Knife Crime ER Reggie Yates's Extreme South Africa

Cape Town. One of the most stunning cities in South Africa.

It's also the country's murder capital.

-SIREN WAILS

-Oh, my God.

He was stabbed with a screwdriver.

The outskirts, especially, are overwhelmed with violent crime.

Whatever has happened it happened right here,

in front of this little child as well.

'I've come to spend a week with the medics whose job it is

'to patch up the victims...'

You've got another stab victim coming through now?

They have popped your lung.

Where is he stabbed? Relax. Relax.

'..treating up to 100 stab and gunshot patients every weekend.'

-Many, many stabs in the back.

-16 stab wounds!

I'm going to need some help, if you don't mind helping me.

'I want to find out what it's like for the junior doctors...'

Officially a really bad cog in the wheel.

Do you know where you are? What is this place?

Saving lives, they're helping people every night

and they are younger than me.

'..and how they cope with the relentless emergencies.'

Gunshot wounds. Three. This gentleman has been stabbed

and the one on the end there is also stabbed.

-So somebody your age to go through this, is that normal?

-It's normal.

-There is big crime. Big

-BLEEP

-crime.

In the township, I find a vibrant community living in fear.

When I go to school every day, I pray I am safe.

A place where young men like me

almost inevitably get caught up in violent scrapes.

When someone drinks alcohol in our society, people die.

It is an abomination.

It's a journey that will take me to the heart of the township...

Watch out. Watch out.

..and bring me face-to-face with the people committing these crimes.

We are like the devil in hell.

We are there to kill everyone.

-Rob everyone.

-Destroy.

-Destroy everything.

This programme contains strong language and scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.

I've just arrived in Khayelitsha,

a township 12 miles away from the centre of Cape Town.

Here it's payday weekend, the taverns are opening

and the night is just beginning.

Just people literally everywhere and you've got tons of kids

trying to wash windows at the traffic lights. Look at this.

You just get that vibe that anything could happen.

I'm on my way to a hospital in the heart of the township.

There's a massive problem with knife crime in the area

and the hospital, only built in 2012,

has one of the busiest emergency centres in Cape Town.

Over the next few days, I'll be shadowing the junior doctors here.

Literally just arrived at the hospital and this,

as you can see in the distance,

you can see the township stretching out for miles.

This is Khayelitsha, this is the area that this hospital is based in

and just over there is Harare,

one of the most notorious parts of the township.

And there is a huge party going on. You can hear it.

DISTANT MUSIC PLAYS

They're having the time of their lives. It's a Saturday night.

Everybody's having a drink.

There are people screaming, whistling and whooping

and when the taverns close, those guys, when they are drunk

and ready to get into mischief, will probably end up here.

Better put on my scrubs.

'Although I've been given special training and permission to be close

'to the action in the trauma unit,

'I have no idea what to expect tonight.'

It's really weird. No matter where you are in the world,

that feeling of a hospital just fills you with dread

and all I can smell is that horrible smell of needles and...

Looks like it's all systems go already.

'I'm meeting with the doctors at the start of the weekend shift.'

-Hello.

-Hi.

-How're you doing?

-Good. How are you?

-I'm good thank you. I'm Reggie. What's your name?

-Hi, I'm Lauren.

Hello, Lauren. Nice to meet you.

What's happening here? I see someone being stitched up already.

We've got someone being stitched up and we've got someone who lost a leg.

-Someone who lost a leg? How did that happen?

-That's his leg in the bag.

-His leg is in the bag?

-Correct.

How did he... How did he lose his leg?

He was quite intoxicated.

He was hit by a train and had a traumatic amputation of the left leg.

Oh, my God! Wow!

I've literally walked in and that's the first thing I've seen.

Already I'm a bit, sort of, like... Wow. Is this normal for you?

-Is this the sort of thing that I should expect?

-It's the start...

-It is the start of a trauma weekend.

-So it's nine o'clock now.

This is the calm before the storm, would you say?

Exactly what we've been saying. The calm before the storm. For sure.

He may have lost a leg but thanks to junior doctors Lauren, Francois

and Amy, he is at least still alive.

One, two, three.

But there is another patient that junior doctors,

all under the age of 30, need to assess. Hello, Amy.

-Are you making diagrams as to where he has been injured?

