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Indians attacked, forced to evacuate
by gangsters in Durban

Four families of Indian origin have allegedly been assaulted and driven off their land by gangsters near Durban.

In the first incident, an elderly Indian couple were attacked and driven off their farm at Hazlemere, near the town of Verulam, about 40 km north of Durban, over the weekend, according to families of the victims.

Moon Govender, 70, and his wife Monogrie, 60, were attacked and seriously assaulted by armed gangsters. An African neighbour rescued the couple and took them to hospital. A relation of the family, Vasie Govender, said the Govenders had been living in the farm all their lives. "Farming has been their livelihood. Now they have lost everything," she said.

In the second incident, three Indian families who were living on a farm in the area of Silverglen in Durban, were also attacked and forced to flee. Their houses were burnt to the ground.

The police spokesperson for the KwaZulu-Natal region, Vishnu Naidoo, said that the attacks were being investigated.

"The attack on the farming couple is being investigated by the rural safety unit and the attack on the residents in the Silverglen area is being investigated by the Bayview police in Chatsworth," he said.

The Indian and South African governments have recently been attempting to restore the settlement in cooperation with the African residents who have moved into the area.

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