SA parents feared the worst
2005-07-07 23:27
Johannesburg - Eersterus mother Cheryl Randall says she imagined South African children coming home in body bags when she heard about the London bombings.
She said on Thursday about 40 young people from Eersterus were working in London.
Cheryl Randalls said: "I saw in my mind's eye the bodies of our children being returned to South Africa."
While those here worry about family and friends in the British capital after the bombings that claimed 37 lives on Thursday morning, South Africans had tremendous problems contacting their homes.
Telephone lines, cellphone networks and e-mail systems were overloaded and, for a while, were not functioning at all.
"The world comes to a standstill for a few moments" was how some parents felt when they heard the news of the terrorist bombs that had hit London.
There are at least 1.2 million South Africans in London, mostly young people and students who work there and travel to see Europe.
Corrie Knoesen, personal assistant to Beeld editor Peet Kruger, described her emotions when she picked up the phone to call her daughter, Leandri, 21, an assistant architect in London.
"It felt as if my heart came to a standstill. My first thought was about my child.
"Is she safe? Where is she?
"And then I prayed: 'Please Lord, gather my child to Your breast.' "
'Really expected the worst'
Janeen Bullen of Hout Bay in the Western Cape has a daughter, Jane, 26, who works as marketing analyst in London.
"When I heard of the explosions I really expected the worst, I could not believe anything like that was possible.
"All you can do is try to come to grips with it, but you really start wondering what may happen next."
Bullen received an SMS message from Jane shortly after the explosions to tell her that she was safe.
Bullen's other daughter, Elizabeth, 33, arrived home from London on Wednesday after the Live 8 concert, arranged to pressure developed countries into giving Africa a better deal.
She said: "Everybody at the concert was in high spirits and positive about the coming G8 conference in Scotland.
"And now terrorism is in the limelight instead of the G8."
'London an easy and vulnerable target'
Elizabeth, who lived in London for seven years, said the focus was on the conference where the G8 protest marches took place two days ago.
"The whole of Scotland Yard was deployed there to ensure that the marches would go off without problems.
"This made London an easy and vulnerable target."
News of the London bombs made a few mothers in Eersterus, east of Pretoria, frantic.
Cheryl Randalls said: "I saw in my mind's eye the bodies of our children being returned to South Africa."
They know about 40 young people from Eersterus who are working in London.
Her four cousins - George Evans, 26, Lemmie Margadie, 24, Igsaan Abrahams, 22, and Craig Botes, 19 - sent SMS messages about half an hour after the first bomb exploded to say that they were "okay".
They contacted each other after the first explosion and Lemmie then sent a message to say they all were fine.
Basil Steenkamp, also from Eersterus, said on Thursday afternoon he could "barely breathe" until he heard that his son, Uzelwiss Steenkamp, 21, was safe.
"But, we will be finally assured only when we hear his voice," he said.
'Situation is still tense'
Margadie, who works for Finchley and National Car Rentals in London, told Beeld by telephone on Thursday he was about 15 minutes from where the bombs exploded.
"The situation is still tense as we heard this was not the end by a long shot," he said.
Dominee Johan de Villiers, financial manager of the Polokwane Observer in Limpopo, said he was "tremendously relieved" when he heard that his son, Fortuni, 30, who works in Harrods' leasing department, was safe.
Fortuni had to sleep at work on Thursday night because of transport problems that have brought the city to a standstill.
His wife, Mona, was going to stay with a friend overnight.