SA nurses worried by blasts

2003-05-15 11:12

Marlene Malan

Cape Town - The husband of a South African nurse living in a medical residence in Riyadh said he feared for his wife's life and never knew if an SMS he had sent would be his last.

The Louws - Danie, 36, and Wirene, 30, who were married on Good Friday - are trying to get together again. Either she'll fly home, or he'll join her as soon as possible, said a visibly upset Louw on Wednesday.

He said they'd been in contact since early on Tuesday morning and he sent about 24 SMSs a day to make sure she was safe.

"I've been in a state about my wife all day, wondering if my next message will be answered."

Mrs Louw, who worked at a neonatal nursing clinic in Cape Town for two years, lives in a flat with two other South African nurses.

They were called about 03:00 on Tuesday after the explosions and put on medical standby.

Louw said that according to his wife there were still people buried under the rubble of the residential complex, which is apparently close to where the three South African nurses live.

Anti-American sentiment

"They're scared and anxious because some of their friends and colleagues simply didn't turn up at home or for work, and the guards at the complex were shot dead.?

"Wirene says everything changed for Western women with the Iraq war.

"Before, they were free to go to town, but since March they can shop only at the kiosk in the complex because of stong anti-American sentiment.

"White South African women are also targets as they are taken for Americans. Saudi Arabians think all Africans are black."

The Louws met on the internet last November, and saw each other in the flesh for the first time in January. Wirene was on a two-month holiday in South Africa and the couple married shortly before her left to return to Saudi Arabia.

Louw had been planning to move to Riyadh soon.

"But, it looks like everything has fallen through. I don't even know when she'll be able to return, because she has to give three months' notice and handed in her passport when she arrived."

He said the South African embassy had not contacted her yet.

A nurse from George, who preferred to remain anonymous, said from Riyadh on Wednesday that she was fine, but told her husband all Western women had been warned to be careful and stay off the streets.

He said not even a burka offered protection.

"She said Western women were identified by the way they walked. She's scared and doesn't want to talk to anyone."

Both husbands said on Wednesday evening the lastest news from their wives was that the explosions were "just the beginning". There were rumours in Riyadh that the attacks could spread to Dubai.

- Die Burger