VALO spoke above to a local DJ who was at risk of being slandered as he was caught up in the conflict between Israel, the United States of America (USA) and Iran.
This war, which is in its second week, was triggered by the Israeli strike in cooperation with the USA in Iran.
Iran retaliated with its own bombings of Israel and countries with US military bases.
DJ Zinzi Kahnish found himself in trouble because the war was in Israel where he was invited to play.
“I usually go out of the country to DJ. It wasn’t the first time I went to play in Israel. It was the second time and I was hired for three different events,” explained Zinzi in a video he posted on social media following his return home in a tank.
He said he left on February 26 and arrived the next day when his first event was held as he had been hired out of three. Two were in Tel Aviv and one in Haifa. He said everything went well when he arrived because he played at that time.
“The next day we were woken up by the sound of trumpets and told that the war has started. In fact, I was very scared because I didn’t know what to do. Although I had already paid return tickets, that was not enough because the atmosphere was closed,” explained Zinzi.
He said he called his family who helped him to contact the Department of International Relations (Dirco) and the embassy who advised him on what to do to get home safely.
“I was advised to go to Jordan and from there go to Egypt and return home safely. I would like to thank Dirco, the South African embassy in Palestine, Jordan and the coordinator in Israel who advised me on everything because I did not know where to go, where to go and which country is safe enough to go to to avoid war but they were with me in everything.”
He thanked God, friends, family and all who prayed for him to return safely.
“Even though I’m back, my thoughts are still with the people who live in Israel and Iran. I pray for their safety and I pray for the war to end because they are innocent people at the lower levels with families and children.”
Dirco’s spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, advised South Africans traveling abroad for whatever reason to register at the country’s embassy closest to their destination. He said the information is available on their department’s website.
“Citizens are also encouraged to register on the Dirco Travel Smart App where you can enter the details of relatives and enter your case if you are in trouble abroad.”