Couldn't decide what to call the
Blog this week so decided that i would use 3 headings in 1.
Boy soldier of the Seleka Rebels. |
So the news of the week is that 13
South Africans died in the Central African Republic when they were attacked by
the Seleka Rebels that wanted to oust the President, Francois Bozize (who
surprise surprise was a tyrant and raping the country of its resources . Well it
would seem that the saying the Bigger
they are the harder they kick your ass should be “the smaller they are the harder
they kick your ass”
13
South African troops (Paratroopers) were killed between 27- 49 injured and 1
missing (subsequently found after hiding 4 days in a church) in the Central African
Republic this week after being attacked by between 1000 – 3000 rebels who wanted
to rid the CAR of the its President
Talks that
the ANC had sent the men to train the presidents army may not be 100% true as
it may be that they sent the troops to ensure that possible diamond and as well as other lucrative projects that will
benefit a businessman called Didier Pereira as well as certain “selected” ANC
members.................................“I am shocked and stunned, not”
So many believe that
the Government sold out the soldiers for the sake of diamond interests
in CAR, and that they died protecting a
dictator who has memorandum of understanding with ANC so that they will have
fair share of diamond resources in CAR. Soldiers deployment was business for
business not business for politics as ANC articulated defending themselves. Many also believe that ANC is a sell
out. They sold out Gaddafi after ANC led government allow NATO to invade Libya
and now they Sacrificed 13 soldiers for more Diamonds.
This is very sad for the families who lost bread winners. Somebody should kindly point to the honourable (and i use the word very loosely) Deputy Minister Makwetla that he is laying it on just a bit too thick, his traditional fairy tale is just a tad too far fetched - the size of the Car Rebel contingent has subsequently come down from 3000 to 1000 and now it seems mostly made up of young boys, so not only did the Paratroopers their nose bloodied by a rebel outfit, most of them were kids. The Rebels seemed to know "They were not stupid ... they knew we had no support ... they had intelligence on us ... they knew our movements, our numbers, our capabilities ... everything about us."It was only after the firing stopped that we saw we had killed kids. "We did not come here for this ... to kill kids. It makes you sick. They were crying, calling for help ... calling for [their] moms." These are the stories survivors of the battle of Bangui told the Sunday Times. They are among the first on-the-ground accounts to emerge from the war zone in a city where 13 South African soldiers died last Saturday in a brutal skirmish with rebel fighters determined to wrest control of the Central African Republic and overthrow its president, François Bozizé.
This is very sad for the families who lost bread winners. Somebody should kindly point to the honourable (and i use the word very loosely) Deputy Minister Makwetla that he is laying it on just a bit too thick, his traditional fairy tale is just a tad too far fetched - the size of the Car Rebel contingent has subsequently come down from 3000 to 1000 and now it seems mostly made up of young boys, so not only did the Paratroopers their nose bloodied by a rebel outfit, most of them were kids. The Rebels seemed to know "They were not stupid ... they knew we had no support ... they had intelligence on us ... they knew our movements, our numbers, our capabilities ... everything about us."It was only after the firing stopped that we saw we had killed kids. "We did not come here for this ... to kill kids. It makes you sick. They were crying, calling for help ... calling for [their] moms." These are the stories survivors of the battle of Bangui told the Sunday Times. They are among the first on-the-ground accounts to emerge from the war zone in a city where 13 South African soldiers died last Saturday in a brutal skirmish with rebel fighters determined to wrest control of the Central African Republic and overthrow its president, François Bozizé.
One of the soldiers dropped
everything and apparently ran to a church where he was hidden (and undoubtedly
found Jesus) for 4 days as the rebels searched for him. It would seem the SADF
men had run out of ammo, had 1 backpack medical kit and were out thought by the
rebels. he was later found unscathed.............. "Lucky man"
Ask yourself quietly - if the CAR
rebels were 500m away, you have nothing but your Excitement Stores spatula/spatooooola to
protect you, against some of the most brutal soldiers on earth - they will cut
out your intestines (without asking for your medical aid number) and feed it to
you would you run and
hide.................... “Hell Yes”.
