SOUTH AFRICA'S TV WEBSITE
SIGN IN SEARCH MENU
SOUTH AFRICA'S TV WEBSITE
ACTORS | ARTICLES | CASTINGS | SHOWS | TEASERS


Get your reviews and insights on everything to do with movies and TV, locally and internationally.

Special Asignment : Xeno Burials

Written by tha - bang from the blog Movies and Things with Thabang on 02 Jul 2008
Favourite this post

Anyone watched last nights episode of Special Assignment? It was covering the funeral of the "burning-man" and another less known victim of the Xeno attacks.The show travelled with the bodies from South Africa all the way to Mozambique and we got to meet and see the family members of the victims and see how these deaths have impacted on their lives and livelihood.

It was tremendously sad especially when you realise that these poor guys were bread winners for 2 - 3 families,now some of the families have been left destitute. The most disheartening part for me is that some of the poor survivours and relatives of the deceased still have to come back to Jo'burg.To continue working for their families even though everyone fears for their safety.But the guys need to bring home the bacon.So it means coming back to a place where you know your brother was killed and you could be next if the mobs get angry again.

Another worrying thing is how these events have really engulfed us (as a country) and further vilified Zulu people as the de facto bad guys. Cause the victims and their families were blaming the zulu's for the killing of their family members. Maybe in Moz' Zulu = South Africans, or the word that they got was that Zulus were the ones doing the killings. Either way our image as a country has been truly tarnished , i wonder if any of the perpetrators were watching or even care that they've left little kids without fathers.A home without a bread winner and they have totally changed the entire livelihood of someone for the worst. 

What a legacy to leave behind as South Africans.

15 Comments

tha - bang
02 Jul 2008 02:02

anyone else how saw the show last night?

Cande
02 Jul 2008 02:11

I watched, Sad heh!!

tha - bang
02 Jul 2008 02:16

it was cande, i really felt sorry for the little kids and the families.

poshspice
02 Jul 2008 02:57

 Zulu is a language widely spoken, we even have Zimbabweans and other foreign nationals who speak fluent Zulu and with Zulu surnames. 

it then becomes very difficult to differentiate btw original Zulu's & those who just learnt to speak Zulu for survival is SA and adopted or bought Zulu surnames.

Because Zulu is the 'English' in African languages.meaning in SA Eglish & Zulu are two languages mostly spoken

but I came across foreigners who also felt there were too many of them in the country now, and subtle suggested xeno attacks were kinda justifiable. 

tha - bang
02 Jul 2008 03:07

i dont think we can ever justify mob violence in a democratic context posh.
ja isiZulu is widely spoken language but my point was that because of that ,the poor Zulus are always vilified as the bad guys of South Africa.If anything bad happens its because of the Zulus.if tugs rob you and the were speaking isiZulu,it then becomes the Zulus have robbed me.
Now the foreign nationals who leve sa will carry that same mentality to their countries.
i can see them talk to each other come 2010 ,saying beware of the Zulus they are a very violent bunch.an apartheid stereotypes that lingers on

Dimago
02 Jul 2008 03:08

I saw it, it was really sad. Having to travel with the body all the way to Mozambique...people are cruel.

Two weeks ago we went to a xeno camp, on an outreach, the situation there is really dire, i wonder how the government is going to re-intergrate these peeps into the society, i know i'd be too scared to go back....

tha - bang
02 Jul 2008 03:21

Dimago I dont see the intergration happening because of the same reason as you.I'll be dead scared to go back to the communities that tried to kill me,if i was in those guys position.what gurantee is there that the attacks wont happen again espicially when people still feel like they were justified.
come to think about driving all te way to Moz with a dead body in the back my be really daunting

tizoz
02 Jul 2008 03:33

Thanx posh for pointin out that you can speak Zulu but that doesn't mean that you are Zulu.

I was offended when that woman said it was the Zulu's who killed people cause they dont like Shangaans. like really now? The same shangaans who speak zulu so fluently so that they can be treated fairly. 

Anyway it was an interesting show until they had a couple of shots of a face inside the coffin and they were spraying something on the face that's where my viewing ended.

If you think about it they were driving the bodies to Moz and Zim way b4 the Xeno attacks so yes it is sad that they were killed for nothing at the same time even if they died naturally they still need to take the bodies back home. 

