NONE of the violence and gang warfare I saw in my youth =20 in the Cape Flats prepared me for the carnage which =20 unfolded before my eyes in Thornton Road, Athlone, Cape =20 Town on a sunny Tuesday afternoon this week.=20
As I drove down Belgravia Road, Athlone, my eyes were =20 burning and my nose was running as a result of having =20 earlier faced a volley of teargas in Wynberg where =20 police had kicked down four doors in one home to arrest =20 seven men.=20
Looking down St Simon’s Road, I saw tyres burning, a =20 sure sign trouble was on the way. We parked in Thornton =20 Road and joined the rest of the press corps on the =20
At precisely 4.50pm an orange South African Transport =20 Service truck moved towards the Hewat Training College. =20 Youths picked up rocks and waited for the vehicle to =20 reach the intersection. Just another stoning?=20
When the truck reached the intersection, stones rained =20 on the windscreen. The driver threw up his arms to =20 protect his face. The truck stopped.Then all hell broke =20
Shotgun-armed policemen who had been hiding in crates =20 at the back of the truck broke cover, firing at the =20 youths. — Weekly Mail, October 18 to 24 1985=20