[imagesource: Armand Hough/African News Agency]

It hasn’t been a good week for Sea Point’s reputation.

Last Friday, as South Africans were allowed out of their houses to exercise for the first time in 36 days, pictures of the Sea Point promenade were widely shared and ridiculed.

You could argue that the density of the area, combined with a three-hour exercise window that is more like 90 minutes due to the sun only rising around 7:30AM, was always going to end badly, but you’d be drowned out.

Others have pointed to the fact that some camera angles are deceptive, but we move along.

The latest stain on the area’s name involves Peter Wagenaar (pictured above), who woke up on Wednesday morning to find his car torched. For the full picture, though, we must rewind to two weeks back, and this altercation between Peter and law enforcement.

Peter had been reported by his neighbours for feeding homeless residents in the area during the lockdown, and it’s jarring to hear the policeman tell him that not one, or not two, of the residents in his building had complained, but seven.

Imagine knowing that seven people in the building where you live complained to the police because you’re feeding people who are destitute and live on the streets?

Here’s that video, with the policeman pointing out the seven complaints from around the 1:15 mark:

To be fair to the policeman, he is just doing his job and, according to COVID-19 lockdown regulations, the homeless were supposed to have been accommodated in shelters, rather than living on the streets.

Here’s where things really take a turn south. On a Sea Point Facebook neighbourhood group, some members started sharing Peter’s personal information. Head here for one example, with screenshots, of Peter’s personal details being shared.

According to News24, residents were divided on the issue of Peter feeding the homeless:

According to Sea Point resident Shelley Finch, two camps fought on Facebook: one thinks individuals can give directly to the homeless, while the other thinks it should be distributed through a shelter.

Finch said those who gave directly to the homeless were harassed by those who think it was wrong.

She added one resident, Paul Jacobson, was of the view Wagenaar was breaking the law by giving the homeless food directly, and published his address and vehicle registration number on Facebook.

Various other screenshots have emerged, showing Jacobson’s anger towards Peter:

Other comments attributed to Jacobson on the Atlantic Sea Board Action Group include him saying that Peter is “causing the premature death of many street people”, and “if there was ever a situation that deserved name and shame, this is it”.

Jacobson was contacted for comment, and said he had nothing to do with what came next, although he admitted he shouldn’t have shared the personal details of another member on the group.

This is like something out of a dystopian movie:

If you’re shocked and disgusted, you’re not alone.

Let’s hear from Peter, via the Daily Maverick:

…41 days since Wagenaar started feeding the homeless from his car, his car has gone up in flames.

“This morning, at 3.40am, I was sleeping and I heard the [car] alarm. I looked out through the window and I said to my wife, ‘Don’t get a fright, our car’s alight. Call the fire department and I’ll go outside.’

Then I carried on with the day. We chatted to the SAPS guys and the fire department [when they arrived]. We came back [inside the house], I had a nice cup of coffee, fired up the gas stove and started cooking,” said Wagenaar.

That’s a level of zen we can all aspire to.

Despite his initial run-in with police, which was recorded in the video up top, Peter says he had come to an understanding with law enforcement:

Since then, Wagenaar says, “I’ve spoken to the captain at the Sea Point police station, who was a breath of fresh air, who realised that food distribution is important at this time. We’ve put that to bed, and I said that I believe in second chances.”

Wagenaar wakes up every day at 4am to start cooking. Breakfast is given to the homeless people from 7am to 9am on Beach Road and Fritz Sonnenberg Road.

“This morning it was cinnamon and apple-infused oats, then they got a fresh fruit with that.”

Wagenaar says that around 80 to 100 homeless people get breakfast and dinner from him which he buys from his own pocket.

All that, to wake up to the gut feeling that some in your community are so opposed to the feeding of the homeless that they torched your vehicle.

The mind boggles.

SAPS have confirmed that a case of malicious damage to property has been opened. With questions being asked in the wake of his comments on Facebook, Jacobson says it may down to a ‘turf war’ of sorts:

He said although he felt strongly about this, he would never torch somebody’s car over it, and does not think any “vigilante” in Sea Point or Mouille Point would do so either, adding media reports had noted recently gangsters were handing out food parcels.

Jacobson suspects Wagenaar might have unwittingly stepped on somebody’s territory by building relationships with the homeless.

According to information he had received from a local security company, a motorbike was seen in the area and something was thrown at the vehicle before it burst into flames.

“Peter was probably occupying turf whether he knew it or not,” said Jacobson, a businessperson in the area.

Still, Peter will not be deterred, and says he will continue to feed the homeless.

There are those who will say rules and regulations are there for a reason, and that feeding the homeless contravenes those, and that’s their right.

Supporting organised feeding programmes is a great way to ensure your money, or donations, make a difference where it really counts. But, and this is a big one, are we really at the stage where somebody with the kindest of intentions wakes up to the sound of their car on fire?

One thing is for sure – during this pandemic we’re going to learn a great deal about those in our neighbourhoods, and not all of it is going to be pleasant.

[sources:news24&dailymaverick]