-Yes.

So he's got a big laceration to the back of his head.

-I think this guy was probably a panga.

-What's a panga?

Panga is a massive knife. It is a thick blade, heavy blade.

-Like a machete?

-Like a machete, yeah. That's what they do.

I mean, the back of his head is literally, like, soft.

Stabbing each other seems to be the way to go.

So, yeah. Welcome to Khayelitsha.

-Can you manage?

-And it is not long before the storm hits.

-So you got another stab victim coming through?

-Yeah.

It looks like another blunt force trauma to the head.

Are you having trouble to breathe?

On a typical weekend, the doctors will see about 100 patients,

90% of whom will have been stabbed.

Let me just close this wound quickly. Can you get me a suture?

In Khayelitsha, one of the most common causes of death

among young men under 25 is violent crime.

THEY TALK OVER EACH OTHER

PATIENT MOANS

-Relax! Relax!

-They have popped your lung.

But I will give you something nice for pain, OK?

26-year-old Dr Francois is treating a stab victim whose wounds

have caused internal bleeding and need immediate treatment.

It looks like we are probably

going to have to put a chest drain in for him.

I'm going to need some help if you don't mind helping me.

Maybe I should take my coat off and get...get set up.

What would you like me to do?

Just keep his arm up and keep his head that side

and just grab that arm if he reaches across for me, please,

cos I'm going to be working with some sharp equipment.

Thanks very much.

'I've only been here an hour and already I'm face-to-face

'with a patient who has a life-threatening injury.

'It's really nerve-racking.'

He's shaking a bit now, Francois. Is that normal?

He's probably a bit cold but it's fine. We'll give him something.

-If you can just keep this...

-Sure. Oh, my God.

-Just relax, buti.

-What does that mean?

-Brother.

-Right.

That's essentially what they call themselves.

'Francois needs to cut through the chest cavity

'and insert a tube to drain away blood or air

'that has built up around the lungs because of the stabbing.

'He needs to act quickly or the lung will collapse and the man could die.

-Oh, my God! I just heard it!

-AIR ESCAPES

Oh, my God!

So, the way I'm doing everything at the moment

is not how we are taught at university.

So why are you doing it this way? Is it a time sensitive thing?

It is a combination of things.

We don't have the right circumstances, really,

under which to do all of this stuff.

We don't have the correct equipment to do it sterilely.

And there's the time, because I know a couple more of these guys

are going to be coming in and I also need to get over and help with those

other ones that might be less stable than he is.

OK. It's finished now. OK. It's finished.

So that's the first one of those.

I'm sure you are going to be seeing a couple this weekend.

I think I was a little more squeamish than he was during that.

-Yeah. Thanks for your help.

-Seriously.

Everybody is busy with other patients.

I think my squirming wasn't exactly helpful

-but I appreciate your politeness.

-No, it was helpful. Thanks.

Look at that. Sorry.

I've just "helped out" Francois sort this man out and...

..he's straight on to the next.

You know, he is washing up

and then he's got another serious stab wound to deal with.

-Do you know where you are? What is this place?

-It's really weird.

When I think about what I was doing at 26,

my main concern was keeping my trainers clean.

This saving lives, they're helping people every night

-and they are younger than me.

-How old are you?

-17.

It feels like right about now, they are coming in one after the other.

And it's 11.25.

Lukhanyo was mugged and stabbed on his way home from a tavern.

HE GROANS

-He's only 21 years old.

-Lift your head up.

Lift your head up. Lift your head up.

With so many casualties every night,

the hospital attracts doctors from all over the world

wanting to train here. Dr Khaled Mbaya is from Tanzania.

On average, Britain's inner cities see about 100 recorded stabbings

a week, but here in Khayelitsha,

junior doctors like Nicole will have the same figure in just a weekend.

HE GROANS

You were making everything dirty!

-It's not easy, brother.

-It's not easy, yeah.

-It's difficult.

These guys come in all the time.

They drink, they don't have any money to feed their families,

but they drink and they party at the tavern

and the one guy looks at the other guy's girlfriend incorrectly

or whatever, whatever the reason may be,

and then there will be a gang of friends attacking someone

and they just go for it, you know.

They usually aim for the head.

The skull bleeds a lot so sometimes it looks bad...

