Xenophobia victim hides in fridge

BEITBRIDGE — Machete-wielding South African hooligans clad in work suits and safety shoes who were hunting foreigners in that country “like rats” circled Blessing Duri’s shack in Verulam, Durban, at the crack of dawn on April 14.

Duri (26) had heard about the xenophobic violence in other parts of Durban, but he threw caution to the wind as his mind toiled over the idea of fleeing back to his remote rural Honde Valley home in Manicaland province where his parents passed on a decade ago.

Besides, the glaring unemployment in Zimbabwe and grinding poverty meant home would not be best for him.

This story is for NewsDay subscribers.