Another
soldier, who was flown to South Africa early on Wednesday evening, spoke
hauntingly of hundreds of bodies lying on the ground, of limbs missing, gaping
wounds, of the dying moaning and screaming for help. "We were told these
rebels were amateurs. We were told there was nothing to worry about - that the
thousands of Central African regional troops along with CAR government soldiers
would help us," he said. "But they were the first to run ... when
those first shots were fired they disappeared ... when the sh*t really hit the
fan the very okes we trained started killing us," he said, referring to
the CAR soldiers. Reports have emerged that government soldiers mutinied after
the fighting broke out................... “So the very men they had been sent
to train and assist also shot them, not cool”
Bangui -
Central African Republic's new president, Michel Djotodia, whose rebel forces
took control of the capital Bangui last weekend, said on Friday he would
request help from former colonial power France and the United States to retrain
his country's ill-disciplined and demoralised army, which was easily overrun by
fighters from the Seleka rebel coalition. His comments appeared to mark a
change of tack from his predecessor Bozize's close ties to South Africa, with
which he had signed a fresh bilateral defence agreement in January.
Next big event of the week was
that it was my birthday and not just any
birthday...............My 50th. Yeah the Village Idiot has turned 50
and it was a great day. First i was woken by my 2 ladies and wished a happy
birthday and that was really really lekker. On arrival at work I was set upon
by the office ladies and then surprised with a Champagne brunch and 50 presents
that I had to unwrap, that included a statuette saying NOSA Superstar, boob
stress ball, a very large pair of glasses, sheriff badge etc etc. During the day
I got calls, bbms, sms’s FB messages wishing me a happy birthday, so that was
also pretty cool.
Tania, Gabby, Stephen and myself
(the other Stephen is Gabby’s boyfriend) and yes it does cause some confusion
when “Stephen” is shouted in the Dunkley house and we are both there, but other
than that he is not a bad guy. I digress
, we went to the Spur for Dinner and had a really lekker evening, we had a
lekker waitress serving us who was up to my nonsense and every time the waiter
that looked like woody came past I would shout “To infinity and beyond”...............”Mmmmmmm
yes alcohol was involved”
When i got home family from UK Skype’d
and told me that they had got me a birthday present that involves me driving a Aston
martin DGB and a Ferrari 360 c (yes you read correctly) 3 laps each round the
Silverstone Racetrack that’s about 120 km’s from London. Here is the “splurb”...................“don’t
get to jealous”
“Drive two of the best supercars on
the planet at the world-famous Silverstone circuit. Feel the power of the Ferrari 360 pitched
against the style of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. The Ferrari is light, agile
and has 400 bhp going to the rear wheels. The Aston Martin has a sublime 4.3
litre V8 engine that powers down the straight. Start with a safety and
technique briefing from a qualified instructor, before taking the wheel of the
Ferrari 360 for three laps. After a break, enjoy a further three laps driving
the Aston around the first class Silverstone circuit. Try to pick a favorite before concluding with a debrief".
I own the T shirts, a belt, the patches,
the books, the bandannas the half gloves and now , drum roll please brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
The Bike , Stephen “Born to be dof” Dunkley is the proud owner of a Harley Davidson, bought on my birthday,
here is a picture of my new friend. Its a 883 Hugger tat been converted to a
1200cc, not ridden it yet as its in Durban and i need to arrange transport to
get it here. As you can imagine, having always wanted to own Harley..........................“I cant wait”
Tania and i joined Rob and his son
Terry and his girlfriend Catherine on Thursday at the German “don’t mention the
war” Club, was a pretty lekker evening and when we go next time we are going to
book the 9 pin court to see if we can play German Bowls.
So its Easter weekend, so first
let me wish you all a “Happy Easter” and tell you that it’s been raining cats,
dogs, gecko’s and an assortment of other furry marsupials.