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| Outside The Royal Belfast Hotel |
My trip back to Swaziland after enjoying the festive season in
Zimbabwe was quite nightmarish. Somewhere along the way while we were heading
towards Jane Furse in South Africa, our car developed a problem and limited
speed to just 60km/hour, nothing above that. It got dark and we were on an
unfamiliar unlit road for about 60km. at some point, the car must have hit a
pothole and veered off the road and zigzagged for a few metres before
stabilizing. I noticed that there was a car which was steadily following us all
the way and wouldn’t overtake. My husband tried indicating that it was safe to
overtake but it just continued to follow us at that slow pace. I was really
terrified out of my head and snapped at my 10-year-old who persistently asked
me to spell lizard. He had no idea what was happening around him and that my
mind was quite a tumultuous place at that point in time. I silently prayed for
safety and started removing important things from my handbag while being
mindful to leave a bit of money in it, in case we were about to be robbed and
the robber would probably just ask for the bag and run with it. A part of me
also feared what if they just want to take the car and I’ve put a substantial
amount of money, bank cards and driver’s licence in the compartment at the back
of a seat? How would I retrieve them? I did not even communicate my fear with
my husband because vocalizing them would have probably have worsened our
situation by causing panic. Just before a town called Stoffberg, the car
tailing us suddenly overtook and sped off into the night. I was, and still
really convinced that our lives were under some kind of threat, and was really
relieved when the car left us alone. If anything bad had happened to us, it
would have been difficult for anyone to know what happened to us because the
road was totally deserted.
I suggested to my husband that we used the navigator to find
accommodation. There were no visible hotels, but there were some lodges. We
tried to go to one but the road leading to it was unlit and untarred. I refused
to proceed because we didn’t know the neighbourhood and associated dangers. I insisted
that we went to the police station to inquire. The police officer on duty
called the one he thought was an option but it was fully booked. He said the
nearest place we could get accommodation was in the next town, Belfast, which
was about 50 km away. After our episode earlier, I insisted that we put up in
the car at the police station. My husband refused and insisted that we went to
Belfast. The road was even worse. It was extremely dark and ours was the only
car on it. Who knew why other people weren’t using it? What if there was a
history of sinister things happening on it? I was back to saying my prayers
again.
People get raped and butchered in the comfort of their own homes in
South Africa, and there we were moving around in dark places whose history we
didn’t even know. There can’t be worse
folly than that. Eventually we got to Belfast and saw an arrow leading to The
Royal Belfast Hotel. I had never been so happy to see a building, any building
in my life before! Upon getting into the premises, we discovered that it was
just a seedy backpacker’s accommodation, nothing at all royal about the place,
but who cared! Certainly not me! I’m usually picky about accommodation but I
was so thrilled to be off the road, inside a building where I could lock a
door! |
| Inside the 'hotel'. To the right of the wash basin is the toilet |
I hope I never have to go through what I went through that day. I
remember watching a Steven Segal movie where he left a note for his nemesis
written, “The anticipation of death is worse than death itself.” I tell you, if
you didn’t know already, feeling endangered is the worst thing ever! We might
not have been in danger, but I believe we were. If it were up to me, I’d never
have travelled with 2 small kids into the dark night not knowing what dangers
were lurking out there. I would have quickly looked for accommodation before
sundown. In Shona we say kumhanya hakusi
kusvika, rushing isn’t necessarily arriving. I would have gladly put up at
the police station. Safety means more to me than comfort. Every time I think
about that night, I get shivers down my spine. Who said there’s security in
numbers? Sometimes the risk is actually higher than when you are on your own.
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