And, sure enough, considerable numbers of academic visitors were robbed and some were physically assaulted. People had their mobiles snatched from their hands. By the end of the week, our every step was managed inside a cordon of armed police.
The perpetrators of these attacks were, by all accounts, Black young men - no surprise given the economic hierarchy of South Africa, which appears to have changed little since apartheid. Their offending was opportunistic and out of desperation.
The 22-year-old Black young man guarding my bed and breakfast accommodation said he was lucky to have a job. He had hoped to continue his studies, but both his parents had died when he was 18 and he had "responsibilities".
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