..but it's not actually that bad.

They will survive to come back next week.

How are you? Are you all right? He says he's good.

And they want to go home now.

-Sir. Wake up.

-What's his name?

Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! We are stitching here!

As the night goes on, more and more patients pour in from the taverns.

Reggie, do you mind grabbing that for me

and just turning it up and down a couple of times?

Dr Hene, one of the senior consultants, lends a hand.

He's treating a patient whose skull may have been fractured

when he was stabbed in the head.

He shows me the unusual way they check.

What you can try and feel is an underlying skull fracture.

If you put your finger in here, you can feel the skull.

-Is he still awake?

-No, I've given him local anaesthetic.

-Put your finger in. Can you feel how thick the skin is?

-Yeah.

Look how thick it is.

So it is quite severe trauma to actually penetrate all that.

-Can you feel the skull?

-I can feel the skull.

-It's nice and smooth.

You can see there is no underlying fracture.

So I'm just going to close it.

I've done quite a few things in front of camera

but I can honestly say I've never had my pinkie in a man's skull.

The sorts of things that are coming through the door here continuously

are really shocking to somebody like me.

There is a clear crime problem here

and they are just dealing with it and that's their 9 to 5.

That's their job.

'I've only been here a couple of hours and it's unbelievable

'how many casualties with multiple stab wounds I've already seen.'

What's even worse is that they are mostly just young men.

This hospital represents one side of the story.

And seeing the people that come in makes me really desperate

to find out more about what it is that is making the area dangerous,

what it is that is making people do what they are doing.

PATIENT GROANS

Just relax, one last one. Last one.

I'm heading into the township.

I want to see where all these casualties are actually coming from.

Set up in the late '80s,

Khayelitsha was created on the outskirts of Cape Town

during apartheid as a last-ditch attempt to separate the races.

Banned from living in the whites-only city centre,

the non-white population was dumped here in the desolate Cape Flats.

20 years on and it's become a vibrant home

to over one million people and has seen some regeneration,

but 61% are unemployed and many live on less than two pounds a day.

-You got the money? Here?

-It's two pounds a person.

Two pounds a person, yeah. You need to check it.

Zuka, a local taxi driver has agreed to show us

around some of the most impoverished parts of the township.

So the poorest people, this is where they would live?

So how dangerous is it to live here?

The passageways are really narrow here as well.

So there is essentially nowhere to run once you're in the shacks

and once you're in-between them, you are trapped.

You are trapped because there is not enough space.

The cramped conditions are a breeding ground

for crime and violence.

Growing up in a council estate in North London,

I had a few close scrapes myself, but here danger is on every corner

and they don't even have street names.

I'm struggling to imagine what it must be like to grow up around here.

'I've met up with Lukhanyo, who was mugged walking home

'after a night out and ended up in the hospital.'

Where did it happen? Down this way?

You don't want to? Why not?

So, with no justice being done,

you've decided not to take it to the police.

Does that mean you are going to retaliate yourself? You are?

In Khayelitsha, many have lost trust in the police.

The three precincts serving the area are under-resourced,

so a large number of suspects are released without being charged.

With the attack happening so close to home,

I wonder what Lukhanyo's mates think.

What's that? The broken bottles?

When someone drinks alcohol in our society,

they start to pick up fights and it ends up to tragedy.

I think it's an abomination.

After spending time in the hospital, it seems to me

that a lot of Khayelitsha's problems stem from alcohol abuse

and it isn't long before I see just how destructive it can be.

THEY SHOUT

-Are you OK?

-I'm fine. I dropped the camera.

'A car has almost run over the crew and the kids playing in the street.

'Within seconds, a crowd forms.

'They believe the driver has been drinking.'

'The crowd is getting angrier and angrier

'but the man is eager to apologise.'

Despite little trust in the police,

this time they have been called.

Our security team advise us to leave.

In such situations,

the community could take matters into their own hands and carry out

their own form of justice, whether the police turn up or not.

-How far a walk is it to your place, then?

-It's not far.

'This is known as community justice

'and I wonder if Lukhanyo wants such revenge on his attackers.'

They tend to burn them? Burn them?

A tyre.

-And you don't want that to happen?

-I don't want it to happen, that.

Do you worry that the community might take it into their own hands

and seek justice without your say-so?

