A LAUDIUM mendhi night turned out a disaster recently when guests assumed three "black" men were robbers.
This happened against the backdrop of media reports of thieves gatecrashing weddings to rob guests of gold, watches and cars.
Two papers recently reported on the escalation of robberies at Indian weddings.
The POST reported on a gang of three or four that preyed on guests at KZN weddings - robbing guests of jewellery and motor cars.
The well-researched story serves as a wake-up call for wedding organisers to beef up security.
The Laudium Sun carried a bold headline: "Wedding functions targeted by criminals".
It documented a pre-wedding night "incident" on a recent Friday where three well-dressed men believed to be of Nigerian origin were accosted by shaky family members.
The article intimated Jewel Street bride-to-be Hawabibi's mendhi night at the Laudium Civic Centre was ruined by the presence of "three largely built black males" they believed to be Nigerian.
The story referred to the trio as "daring" as they partook in the eats until spotted by a beagle-eyed relative who identified himself as Shabir.
“Fortunately, we spotted them in time. A whole group of us got together and we approached them. We then told them to leave," he told the tabloid.
“They looked at us in a funny way and it was obvious to us they were planning to do something bad, so we escorted them out. These guys then jumped into a waiting white VW Jetta, registration number VTP521GP," he added.
A Laudium citizen Yasmin Ayob, added her vice to the hysteria.
“We did not know whether these guys were going to come back and finish what they initially came here to do.”
The newspapers preceded the key story with two minor ones on a Lenasia wedding robbery where gold and watches were stolen and a home break-in "at a relative's home" prior to a wedding in Laudium.
Municipality security officials were on hand at the Civic Centre. Though, according to the story, guests had no faith in them.
GVC OPINION
THE mendhi night and wedding day should be the happiest for any would-be-blushing bride - not one fraught with worry over safety and security of invited guests.
That is why we urge wedding planners to factor in security and, a common sense guest list, at the Front of House (FOH).
The guest list should be lodged with security and a FOH manager the wedding party selects. No one should be let in without an invite.
Gone are days when weddings were a free-for-all affair. The older generation will attest to how many weddings they've gate-crashed in their lives.
Today safety and security issues and costs should be factored in. As should be notifying the local police and community "neighbourhood watch" groups.
It's no use become hysterical and targeting people as miscreants. Gatecrashing weddings for "free food" is a practice as old as the hills. As are robberies. In South Africa it is obvious more robberies will occur from the darker-skinned of God's creations. Economic circumstances and sheer volumes of numbers will ensure this. And considering one out of five people in Africa are of Nigerian origin, then logic would follow that most crime could emanate from this region. In the same way robberies in India will most likely be perpetrated by Indians.
In these volatile times though, it is foolish to stereotype based on fear and xenophobic-induced hysteria.
It is time for SA Indians to stop passing the buck. The security company at the Civic Centre's door is not to blame. The wedding planners are.
All people - white, black, Indian and coloured - attend Indian wedding events. In the Laudium affair, there was no crime committed. Indeed, a crime may have been averted. We have no proof of that. The situation could have been better handled too.
Maybe the gatecrashers came for a free chow - we all know the delights of SA Indian cuisine.
2NYT IN
THE Pink Panther 2, 5.20pm on MM1 (DStv, channel 103)
Bolly bombshelle Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan stars with the bumbling but-not-so-funny-as-Peter Sellers Steve Martin as Inspector Clousseau. Ms Rai-Bachchan is terrible in her role as the femme fatale but makes for great eye candy
Journey Through The Quran, 8pm, on Islam Channel (DStv, channel 347)
A lecture series explaining the meaning of the Quran by Sheikh Suhaib Hasan
A lecture series explaining the meaning of the Quran by Sheikh Suhaib Hasan
The Odyssey - 1860, 5.30pm, on Saffron (DStv, channel 456)
A series of documentary shorts on the history of the arrival of Indians to SA from 1860 onwards
A series of documentary shorts on the history of the arrival of Indians to SA from 1860 onwards
Deal No Deala, 8.30m, on SUN TV (DStv, channel 454) The popular game show focuses on girls (26 of them) and 26 cases one of which is filled with moolah! In Tamil nogal.
2NYT OUT
INDA Mix @ftv, Umhlanga, KZN, Get styling with East Coast Radio's US import Deon Govender
TAILPIECE
CONVERSATION between a A FIFA World Cup 2010 seller and buyer at the Gateway Kiosk
Buyer: Are tickets sold out?
Seller: No
Buyer: Can I buy some?
Seller: We don't have any
Buyer: When will you have any?
Seller: I'm not sure. But definitely before the match!
GVC says: DUH!
