South Africans in London spoke to the Mail & Guardian Online immediately after Thursday’s series of blasts that hit the city’s underground railway system and a double-decker bus, describing the chaos and confusion that ensued as news of the explosions spread through the city.
Said Indressa Naidoo, a Durban native who works at the BBC in west London: “It is absolute chaos. And if people have been wondering how London is going to cope with any kind of attack, they will find out today.
“No one knows if it is terrorist related. There have been at least three bombs on buses in central. The whole tube network is closed down.”
Naidoo said that her office began doing a head count to find out who was missing, in order to investigate the whereabouts of those who did not turn up at work.
“I think it was bound to happen here. [It’s] ironic that it is just after London’s won the Olympic bid,” Naidoo told the M&G Online.
Carey Watson, who works in Piccadilly, said the British phone system had jammed up — and that she couldn’t get through to anyone.
Hayley Mathie from Pietermaritzburg, who is a sub-editor based in Croydon, said there were “police everywhere and continuous sirens”.
“They initially said it was a power surge on the tube, but the bus explosions have knocked that theory out of the water. All tubes are closed and they’ve told everyone in central London to stay inside,” she said.
Roshan-Ara Karjieker, from Cape Town, said she missed the blast at Liverpool station by minutes, adding that the cellphone network had jammed, preventing her from sending out SMSs or making calls.
Amanda Killick, also from Cape Town, who works for Citigroup in London, said she and her colleagues may be evacuated from their offices.
“Everyone is a bit scared, quite a change in mood from yesterday’s Olympic euphoria, but all is okay here,” she told the M&G Online.
Johannesburger Camilla Greene, who works near Holborn, said “All public transport has been suspended and we have been ordered to stay at work and off the streets, which are currently filled with people in trainers beginning the mass exodus home or to hotels, some have even bought bikes.”
Another South African, Rowan Puttergill from Grahamstown, who works in a bookshop just off Oxford Circus in central London, said he was in a state of shock.
“At first I wasn’t sure what was happening. The tubes all stopped, the buses were all jam-packed with people. There were police cars and ambulances all over the place … and I started walking in to work. I only found out what was happening when I got in.”
He said he had managed to get in touch with everyone he knew and was relieved to find out that they were all fine.
“But I can’t imagine what it would have been like if someone I know was on one of those tubes or buses … I’m now mostly concerned with how I’m going to get home tonight. And how much more this is likely to escalate,” he said.
In an e-mail to the M&G Online, Vanessa Haupt described the situation as “absolute madness”.
“People are scared, as we don’t know what is happening. The news on the radio has just confirmed that explosive devices have been found and there is an unconfirmed number of deaths and hundreds of injuries.
“Certain areas in central London have been evacuated and the entire Tube network and zone-one buses have been shut down. We’ve all been advised to stay in our buildings and most of us don’t even know how we’re going to get home tonight,” she said.
A South African government source confirmed to I-Net Bridge that there have been no reports of any South African injuries.
However, an official statement is expected from Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa later on Thursday afternoon.
Ben Freeney, from the South African High Commission in London, told the M&G Online: “It is too soon to tell if there are any South African casualties. [There is] still an air of confusion here.”
Church group forms support group for South Africans
Meanwhile, members of the Dutch Reformed Church in London have set up a support group for South Africans.
The group, led by minister Dawie van Vuuren, is willing to assist expatriates with moral support, trauma counselling and getting to medical centres for treatment, a spokesperson said.
It will not be able to help with enquiries about the fate of individuals.
Van Vuuren can be contacted on Tel: 0944 192 383 9719 or 0944 781 588 6872. People seeking assistance or who are able to help can send an e-mail to [email protected].
SA government condemns blasts
President Thabo Mbeki and his government have condemned Thursday’s attacks on London’s transport network.
“As South Africa, we join the rest of the international community in condemning any acts of terrorism,” Mbeki’s spokesperson Bheki Khumalo said on Thursday from Gleneagles, Scotland, where Mbeki is attending a summit of the Group of Eight developed nations.
“We believe there is no reason for anyone to resort to these kinds of things and kill innocent people. The sanctity of human life is something all of us must hold very dearly.”
This applies even more at a time when leaders of the world’s rich nations are gathered to deal with issues of “global apartheid” and poverty, Khumalo said.
Important issues such as climate change, poverty and underdevelopment, especially in Africa, should not now be put on the back burner.
“In fact, we must even redouble our efforts to achieve results on these issues,” Khumalo said.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad said the blasts “clearly constitute acts of terrorism and must be condemned in the strongest terms and without equivocation by the international community.
“Attacks against civilians can never be justified under any circumstances. In this context, we are confident that the British government will thoroughly investigate the matter with a view to bringing the perpetrators of these heinous deeds to face the full might of the law,” he said.
The South African government extended its heartfelt condolences to the government and people of Britain and in particular the families of those who lost their loved ones, while wishing those wounded a speedy recovery.
The South African government will liaise with the British government to determine whether any South Africans were affected adversely by the blasts, Pahad said.
SA opposition parties condemn blasts
Also condemning the blasts, United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa said the blasts could unite African leaders in the war on terrorism.
“There is no longer any justification for African leaders to just fold their arms any more; it might force them to close ranks,” Holomisa said.
He said the blasts send a strong message that al-Qaeda — alleged to be responsible for the attack — is not selective and is prepared to injure the leaders of developing countries who went to Britain to bargain for their future at the G8 meeting in Scotland.
“Had an African leader died in the attack, then there would be no compromise from Africa,” he said.
Holomisa believed the attacks were designed to embarrass the G8 meeting in Gleneagles and to create confusion.
“From a South African perspective, we feel the blasts are defeating the African agenda,” Holomisa said.
Acting Democratic Alliance leader Douglas Gibson expressed shock at the blasts, and said while it is still too early to speculate about who may have been responsible, “we are certain that the whole world will unite in rejecting this latest act of terrorism and violence”.
“Our thoughts and our prayers are with the families of those who were killed. We wish the injured a speedy recovery.”
Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille said violence is no justification to solve the world’s problems.
She also called for G8 leaders at Gleneagles to work on ways to develop poor countries, as development and peace walked hand in hand.
Meanwhile, on BBC World, British Prime Minister Tony Blair noted that it was reasonably clear that what had happened in London was “a series of terrorist attacks”. He said it was his intention to leave the G8 and get a report from police and ministers monitoring the situation in London later in the day.
He said it is apparent that the attacks were “designed and aimed to coincide with the opening of the G8” summit, which is focused on economic development of Africa as well as climate change.
Earlier reports said that there were seven explosions — on a bus and at tube stations in London — causing many serious injuries. At least 33 deaths have been confirmed.
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