Fear. Hunger. Exhaustion. These were the emotions etched on the faces of passengers who arrived in Bulawayo on Thursday evening after surviving a terrifying 30-hour ordeal aboard a Delta bus that was attacked by armed robbers in South Africa on Wednesday night.
What began as a
routine trip home from the neighbouring country turned into a nightmare when
the bus was ambushed around 9:30pm. Two passengers lost their lives in the
crossfire, while the rest were left shaken, robbed of their money, phones, and
personal belongings. Stripped of the means to contact loved ones or buy food,
they were forced to endure the long, painful hours that followed – without a
sip of water or a morsel of food.
When the
survivors finally reached Bulawayo on Thursday evening, the mood at Delta’s
offices was one of heartbreak and fatigue. Men, women, and children sat
silently on benches, their faces pale and weary. Some leaned on their luggage
for support, while children clung to their mothers, hungry, thirsty, and
desperate for warmth and rest.
“We hoped they
would give us at least some water. We had lost everything. Our money, our
phones, even our dignity. The journey back felt endless,” said one woman.
Another
passenger, an elderly woman battling diabetes, expressed fear that the long
hours without food could have worsened her condition.
“I just needed
a little something to eat. But there was nothing. I don’t even know how I made
it through.”
Passengers said
despite their evident distress, the bus crew appeared indifferent. Many felt
abandoned, expecting at least a gesture of compassion upon arrival.
“When we got to
Bulawayo, we thought maybe there would be some hot food waiting for us, even
just a drink. But nothing. It broke our hearts,” another survivor said.
As night fell,
concerned relatives trickled in, offering what little they could: food, bottles
of water, and comforting words. The silence of the exhausted crowd spoke
volumes about the trauma they had endured.
On their part,
Delta Bus Service arranged transport to ferry the passengers safely to their
homes. But for many, the scars of that long, cold journey, will take far longer
to heal. Herald
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