The Dark Side of South Africa

The photograph below was taken four nights ago at a restaurant where we went to celebrate a birthday.  It was a great evening spent catching up with old family friends.  We spoke on the phone again last night and this morning I tried to call a few times to relay some information to Sue, but the phone rang and rang, finally going to voicemail.  The reason became apparent a little while later when we were told that two armed intruders had entered their home early this morning, tied them up and beaten them, and proceeded to systematically ransack their home for about 45 minutes. Sue managed to free her hands and call for help, and as the first policeman arrived in response, there ensued a gunfight which left the policeman and one intruder dead in their courtyard.  The other intruder escaped and is still at large. Their car (already loaded with stolen goods) was riddled with bullets, as was the exterior of the home. This is not an isolated incident.  This evening's newspaper combines this violent encounter with news of another on the same day only a few miles away.  I could recount more of the horrifying details, but you get the picture.  Just another day in the life of the average South African ...