‘We lost everything’: Despair grows in South Africa after unrest

Community members left reeling after days of violence and looting caused rampant destruction and more than 200 deaths.

Johannesburg, South Africa – Shelves broken, decorations ripped off the walls and empty boxes that used to carry colourful party supplies litter Thandi Johnson’s store. The devastated shop owner looks through the debris of her popular party-rental shop in Diepkloof, Soweto, for anything she might be able to salvage. There is nothing. “On Monday, I had the day off so my husband and I took our routine morning walk,” Johnson, 41, recalled.