Do you think they might do that?

Burning people in tyres is known as necklacing.

In 2012, there were nine incidents in Khayelitsha

and many victims of community justice will end up at the hospital.

But sometimes, the community simply want to humiliate the accused.

What's going on here? What's going on here?

These four men were stripped naked and beaten up.

They were lucky to survive.

In 2012, community justice was responsible for 78 recorded murders in Khayelitsha.

Mob justice or whatever.

We call it bundu court.

It's just basically a community assault.

If someone does something wrong, the whole community goes out

and they beat this person up.

We have a lot of these every weekend.

-How old are you?

-21.

-21! 21!

Why rob?

I believe the perpetrators are known to them

or if there are any eyewitnesses, usually people don't come forward

because they are too scared they will be assaulted themselves.

We've got a lot of... PATIENT GROANS

RELAX!

We have a lot of unnatural things that come in

because of community assaults

and severe injuries that we just can't save.

What are you doing?

I've been told by everyone just how dangerous Khayelitsha

can be at night but I want to experience it for myself.

SIREN WAILS

To be safe, I'm joining paramedics Ata and Ricardo

-on their way to a callout.

-Ricardo, are you using a map?

-Yes.

-No Sat Nav? No Sat Nav, no?

-Not yet.

-It's on its way?

-It's on its way!

If the doctors are on the front-line,

it's the ambulance crews who are in the war zone,

picking up the casualties of violence

from the streets of Khayelitsha every night.

In South Africa, 60% of attacks are a result of domestic violence.

Fuelled by drugs and alcohol, family arguments often turn nasty.

We've literally just arrived now at the address and just had

a little peek inside and there is a man stood there covered in blood.

He has been stabbed in the head, apparently,

and the entire family is outside, panicking.

Watch out.

THEY ALL TALK AT ONCE

He's been stabbed in his arms, on his chest and in his head

and he can barely see.

He's covered in blood as well. What happened?

Who is this little kid? Hey. Go inside. Go inside.

'Although a lot of the injuries are stab wounds,

'it's not always knives that cause them.'

What happened?

Oh, my God, it's a screwdriver. He was stabbed with a screwdriver?

What happened?

He ran away.

There's a smashed bottle here, as well.

He came to open.

This kid is freaking out.

It's really hard to understand what's happened here,

but I think the guy in question has had a few drinks

and whatever has happened, it happened right here

and it would appear that it also happened in front of this

little child as well, who just can't stop shaking.

This is so confusing and it's so messed up.

I can't even begin to imagine what that little child has just

witnessed, but he's so scared, he won't leave my side.

Can you take the child back in?

He's shaking. Can you keep an eye on this child for me? Please. OK.

-How many stab wounds has he had?

-One, two, three, four, five.

-Six.

-Six.

-Six?

So what has happened to his face, Ricardo?

Can I get swabs? Where is the swabs?

On top of all of his injuries, his blood is very thin due to

all of the alcohol in his system and he needs immediate treatment.

But for Ata, it's a reminder of the man he used to be.

Basically, everything that you were talking about that you

see around you, I've lived it. I've been part of that life.

-I have scars to prove.

-In what sense?

Have you been in the bar fights? Have you been attacked?

Yes, I've been there.

I've been in bar fights, I've been attacked, I have fought and I drank.

Then I decided, no more. Something has to happen here.

I need to change my lifestyle.

So, do you think that your experience makes you better placed

to do your job properly?

I have an understanding of why those people are there.

The curtain's closed on our man that we just picked up,

but over there in the distance,

they're stitching up someone else with what looks like stab wounds.

It's only 10.15.

My toes are curling up so much

as you get close and closer to that eye.

A small scratch on the eye, yeah?

This isn't my first night, but it's still difficult to watch.

Nicole grew up near here

and has worked at the hospital for 10 months.

Relax, relax, relax, it's not even going in.

She's found her own ways of dealing with patients.

I want to see if they stabbed you in front. Let's see. Come.

Even for her, Khayelitsha's casualties are shocking.

Working here this year, this is the most trauma I've seen.

I mean this is front-line stuff. These people really kill each other.

I have not seen more trauma than here.

Relax, relax, relax, it's almost over.

I block it out. I did have nightmares.

I don't know, you just get used to it. Come, come.