I know I might be sounding insensitive but I am just looking at both sided of being an immigrant

Earth
02 Jul 2008 03:33

It really is sad,especially cos these people who were bread-winners and very important people in th families were killed like dogs,what saddened me the most was the mother talking of how her son was killed and she now has to consider sending her other son to Jozi to make a living.I think re-intergrating these peeps into society will be extremely difficult especially for the foreign peeps,how can they move on and live with neighbours who they know damn well are after their blood?I would love to see how our government is gonna tackle this one........

poshspice
02 Jul 2008 03:35

@ tha-bang  ..I agree..  

@ Dimango  the aftermath is much worse..feeding the victims & providing basic needs to the camps like health care. my colleagues working in camps are exhausted & frustrated.    

  

  

poshspice
02 Jul 2008 03:43

@Earth I would love to see how our government is gonna tackle this one........

officials are damn frustrated-they hav to maintain a balance btw human rights, consider foreign relations-that our african counterparts were there for us during apartheid, as well as the needs of their own South African Citizens, wouldn't want to be in their shoes....

Earth
02 Jul 2008 03:44

As for the Zulu thing,ga se the Mozambicans fela ba ba nagnang jaalo,le a lot of South Africans generalize a lot when it comes to the Zulu  people,and I hear a lot of people(SA's) ga ba buwa ka this thing le bona ba re ke the the zulu's who started these attacks.Its not a new thing,zulus are always thought to be very aggressive people,and I think people need to learn gore not everyone o kgonang go buwa zulu is actually zulu and not everyone who is aggresive and violent is zulu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I hate stereotypes,shiiaaatttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tha - bang
02 Jul 2008 03:53

I think the aftermath of the xeno thing is worse than what we realise.so far government strategy  has been the camps, tv ads and propaganda painting jozi as a cosmopolitan city that welcomes all.did anyone see that terrible ad during the show sponsored by the Jozi Metro?
Which community is going to take in all those people in the camps,even the so called mddle class guys in midrand were up in arms when the camps we set next door to them. Then what about real intergration? how are the people going to be moved out of the camps into their different communities? Gorvernment has been very quiet on that one. What about guarantees that the communities wont riot again when that happens? What about the issues the community raised during ther rampagge how many of those have been attended to?
Posh i really feel for your friends it must be a really bad situation to find yourself in both as a south african and an aid worker

Toxic
02 Jul 2008 09:55

true Tizoz.

Tshd21
03 Jul 2008 11:56

The episode was too sad hey......

...and that thing they were spraying on the corpse before it was lowered down. Was that tradition? I was so disappointed at Special Assignment for not asking about that....because the whole time everybody was doing it I was like WTF?? The show is supposed to investigate damnit...as in leave every stone turned??

Anyway...it was an eye-opener for me. Reali makes me think that you have no idea what someone is going though, the decisions they have made or the kind of lives they choose to live unless you have walked in a mile in their shoes....

Only TVSA members can reply to this thread. Click here to login or register.






LATEST ARTICLES

Renewed! Generations: The Legacy Season 10 is a go

Disaster averted with an update from series co-producer Human Stark.

Generations: The Legacy Teasers - June 2024

Will Fikile approve her employee’s undercover investigation? And a chance meeting in a lift leads to an unexpected kiss.

Muvhango Teasers - June 2024

James unwittingly gives Azwindini crucial information, and Azwindini hires a P.I.

New on TV today: Tuesday 14 May 2024

HISTORY revisits The Guilty Innocent and two reality shows return on VIA.

Baby Reindeer Richard Gadd's biggest mistake

Richard's alter ego Donny made some humdingers but this was the ultimate. The key to it all.

Die Put 4 Teasers - June 2024

Yikes. Yamac has no idea who he is and what's happening around him.

New on TV today: Monday 13 May 2024

Thriller After the Flood drops on BritBox and Rochelle Humes makes her debut on Home Channel.

New on TV today: Sunday 12 May 2024

The BAFTAs stream live on BritBox as Food Network gets In the Kitchen with Abner and Amanda.

New on TV today: Saturday 11 May 2024

Kom ons Braai: Celebs 3 begins on VIA and Temptation Island 3 is new on eReality.

Our recipe to create the perfect Come Dine With Me South Africa episode

The ingredients required for a 10 out of 10 feast of fun times.

LATEST SITE ACTIVITY


More activity at TVSA Central



LATEST SOAPIE TEASERS



LATEST SOAPIE TEASERS




Thabang Phetla loves movies,
he loves TV...
he loves his writing...
if you love movies and tv
you will definitely love
his writing on movies and TV.
signed by Thabang's Mom
 
×
×

You browser doesn't have Flash, Silverlight, Gears, BrowserPlus or HTML5 support.