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South Africans arm themselves amid waves of violence

Johannesburg, Sep 17 (EFE/EPA).- “It was a traumatic, full-on terror kind of experience”. That is how Durban resident Surav Jimmi remembers the wave of violent riots that swept the country in July, leaving 354 people dead. Like many South Africans, Jimmi is now applying for a gun license because he sees no other way to guarantee his personal safety."It was a week full of no sleep, standing off in the community, seeing people getting shot at, us getting shot at, it's a traumatic experience,” the musician and entrepreneur tells Efe from the shooting range in the eastern city of Durban, the worst hit by the violence. (Camera: KIM LUDBROOK).B-ROLL OF PEOPLE TESTING FIREARMS AT "GIRLS ON FIRE" IN JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA.SOUND BITES: A RESIDENT OF DURBAN IN SOUTH AFRICA, SURAV JIMMI; GUN SHOP OWNER, INSTRUCTOR AND FOUNDER OF "GIRLS ON FIRE", LYNETTE OXLEY; MEMBER OF "GIRLS ON FIRE", TSHEPI MMEKWA; PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN GUN OWNERS ASSOCIATION (SAGA), DAMIAN ENSLIN; AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL'S SOUTH AFRICA DIRECTOR, SHENILLA MOHAMED AND RESEARCHER AT GUN FREE SOUTH AFRICA, CLAIRE TAYLOR (IN ENGLISH).