Sorry. Hold on to here.

Some oxygen for you.

Hey, Doctor, come here.

That's my doctor.

Oh, my blood.

It's been less than an hour since we brought in Thene Beletlay

in the ambulance.

It feels like our guy is a lot more smiley now.

Look at you. You've got a smile on your face now. How are you?

-Are you feeling better now?

-I'm fine now.

-You want to go home now?

-I need to go home.

I need to go home.

I can't believe this guy. He's laughing now.

Oh, wow!

It's really struck me how he can be laughing

an hour after such a brutal attack.

It's almost as if extreme violence

has just become normal in Khayelitsha.

It's just a lot to take in and, erm...

It's just another night here in the trauma ward.

Very sobering.

Over the last few days, I've seen countless new men like him

being brought in, but I haven't seen any women here with severe injuries.

I wonder what it must be like for them

living in such a violent society.

I'm back in the taxi with Zuka.

One of the first passengers we pick up is Inge,

a young girl still at school.

For a 15-year-old girl like yourself,

just how safe is it to live here, do you think?

When I go to school, I leave early so I am at risk of being robbed and

maybe someone grabbing me and raping me in the morning or something.

Every day, I pray that when I walk to the bus stop, I am safe.

I'm not sure who I am going to bump in to.

-Many girls have went through that.

-Girls that you know?

-Yes.

-That are your age?

-Yes.

One girl killed herself and the other one, her parents are taking

her to counselling so that she could get over the trauma of being raped.

She was gang raped.

That is really scary. That's unbelievable.

-Who does this sort of thing?

-It's older men and boys my age. Everybody.

I live with only my mother and she does get worried so there are other

people in the street, so I have to wait for them in order to be safer.

It's unbelievable that a 15-year-old girl lives in fear of being

raped on her way to school.

But in Cape Town, there's 144 reported rapes a day

and the hospital even has a special unit to deal with the victims.

Many of the women are reluctant to talk about it

and most rape incidences go unreported.

I wonder how Inge and her mum cope living in a country where

sexual violence is amongst the highest in the world.

-Hi.

-Hello.

-How are you doing?

-I'm very good, hello. Good to see you.

Good to see you.

What's it really like living here as a 15-year-old girl?

There isn't much outside of home because outside, when it gets dark,

gangsters start robbing people, taking away their phones and stuff.

It's better to be home and safe than being outside and sorry

if something happens to you.

I choose to focus on my studies first rather than other things.

I wouldn't choose a boy who's in a gang, because maybe in some

point of time, he's going to get me killed or put me in danger.

I'd rather choose someone simple who's not in gangs,

who's concentrating on other things like playing soccer instead.

You're a pretty amazing young woman.

To hear that coming from a 15-year-old is incredible.

When I was 15, I was an idiot.

I was a big headed idiot running around the place hoping that

things would turn out OK. It seems like you've got a plan.

Moving out of here would be much better.

It would mean that I would be safe and live a safer life.

Inge and her mum, Patience,

live alone in one of the 40,000 government built houses in the area.

-Do you want me to wash this lettuce?

-Yes, please.

But life's still tough. Patience said Inge never knew her dad.

He was killed before she was even born.

Was he a victim of crime?

-No, he lost his job and he...turned to crime himself.

-Wow.

There was no more money, and he joined some friends that were

robbing people, and he got killed there.

-That's how he died.

-That's really sad.

It's really scary just how much it's affected your family...

Yeah, it has affected my family, they know it's only me and Inga,

they take advantage of me, they know there's no man figure in our home,

-they break into our house...

-You've been robbed before?

I've been robbed, I've been robbed going to work,

I've been robbed in the house...

It's so bad I just feel one day

I would move away from this place, really.

I can't make it happen, I really can't make it happen,

because I'm only a waitress.

And I make ends meet by sewing and stuff,

so I don't see it happening at all.

Unless she studies and she takes herself out of this place -

US out of here.

I can't help but feel for Inga.

She's carrying a huge responsibility for someone so young.

-I pray for the best, my child. I pray for the best, really.

-I try my best.

Her hope is to become an accountant and take her mum away from here.

And I really hope she does.

-What was your name?

-HE MUMBLES

-I'm not going to be able to pronounce that, bro.

