. Some tried and were beaten up. Others managed to make their way back to the Congo. The tents and food supply were then removed. There is now only a small group of 56 living under plastic sheeting. They await the local authorities next move. The arrival of a TV crew gave the kids something to occupy their dull days with.(Update Oct 13 2008 Refugees are still there)

Operation Smile

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For most people running a standard marathon is an exhausting affair. Two South African athletes have confounded sports scientists by completing a standard forty two kilometer marathon every day for the past three months.
David Grier and Braam Malherbe are no spring chickens but six days a week they set out each morning and run a standard marathon. They have already conquered the great wall of China and are now running the entire coast of Southern Africa - from Namibia to Mozambique. The idea is to raise funds for children with cleft pallets. Operation Smile has literally put a smile on thousands of disadvantaged children's faces who were born with cleft pallets and other facial deformities. (Update 13 Oct 2008 The intrepid two comleted the mammoth run finishing in Mozambique)

What's in a name

Emergency services,police tourists and the locals will have to come to terms with Durban's new street names. To avoid confusion the council will leave the old names up for a year or so to give all a chance to memorise the new names. For some the old ones will never die and no doubt the new lengthy ones will be abbreviated into local street speak. "The times they are a changing" sang one Bob Dylan in the sixties.

Zoom Zuma

South Africa's possible future president was once again fighting for his political future in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. The two day affair was to determine if the trial should indeed go ahead. Inside the court it was the same dreary affair with obscenely rich legal types sitting behind mountains of files and paperwork. Outside the court Zuma fans also stood behind paperwork, this time compliments of the Zuma support machine. No more hand drawn placards but mass produced newspaper style billboards were the order of the day. Massive sound systems conveyed the beat through the courthouse walls to remind those inside of the unfaltering support outside. Meanwhile in an adjoining road I snapped the apt sign of the local muti(medicine) man with his enticing message to cure all ailments. Maybe the future president could confer with him for a solution to his woes.

Reduced to Ash

Kennedy Rd Settlement (Squatter Camp) next to Durban's main rubbish dump, (landfill site) caught fire this morning. No one can say for sure how it started but the usual suspects paraffin stove, candle etc were lined up. Once it got going the tightly packed wooden and scrap homes were soon devoured by the flames. By the time the local fire department arrived about eighty homes were reduced to ash. Some residents tried vainly to douse the flames with buckets of water to no avail. I was somewhat drenched by a fire fighters damaged hose. They told me getting their equipment to the fire is a hazardous business with illegal overhead electric cables and sharp objects that snag their extended high pressure hoses. Hundreds of people will have to find alternative accommodation tonight but will no doubt return to rebuild their shacks tomorrow. I was amazed by the acceptance of the calamity until the firemen pointed out the remains of old fires they had previously extinguished. It appears that squatter camp fires are a way of life which one has to live with. Fortunately no one was seriously injured this time.

Mass Action

There were about ten thousand people who came to protest over a number of matters. Some were unhappy with the changing street names while others believed that a new history book was not fair to one of their leaders. Carrying traditional weapons they were a formidable force. In their exitement and mad waving of sticks and whips I managed to receive a few sharp reminders to keep clear of their path. A number of windows in shop fronts were smashed en route to the city hall but by and large little damage was done considering the numbers. On arrival at Durbans City Hall they handed over a memorandium to the deputy mayor stating their grievences.

New Life

It's early in the morning and doctors at St Agustines hospital in Durban are busy with a unique operation in South Africa... Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Rib surgery may be a mouthful but the results are remarkable.
Professor Carol Hasler a Swiss based surgeon explains "WE LENGTHEN THE SPINE WITH THE HELP OF A TELESCOPIC ROD WHICH IS CALLED A TITANIUM RIB AND FIX IT TO THE RIB AND TO THE SPINE OR THE PELVIS DEPENDING ON THE DEFORMITY."

Seven year old Londiwe Dlangamandla was the first to go under the knife. The titanium "ribs" will be adjusted every six months with a minor op and eventualy the patient will be able to walk upright. The "ribs" cost R24 000 each. The op took two hours and that morning three young patients were fitted out.

Fishy Tales

Each year this time for some unknown reason millions of little fish otherwise known as sardines make their way over a thousand kilometers up South Africa's east coast. Those that survive the sharks, dolphins and gannets have another hurdle to cross... Humans are waiting eagerly for them on the beaches of Kwa-Zulu Natal. Ski boats encircle them and drag them onto the beach in huge nets. Here other humans lose all control and grab as many as they can spilling from the licenced seine nets. Most are used for bait to catch more of our dwindling marine reserves with the rest devoured. Again and again the boats launch until the hapless fish are no more. They are carried away in crates still struggling to free themselves but to no avail. Ironically its called "The Greatest Shoal on Earth" Even this patroling dusky shark was caught by a game fishermen who posed for the camera then released the thrashing animal to cheers from the crowd.
Enjoy it while it lasts.

Dog Day

Every dog has its day and today it was the turn of the mutts of Mafakathini a rural township near Howick in the Kwa Zulu- Natal Midlands. It was billed as dog show with a difference with all comers catered for.
The freezing cold and wet conditions were not going to deter over one hundred dogs and their owners from taking part in the fourth Hills Township dog show. From compact sporty types to sleek aristocrats they were all welcomed. Each dog was given a new lead and collar before undergoing a through examintaion by a team of vets. Rabies inoculations, deworming, pampering and powdering became the order of the day. The local schools classrooms were turned into lecture rooms for the bemused dogs and their keen owners.The show aims to encourage a sence of pride and appreciation of dogs and help reduce neglect, ignorance and cruelty.

SPCA officials confirmed that there has been a signigicant improvement in the welfare of animals where previous dog shows and clinics have been held in rural areas.

