New South African Experience

Had an interesting experience today which gave me some insight into my own prejudices and fears, and that of the country. I had been at my parents and was driving to visit friends across a freeway bridge when in the darkness out of the corner of my eye I saw what looked like a puppy scavenging in rubbish on the side of the road. I stopped the car without thinking, put on the hazard lights and walked the 100m or so back down the bridge to see what if I could do something.

It turned out to be a dog, not a puppy, and as soon as I got near, it ran away. There was not much to do, so I returned to the car. But by then, another car had stopped just in front of mine, and a dark figure stood on the side of the road between me and my car. The hair on the back of my neck stood up; this was the classic start to the kind of hijacking stories which make all too frequent appearances in South Africa's newspapers. That it was a black man made the situation seem more dangerous for me. Would I have been as alarmed if it had been a white man? To be honest with myself, probably not: crime in South Africa often has a racial twist to it, even though there are many many black victims of crime.

"Hey" said the man.

The options flashed through my mind: run away, leaving the unlocked car on the side of the road. Or skirt him and try and get into the car as quickly as possible. I opted for the latter.

"I just wanted to know if you need help", he said, and as I walked past, I realized that he was driving some kind of expensive sedan and was alone. This wasn't a hijacker, it was someone who thought I was in trouble and wanted to lend a hand.

"I thought I saw I puppy", I said, sounding foolish to my own ears. "But thanks". And without waiting for him to respond, I jumped in the car and drove off, still feeling shaken.

How much of this fear was justified and how much was in my head? The stories you get here from the media give the lessons: Don't get involved with people on the side of the road. Don't stop to help others. Don't trust. Don't be a good Samaritan. The man who had pulled over hadn't listened to those lessons, he had genuinely wanted to help. I had ... and had immediately assumed that him stopping was a bad sign, and the situation was dangerous. I think I reacted out of a mixture of perceived wisdom and racial fear. Did I react stupidly? Given the crime situation here, probably not. Would I do the same thing under the same circumstances again? Maybe, although I like to think I'd try and gauge the situation more.