Thursday marks five years since the July 2021 unrest claimed 354 lives and caused an estimated R50 billion in damage to South Africa’s economy.
Among those affected by the violent unrest is 44-year-old businessman and civil engineer, Taren Ramsaroop.
His autobody repair workshop in Phoenix, north of Durban, was burnt to the ground, along with 33 uninsured luxury sports cars.
The damages to his business cost him an estimated R40 million.
Ramsaroop says it was traumatising to watch everything he had built over decades go up in flames within hours.
“I had my wife, highly pregnant, due to give birth the very next day on the 13th of July, and basically, on the 12th of July, we get the news that my place is on fire. After that it was just chaos because I tried to get here and see what I could do, but there were more than 500 plus people torching, looting, burning the place down. Thirty-three sports cars in total, and approximate value of R40 million loss happened overnight with no insurance. One of the most difficult times of my life. Finances were depleted completely, but by the grace of God, goodwill and resilience, I was able to rebuild my place.”
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Meanwhile, Ramsaroop says despite rebuilding his business, he cannot erase the trauma he suffered. He says last week’s nationwide protests against undocumented immigrants were enough to take him straight back to the events of July 2021.
“Last week, with the whole March and March, it was a flashback. It was me walking through the the same sort of feeling and a path that I went through five years ago. It cost me R100 000 in security to secure my premises. It cost me another R15 to R20000 to move all the vehicles out from here, so I got everything to safety because I did not want a repeat of what I experienced five years ago.”