Needs a little TLC

This is Addington Primary school. It is located on Durban's famous Golden Mile. This week the kids marched from the Point Police station to the school to highlight crime and child abuse. There are about three hundred foreign kids at the school. Some stayed home during the recent zenophobic attacks. Chatting to the principle I discovered that their main problems are the neglect of the school buildings. Roofs leak, ceilings have collapsed and lice from birds nesting in the ceiling fall on the learners. They need to find 2 million to repair the roof. Most parents cannot afford the meagre school fees. In the background are new luxuary apartments with starting prices of 2 million. Alongside is the multi million rand uShaka theme park. The adjoining Point development is costing in excess of 1 billion rands. Next door kids continue to scratch the lice from their bodies. The Department of Education says the school should be thankful they have windows. (Update Oct 2008. Roof has been repaired)

Justice (Part One)

Jessica Foord a young girl from Hillcrest was gang raped by five men a few months ago. (See "Sad Day" blog) Yesterday she braved the TV cameras and told the world how she felt after the first conviction and sentencing. "I DON'T THINK JUSTICE CAN EVER BE SERVED, BUT I THINK THE SENTENCE HE GOT WAS OK, COULD HAVE BEEN LIFE PLUS FOREVER."

The judge said the accused showed no remorse for his action, but confessed only to save his own skin.The teenager was sentenced to ten years on the count of robbery, and 17 years for rape. The sentences will run concurrently. Eight years will be served at a juvenile rehabilitation centre.The judge commended Jessicca Ford for her bravery and courage.Foord says the sentence will give hope to other women, not to keep quiet about rape. The other four accused are due to appear at the Durban High Court later this Month.

Unsung Hero

By pure fluke I was standing on the banks of the Umgeni today when I noticed a small team of litter collectors. When they finally heaved their bags up the steep embankment I asked who they represented. “I’m just a private citizen” said a modest Craig Dunn.” I got tired of driving by here each day and viewing all the litter. Today I brought three of my staff and in one and a half hours we picked up sixty bags of litter”
Now there’s dedication for you. Well done! ( See "Drowning in Rubbish" below)

Bin It?

The Durban Metro has kindly placed these bins for recyled materials on their premier beach. An odd place one would think as who comes to the beach with their spare cardboard plastic and tins. Although they are clearly marked it appears that many people remain illiterate. If one takes a peek in the bins each one is filled with the same gooey mixture of polystyrene fast food cartons, tin cans, plastic bottles and other unmentionables. A strange world we live in indeed

Snakes Alive

Durban's Fitzsimons Snake Park has been around for seventy years. As a young boy growing up in the Eastern Cape I used to catch snakes and send them by train to the park for pocket money. This week the Sherrif of the court issued them with an eviction notice. Apparently the city had warned the owners a year ago that the building would be demolished as part of the beacfront renewal plan. For some reason this was not communicated to the staff running the park. They now have three days to relocate four thousand animals from mice to pythons and crocs. I wonder if the adjoining beach will retain the Snake Park name. What a shame the beautiful wall mural pictured above will probably end up on a landfill site. "The times they certainly are a changing! "

Where's Polly Gone

The Cape Parrot (Poicephalus robustus)is in trouble. Trouble is there are only about 1 000 of these wild birds left in the entire world. So each year a dedicated band of bird lovers go out in the freezing cold and attempt to count what's left of these rare birds. This year I joined these happy campers and went in search of this noisy bird. The main problem is as usual loss of habitat. Our pioneering forefathers were probably singing a version of Monty Pythons "I'm a Lumberjack song when they decimated massive forests of yellow wood trees so the gentile folk of towns like Pietermaritzburg could have nice wooden floors and furniture. Cape Parrots only nest and feed in old yellow wood trees. Hundreds more were captured for collectors to keep in cages around the world. Today a breeding pair can easily fetch R120 000. We eventually found a small flock (50-60) of these birds feasting on exotic pecan nut trees in the Bulwer area of South Africa. Filming them was no easy task but with patience and much strain on the old neck muscles we got the shots. Hopefully the numbers are stable for now but the day that endangered "tick" is removed from their species is a long way off.

(One week Later)
IOL Myrtle Ryan May 18 2008

Six men who cut down 86 yellowwood trees - some as old as 500 years - in the Gongqo-Gongqo State Forest near Umzimkulu in 2001, were given stiff jail sentences this week. Victor Terblanche, 65, and his sons Morne, 35, and Pierre, 39, were sentenced to an effective eight years' imprisonment, while their accomplices, Chief Wilson Ntlabathi, 66, Eric Sithole, 58, and Siphiwe Satywa, 68, received effective five-year jail terms. Chairperson of the KZN Wildlife Crime Working Group Rod Potter said "This case is the first of its kind in the country, both in the magnitude of the offence and seriousness of the damage to the forest, comparable to environmental rape" .

Fishy Stories

Durban’s Bay has seen many incarnations. Hundreds of years ago it teamed with hippo and crocs. Then came the city of Durban and the bay became the harbour after much dredging and modifying. River courses were altered and the cities storm water drains now empty their load of litter into one of Africa’s busiest harbours. In all this time fishermen have been allowed to ply their trade here in ever decreasing and restricted zones, some for recreation and for others their livelihood. Not even shark attacks have kept them from fishing this rich harvest of food. Nine eleven was the turning point for them. New security legislation deemed these people a possible threat. First the boats were banned and then anyone fishing from the shore. On Sunday 27 April a gathering of fishermen defied the authorities and threw out their lines from the shore. A group of bored looking water police ignored them and cruised away in their naval patrol boat.

29/04/08 Latest...Seems like the boats can still fish for now and no action will be taken against the shore fishermen for a while)