-B-O-N-G-A.

Back at the hospital, I'm being put to work.

I'm trying to do your job, you see, I'm trying to take your job!

I'm taking this guy to Nurse James in triage.

She's also a single mother living in Khayelitsha,

but working at the hospital, I wonder if her life is any different.

So how often do you see things like this then?

Very often, because they drink a lot and they fight a lot,

and the skollies are walking up

and down the road looking for people like him that are walking alone.

-Sorry, who's doing that?

-The gangsters.

Sometimes, when I'm walking from here to my house,

I will see the youngsters.

My chances of being robbed - 100%.

What do you feel when you see a young man like this?

I feel very bad, because I know my son,

when I'm here at the hospital, what is he doing out there?

He's involved in drugs, I know for a fact he's smoking tik.

In the UK we call that crystal meth, I think, that's tik, right?

I've never seen it, but I know that he is doing drugs. It's sad.

Lovely to meet you, Salva. Hopefully I'll see you around a little more.

-Nice talking to you.

-Lovely talking to you too.

Ah, overload, stress from my son, when I talk about it, I feel better.

-I can see that.

-Thank you very much.

-OK.

-Thank you.

'It's heartbreaking when you hear these stories,

'because they're living in the environment that is producing'

these sorts of injuries and situations,

and when you hear something like that...it just breaks your heart,

because here's a woman who is giving her all to help people,

meanwhile her son is - essentially - living exactly the same life

as a lot of the victims that she's helping out.

It breaks your heart.

Every time I'm here,

I'm reminded just how fragile life is in Khayelitsha.

But for the doctors, it's just a typical Sunday,

and the last night of the weekend shift.

So what's the common thread running through these guys tonight?

Gunshot wounds, three I think, this gentleman's been stabbed

and hit in the head, um, there's a lady over there who overdosed,

that gentleman, there's something wrong with his heart,

we're not exactly sure yet, he's just come in,

and then the one on the end there is also a stab.

So this man here, he's been shot, right?

Yeah, he's been shot three times.

Still got the bullets in his chest, his leg,

and the third gunshot wound, the bullet went through.

HE CRIES OUT IN PAIN

As the doctors deal with the gunshot victim...

-Ah, fuck sake, good one(!)

-Sorry, man.

..Francois treats 23-year-old Mwanamabise.

My back is sore, ugh.

Ja, we're going to give you something for pain now, OK?

Just relax for us.

He was walking home from a night out with friends when a gang mugged him.

So this guy's just came in, many, many stabs in the back.

-16 stab wounds.

-Ah, my back, ugh.

-16 stab wounds...

'The attack has caused internal bleeding,

'and the doctors need to perform a chest drain.'

I'm going to need some help if you don't mind.

Is this is where I come in?

Having seen one before, I now know what to expect.

If they don't drain the blood, his lung could collapse.

Just give me a squeeze if you feel anything.

-You won't feel anything though.

-Thanks.

We'll make a small incision.

Yeah.

-OK, you feeling better?

-HE GROANS

Just keep squeezing my hand, bruv.

I'm sorry, sir, I'm so sorry, I'm just making this nice and tight.

Needles...

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you're going to have a few more needles

because we have to stitch up all those holes in your back.

-Fuck, fuck...

-Just relax for me. You're doing so well.

-She's just got to seal it up, bro, you're nearly done.

-Ugh!

-OK, I'm so sorry.

-You're nearly there.

-You're going to be on TV!

-You're going to be famous, eh?

We give him some morphine to dull the pain.

Is that the morphine or is that him?

-That's the morphine.

-I love laughing.

-You love laughing?

That's good.

Apparently he loves me.

But he just threw in a "no homo", just so I know that

he's still straight, even though there's a lot of love in the room.

I'm glad you said that, bro, I feel the love.

You're looking good though, bro, looking good.

We're going to take your pants off now and have a look,

on your legs, just to double check.

-What's up, you all right?

-I can't take it off.

-You can't take off your trousers, do you want a hand? Yeah?

-Yeah, please.

All right.

Mwanamabise lives on the outskirts of Khayelitsha.

He moved there less than a month ago, and was attacked simply for

walking on the wrong side of town, because he doesn't know the area.

-Can I hold your hand? Boy, it fucking hurts.

-I got you, I got you.

