VIOLENCE IN CAPE TOWN

Friends and Family,

I have attached some photos taken from a local newspaper article which documents some of the recent violent uprising here in the Cape Town area. I am asking that you guys please pray that peace would be restored in this community. We are all a bit nervous that this situation will break out into something bigger and more violent than it already has (and less containable as well). Below is a brief paragraph from Dennis Wadley (director of Bridges of Hope) and following that is a newspaper article telling about a train bombing (related to the striking) that occurred in Philippi yesterday.
Hi Friends,
The security workers in SA that are union members have been on strike for weeks. Yesterday they marched on Parliament in Cape Town and the march erupted into looting and violence. You can check out pictures at:
http://www.news24.com/Die_Burger/Gallery/Home/0,,18-2380,00.html
Today a commuter train was hit with a fire bomb. One of our friends from Philippi, Benson (the chef...for those who know him) was on the car that was hit. He is ok, but had to be treated at the hospital for smoke inhalation. (see news article below)
Our Orphan Caregiver event scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed because another march was planned for tomorrow, but may be shut down by the government. If it is, there are fears that the violence will spread throughout the community. We will have a morning of prayer in place of this event, so please join us in that if you can.
Please pray for safety for our friends in Philippi. Ask God to bring this issue to an end and to help us to be wise regarding our return to the community.
Thank you for your prayers.
God bless,
Dennis

Commuter line closed after train is torched in Philippi
By Johan Schronen
Arsonists set a train alight on the Mitchell's Plain line early today, forcing Metrorail to cancel its service on that route until further notice.
The attack took place shortly after 5am. It followed the petrol bombing of Heideveld station's ticket office late last night.
Police suspect both incidents could be related to the strike by security guards.
Railway police said a ticket office staffer saw a gang of men douse the second coach on a Cape Town-bound train with petrol at Philippi station at 5.10am today.
The arsonists set the coach alight as the train pulled out of the station.
Police on the train raised the alarm and stopped the train at Nyanga station.
By then the coach was burning fiercely and about 30 passengers who were in coaches further back got off at Nyanga.
The fire brigade arrived within minutes but could not do anything until power to the line was cut.
Metrorail technicians took some time to cut the electricity.
Meanwhile railway police rushed to Philippi station to look for clues.
They also searched people and their bags, on and around the platforms, looking for anything which might have contained petrol or other flammable substances.
Detectives were also hoping that closed-circuit television cameras at Philippi station had been rolling to capture images of the culprits.
Police sniffer dogs and bomb squad members combed the gutted coach for clues at Nyanga station before the empty train left for Cape Town station.
The train will be inspected again at Cape Town station.
Fingerprint experts were also called to Heideveld station to search for clues there.

Please, please, join us in prayer for this situation. We are not allowed to enter Philippi for the rest of the week so we have decided to fast and pray as a staff for the next 30 hours. We are praying that the violence would calm down and that the conflicts would be resolved. This country is in such a fragile position as racial tensions are high and the wounds are deep (going back many generations). So, we pray that events like these would not cause a nation-wide, violent, outburst of pent up anger and pain.