With schools closed, concerns grow for children in gang-affected communities

Schools in gang riddled communities are often treated as safe havens for children during gun battles between rival gang members.

But with schools closed for the holiday season, Hanover Park resident and local community policing forum spokesperson, Kashiefa Mohamed, is calling on parents and guardians to take special care of their children over the festive season.

Mohamed who lost her teenage son to gang violence eight years ago, is also pleading with gangs to stop the violence.

In September, a video went viral on social media in which a Mitchells Plain teacher can be heard calming the children in her class using soothing music, while gunshots rang out, outside.

At the time, Grade R teacher at Yellowwood Primary School, Sinead Majiet explained she and her colleagues have emergency measures in place in order to protect themselves and their children when gun violence erupts in the community.

Sadly, ducking and diving to dodge gangsters' bullets has become the norm for children living in gang riddled areas across the Cape, with Mitchells Plain, Kraaifontein, Factreton, Elsies River and Hanover Park being just a few of these communities.

In Hanover Park in October, four-year-old Qadir Boer died in hospital after being struck by a stray bullet.

EWN spoke to the Hanover Park CPF's Kashiefa Mohamed following the little boy's murder:

"It becomes the norm for people to hear gunshots 24/7. Please people, let us keep our children safe, don't let these gangsters take over. This gang war is not just in Hanover Park but overall in the Western Cape," said Mohamed.

A surge in gang and gun violence in recent months has seen police deployments being bolstered across several affected communities.