-Fucking hurts.

-So tell me what happened.

Mad fucking fun.

Stab, stab, stab, stab stabbed me.

For somebody your age to go through something like this, is that normal?

It's normal! Khayelitsha, big crime.

Big fucking crime. It's fucked up, man.

Yeah.

OK, OK, put your arm down.

I'm going to leave you here, yeah? See you soon.

Back at home you hear about young guys getting stabbed

all the time, and to suddenly see the wounds on his back and

how serious his condition is, it just brings it all home, you know.

There is a real, serious problem here, and real people are suffering.

The reality of it is just so harsh and so brutal.

-FRANCOIS:

-Just going to unplug the ultrasound.

I genuinely have no idea how you cope.

Actually, one of the nice things about this drive back,

you like to use this time

-to sort of leave everything behind, you know.

-Mmm.

Do you ever think about the levels of crime?

Ja, it definitely becomes something one thinks about.

I mean, working in Khayelitsha Hospital is one thing,

it's difficult, but any of us doctors

who work there wouldn't survive a couple of days

living in a cold shack, having to get up at four in the morning

and wash yourself in a little basin, and then find your way to work.

With the level of criminality being what it is,

is there ever any level of fear?

The majority of patients, the majority of people in Khayelitsha

have the same sort of values,

the same idea of the value of human life,

and they also have the same intolerance for crime that

anybody else would have, it's just that they don't have the

same support from the police and the government that one would expect.

They're frustrated.

'It's easy to forget that only 12 miles away from Khayelitsha

'is the beautiful city of Cape Town, home to the doctors.'

This world-class holiday destination

attracts thousands of tourists every year.

But from walking around, I can't help but feel uneasy.

Throughout South Africa,

young black men earn six times less than their white counterparts.

And with Khayelitsha on its doorstep, it seems to me

that Cape Town is a very unequal society.

With few opportunities and little hope,

the people in the townships have been left behind.

It's been a few days since Mwanamabise left the hospital.

I wonder how he's getting on since he was stabbed.

-Mwanamabise. How you doing, brother, you all right?

-I'm good.

Good to see you, man. Look at you, you're looking good!

Yeah, man, thanks to you.

Thanks to me, please, I barely did anything!

You're up and walking around, that's good to see.

Yeah, it's good to see you too, man.

So how are you feeling, so close to what happened the other night?

Unfortunately, I had some bad news yesterday night,

that my nephew passed away, he got stabbed also.

-How old was he?

-He was about 16.

That's awful news, how did you feel when you found out?

Was I the lucky one or what? I'm still confused right now.

I don't know how I'm feeling.

It's horrible that so close to Mwanamabise's attack,

his own nephew was also stabbed, and at just 16, he's now dead.

Despite his concerns, Mwanamabise has agreed to take me to the

place where he was attacked.

I'm sorry to bring you back to this place,

-I can see you don't like being here.

-Yeah, I don't like it, man.

Even now I'm feeling a little emotional,

cos it reminds me of the painful things I've been through.

What is about this particular point that's so dangerous?

OK, this bridge, like, separates those gangsters from that side,

those gangsters from this side.

It's like the main pitch that separates them.

So this is where everything takes place.

Two weeks before what happened to me,

I was driving past with my uncle, I saw a dead body here.

So this is the main place where gangsters...

So why do you think it is that

so many young kids find themselves in gangs?

If you're not in a gang these days, how can I say this?

You're no person in life.

That's how it is around here.

From what Mwanamabise has told me,

everyone is affected by gangs roaming the streets at night.

Hello, can I get a tray of beef? Not pork.

In this hang-out, people are grabbing a last

bite to eat before the area is no longer safe.

You seem quite young, how old are you?

-Why's she laughing?! Are you one of the youngest women here?

-Yes.

-Right.

-Do you feel safe working here then?

-No.

-No?

Why not?

And what will they threaten you with?

As night falls on Khayelitsha, the atmosphere begins to feel tense.

Having seen how crime and violence

are so ingrained in everyone's lives,

I now feel it's time to confront those gangs who rule the streets

and terrorise the people.

There's a network of five main gangs who are behind most of the crime

and violence, fighting for control over the corners of Khayelitsha.

According to local papers, most young men join these gangs

when they're only 14.

