DURBAN - AN ELDERLY couple whose home in Duffs Road, Avoca, was petrol-bombed during the recent riots in KwaZulu-Natal, are appealing for help to rebuild their home.
Daya and Saby Naicker, both 73, are still in disbelief and could not fathom why their home was targeted by protesters during the unrest on July 16.
“The events started unfolding at about 11:30pm and I was fast asleep after taking my medication. My son Amber woke me up and said to me ‘Papa, they are coming and we need to go’,’” said Daya Naicker.
The protesters apparently threw stones at the house, looted items once they gained entrance and later petrol-bombed the premises.
“It all happened in under 20 minutes and once my son and I made it to safety through the back door, we watched as they gathered.
“They looted some of the house items including my television and then proceeded to bomb my house and the bus that was parked outside.”
Everything in the house burnt, including the couple’s identity documents and all their other important papers as Naicker could only gather a few items of clothing.
He said it was fortunate that on that particular day his wife Saby was not home as she had gone to visit their daughter Cindy Pillay.
The couple, who had lived in Duffs Road for over 30 years, are now living with Pillay. The community, together with the Duffs Road Civic Association, have sympathised with the family and have appealed to the public to help by donating funds that could help with acquiring alternative accommodation for the victims.
“There were hundreds of these violent protesters. They started off chanting near the house and that was nothing extraordinary until things went south. We heard the first petrol bomb three minutes after midnight and the second just after 3am,” said Duffs Road Civic Association chairperson Narendh Ganesh.
Daily News