[This racial war is between Blacks and Coloureds in Cape Town. This relates to the killing from last week where the Blacks also told the Coloureds “Your day is coming…” It looks as if the Coloureds are threatening to hit back!!! … and the Blacks are running scared!! I’m impressed with the Coloured’s attitude. They told the Blacks they would kill one of them in return… and now the Blacks are scared stiff!! I’m impressed… the Blacks outnumber the Coloureds… but the Coloureds have finally had enough of being kicked around. Now if only Whites had the same attitude!!! Jan]

Black pupils fearing for their lives at the Western Cape school near which a pupil was stabbed to death last week, stayed at home on Monday or were scared to leave the premises after death threats.

While most of Ned Doman secondary school pupils left school after the final bell, the few black pupils who did come to school waited on the premises because they were scared of being attacked.

Many black pupils, as well as others, stayed at home on Monday.

Some of those who did go to school stood in front of the office block at home time and waited for transport.

‘They are accusing all of us and only one person is responsible for his death’

The rest were not sure how they were going to get home because they were scared to walk to the bus stop in Klipfontein Road.

This comes after Grade 9 pupil Marawaan Blankenberg, 15, was stabbed and kicked to death, allegedly by fellow pupils, after a classroom fight in Bokmakierie on Thursday last week.

He was buried on Friday.

The low number of students in attendance was noted by Western Cape education MEC Cameron Dugmore, who visited the school on Monday morning to talk to pupils about Marawaan’s death.

He asked why they were absent and pupils told him that they were scared.

‘Marawaan, rest in peace and go to hell’

A Grade 9 pupil said she was scared because gangsters waited outside the school on Friday, although she had not seen any on Monday.

“They are accusing all of us and only one person is responsible for his death. We never killed him,” she said.

Another pupil said: “The coloureds said this won’t end until they get one of us.”

She said she was scared to walk to the bus stop, because some pupils were waiting for them.

“One of the teachers said we must stand here until all the others go away. Some of us have to go to Khayelitsha and Delft, but I am not sure what time we are going to get home.”

A friend of Marawaan, Grade 12 pupil Tharwa Dollie, said school was “okay” on Monday and nothing happened, “but everybody is just heartbroken”.

As far as she knew, there were no black pupils at school on Monday, but she said graffiti in the girl’s toilets stated: “Marawaan, rest in peace and go to hell.”

Western Cape education department spokesperson Paddy Atwell said the department was deeply concerned about speculation about the motive behind the attack.

“Our MEC has called on the community for calm and restraint and to let the law take its course.

“The Safe Schools division of the department is very active at the school at the moment. Our safe schools team began trauma debriefing and counselling.”

The Safe Schools project has arranged for security guards at the school and police patrols of the area.

This article was originally published on page 3 of Cape Argus on March 01, 2005

Source: Independent Online (IOL)
URL: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click…/p>