Back to normal?
2005-07-14 12:47
Cape Town - It's been seven days since "07/07", what will, in years to come, be remembered as a very dark day in British history - a day when London's public transport system was rocked by four bomb blasts.
And although seven days is by no means enough time for the dust to settle, or to understand just how this city is going to come to terms with being attacked, News24 decided to chat to a few South Africans living in London to get their take on what it's like in London today, and how the city has been coping since terror took to the streets a week ago.
"It's a weird, weird feeling when you realise that al-Qaeda and his mates have entered your space. That you were using one of the attacked tube stations just the night before and that, if you wanted to, you could walk to all of the stations where tragedy has struck. It was an attack on all of us", says Ivor Price, a Media24 correspondent living in London.
According to Philippa Crisp, a South African working in London, many people feel that this attack is "just the beginning".
"Although emotions do differ, and a lot of English people seem to be less freaked out than a lot of foreigners because bombs were a regular occurrence when the IRA was bombing London", she added.
She also commented that the British press is having a field day with "this story", sensationalising the attacks, talking about the courage and defiance of Londoners and how it's "business as usual".
"But", she said, "I think, truthfully, people are frightened at the end of the day, the vast majority of whom have no other choice but to take public transport. It's the lifestyle we've chosen to lead."
'It's the choice we've made'
Susan Commerford, another South African living in London, agreed, and added that although people are most certainly afraid, there's a sense of security in being comfortable with one's own personal decision to carry on leading a life in a place where terrorism now presides.
"Living in London is choosing and committing oneself to a lifestyle, a lifestyle of cascading cultures, pasts and ideologies; all amalgamated into one.
"These mornings, London is a city of cascading emotion, but subdued by a silent commitment by each individual to their chosen lifestyle", she said.
Catherine Parker, on the other hand, reckons the British (not as dramatic as the Americans) gave themselves a weekend's grace, and are now carrying on as normal.
"But it's not normal, is it? Now ID cards will be pushed through, there will be more security checks, cameras, law enforcement etc. It's becoming a scary reality", she said.
Meanwhile police have identified the man thought to be the mastermind behind last week's bombings.
Living in London? What's your take on the aftermath? Send a letter to the editor, and let us know.