I've managed to make contact with some of the guys from Vatos,

one of the more notorious gangs that

viciously defend this side of the bridge.

I don't know how many will actually show up, but I want to

find out from them why they're inflicting so much havoc here.

I've met the mothers who worry about their kids,

I've met the victims, I've spent time with the doctors

who are patching up their victims, and...

..once you spend time with the results of their behaviour...

..it can affect the way you react to the realities of it.

So, I just really hope I'm able to hold it down.

How you doing, sir?

'But the minute they arrive carrying huge knives,

'my priority becomes staying on their good side.'

Come and sit down just here for me, man.

So, Mark, you are Vatos, yeah?

OK, how long have you guys been moving together as a gang then?

Five years? And how old are you now?

18? You're still really young. Wow. So, do you have a rival gang then?

What are they called?

-So, literally, you're separated by a train track?

-Ya.

Are things ever going to calm down in Khayelitsha,

or will there always be gangs?

What's happening?

That's your enemies there?

What's happening? Mark, Mark!

I'm not entirely sure what's going on.

But I do know the interview's over. They've gone off with their weapons.

BLADE CLANGS

Mark, Mark! What's going on?

They're throwing rocks at each other,

but now it seems there's more and more people turning up with bags,

and there could be anything in them.

CAR HORNS BLARE

Watch out, watch out.

Get in, get in, get in.

Jesus Christ.

Oh, man.

You know what, it's wrong because I'm laughing, and the reason

I'm laughing is, there's been a million times when I was a kid

and one estate might have a problem with another estate,

it starts like that, kids shouting and throwing stones and whatever.

But the fundamental difference here is they've got

massive machetes in their hands.

It just escalated so quickly from out of nowhere,

and where it's going to end up? I don't know.

It's scary, because they're so young.

And it's scary because they have no remorse.

I can't understand what could have made these young guys

get so violent so quickly.

I want to see where they live and get them

to explain why they've become like this.

Luckily, Mark said nobody was severely injured

or killed in the fight.

MUSIC PLAYS

It's good, man, it's good.

Everyone around here knows you.

'It's surreal walking with the Vatos,

'as they're nothing short of celebrities here.

'The kids especially seem to idolise them.'

After you, man, I don't know where I'm going.

Sorry, brother, I don't want to slip on that.

Why you holding a knife right now?

They said they're going to come here.

-They said they're going to come here?

-Yes, at night-time.

Do they know that you guys come to this place?

OK, well, if it's not safe for us, and you've been threatened already,

this evening surely isn't going to be safe for you?

How old are you?

And you're not scared of death?

Is that how you see yourselves then, as soldiers?

'The gang wear their tattoos and scars with pride.

'Mark was stabbed 28 times, severing the nerves in his back.'

They were going for your heart, there's loads around...

Why do you think you survived?

Why do you think, Mark?

Listening to Mark and his gang, my worry is that the only way

these gangs will stop fighting

is probably once they've all killed each other.

And South Africa will lose a generation of young men,

who'll continue to arrive on stretchers

wheeled into the emergency sector.

Leaving the doctors to treat them day-in, day-out.

SIREN WAILS

It's my last night in Khayelitsha,

and my final shift with the ambulance crew.

A young woman is about to give birth by the side of the road.

Oh, she's here!

Uh, control, on this one, 2-3, alpha.

Correction, it's Harare Police Station.

'She was planning on walking to the hospital.'

So, what stage is she actually at?

She's still in the first stage of labour, and we're giving her

a bit of a rest, because some time soon she's going to start to work.

This is the closest I've come to a baby being born...

and it's a bit scary, I ain't going to lie!

One thing worse than seeing a birth -

getting the paternity test back.

Did you deliver your own children?

Why not?

That's just wrong! That's so wrong!

There they go, they're taking in another patient for the night,

and I think this is probably going to be the last run.

And tonight it would appear that they're ending their evening on

quite a good note, they're in great spirits, they're joking, laughing.

I think a lot of that comes down to the fact that they've got

someone who's about to bring life into the world,

as opposed to somebody who's leaving us.

And to end it like this...is a pretty nice way.

Khayelitsha has a long way to go, but I hope that when this

child grows up, the township will be a better place for a young man.

MUSIC: "Sticks & Stones" by Arlissa