That the Cape Argus Cycling event was cancelled was sad for many. However, it was necessary. Had it continued, cyclists and spectators could have been injured as the wind was serious in its ferocity.
Saturday night already it was palpable that the wind would not relent as it tore through Walmer Estate and Woodstock. From my vantage point in Walmer Estate I see homes with missing roof tiles. The loud creaking of neighboring roofs confirmed that the past weekend gust was no regular wind.
In retrospect, the organizers should be grateful that no serious damage was done. Example, some years ago at a concert at the Cape Town Stadium, a scaffold that braced advertising fell onto people, seriously injuring some when the wind started gusting. With the many scaffold advertising that surrounded the cycle starting point, it was a miracle that injuries were not sustained.
While cyclists may have been disappointed, the organizers made a very decent gesture to give the food and drink to those fire victims on the other side of the mountain in Hout Bay. This gesture of goodwill from the side of the Cape Argus and its Cycle organizers will be remembered for a long time by those victims who lost their belongings. Many victims may have lost hope at the sight of their things burning, but that food and drink may just have restored their faith in our collective humanity.
With the regular furious wind, blazing sun and drought stricken conditions that surrounds us in Cape Town, we are more depended on the humanity of each other. Perhaps our creator is sending us a message. As the Bible says, God works in mysterious ways.
Cllr Yagyah Adams
Cape Muslim Congress