The boys in the hood
AS EXPECTED, my last column on gangsterism evoked much interest. As I said then, the life of gangsters or mobsters is intriguing to the man on the street. The title of that piece was “Bada bing, bada boom”. I thought I would expand on that today.
Firstly, what do those four words mean? It means that something will happen predictably, effortlessly. And certainly, back in the day if the boss gave an order, it was as good as done, with ease. Even if it meant an execution. The most famous mob boss and arguably the most powerful was Al Capone, also known as “Scarface” and “public enemy number one”. He was ruthless and famously was the brain behind the notorious St Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929 where seven rival gang members were lined up against a wall and executed in broad daylight.
This incident became the beginning of Capone’s downfall. Influential people put pressure on the government to take action against the mob boss. In a strange twist, Capone was finally arrested and incarcerated for eight years. And here is the kicker: despite all his violent criminal activities, the government could only arrest him on charges of tax evasion. He was released after eight years due to a serious attack of neuro syphilis, which led to a stroke and eventual death.
Despite the violent and criminal lifestyle he led in Chicago, which was his territory, or we can say “terror-tory”, the average Chicagoan never had a bad word to say about the mobster. Do you know why?
In his heyday as a feared mobster, America was going through the severe “Great Depression”. People were battling to survive and food was scarce or unaffordable. The canny Mr Capone established a soup kitchen in the city and provided breakfast, lunch and dinner to hundreds of people daily. Very soon his philanthropy earned him the nickname of “Robin Hood” and vastly improved his reputation and standing in society. Further he liberally gave out handouts to orphans and widows.
Soon people saw Capone as a hero for the man in the street. A few felt conflicted about accepting charity from a gangster, but the reality was that hunger trumped principles. It’s a human thing!
That was the USA. Let’s drop the “U” and concentrate on good old “SA”.
So, the notorious gangs that ran the streets of Durban and parts of Johannesburg, such as the Crimson League and The Salots are all dead and gone right? Think again.
It was New Year’s eve 2010 and as was the norm back then, during that particular period, my wife and I used to nestle high up in the Drakensberg for the week. Just chilling in the hotel room on one of those days, my cellphone rang.
It was a stranger’s voice. I spoke back cordially. He asked if I was Ravi Govender who writes for POST newspaper and I said that I was. He invited me to a party that was to be held later that same evening to bring in the new year. I asked him who were they?
His reply chilled me to the bone. He said the gangs of Durban were closing up two streets in the CBD, Bond and Prince Edward streets, to hold their annual year-end celebration- as they do every year. I froze. I pinched myself to see that I was awake and not dreaming. Confirming that I was wide awake, I looked suspiciously at the double G and T in my hand and thought that I was mistaken that it was the first one of the days.
I mean – gangs? In modern day Durban? I had just recently back then written about the glory (inglorious) days of the gangs of Durban. Babbling incoherently, I asked him if he was serious, thinking that he was overtaking me in the drinks department that afternoon. I asked that because to my knowledge the likes of the Crimson League, the Young Americans, Generations and the Dutcheens had long since ridden off to Tombstone.
His answer came first in the form of laughter and then he revealed a shocking fact: that the gangs were alive and well and it’s always been business as usual. They had not gone anywhere! I was stymied. I was further blown away, excuse the pun, when he told me that I hold cult status among the members because of my writing. They enjoyed my meanderings into a bygone era and they identified with the period about which I write.
They were grateful for my revealing a fact which in their eyes- had set the records straight. I had written in 2004 that the gangsters of the day did not intimidate or harass innocent members of the public. They had their beef with rival gangs and guarded their territorial rights ferociously, but also to an extent they safeguarded the community. They protected ordinary folk in the then Durban CBD against racial attacks and kept the streets of the city relatively safe, while at the same time they were engaged in a host of illicit businesses and enterprises.
I further learned from my mob connection that even though most of the founding members of the notorious gangs of Durban had passed on, some were still alive and kicking (hopefully, not literally) and many of the children of past mobsters have taken up the mantle and are carrying on the FAMILY tradition.
I have heard that many of our suburbs these days have some gangs running rackets, but that is where I will end this discussion. It’s the wise thing to do. Capische?
*Ravi Govender is a former POST sub-editor and Lotus FM radio presenter. He is a published author, a freelance editor and film producer in training. He can be contacted at: ravijohngovender@gmail.com
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.