Raj please tell me your story?
My parents were murdered when I was nine years old. My uncles put me in a place of safety in New Castle (KwaZulu-Natal). I stayed there from when I was nine and came out when I was seventeen. I then started working and I got married. We were doing quite well and then my wife fell ill. She had colon cancer. She was very healthy and then she started losing her hair and weight. After three operations they couldn’t do anything else for her, she passed away. We didn’t have any children. I had a lot of bills to pay, which I paid. I then opened a shop in the location. During the xenophobic time, the shop was robbed, everything was looted….the car was burned. I had these injuries so I had to have an operation, they put 48 staples into my arm. I had another operation on my ankle because it split.
I have been on the street now for some time. I mean I don’t like my situation, I don’t like living like this. I want to upgrade myself, at least do a course or something and get some work. But my right hand… I cant use it very much. I met a lot of good people that help us. There are quite a lot of people on the street. In the night it is dangerous. Here in Sea Point, it is much safer than in Town or Belville or Strand. Here the majority of the white people come and buy us food or give us clothing. You know they do what they can for us and I appreciate it.
