GroundUp writes that in the opening minutes of Red Zone Paramedics, a documentary film that takes the viewer through the streets of Mitchells Plain on New Year’s Eve, paramedic Abdul Martin says, "I greet my family as if I’m going to war."  

Emergency service workers (EMS) such as Martin are “soft targets” and “easy pickings” for criminals.  “Ambulance staff don’t fight back.  And we’re not carrying any weapons or any form of protection,” he states in the film.  The "red zone" in the film title refers to areas classified as too dangerous for ambulance workers to move about freely.  They have to go in with a police escort.  There are currently 16 identified red zones, which include Delft, Khayelitsha, Lavender Hill, and areas in Mitchells Plain, such as Tafelsig.  Leanne Brady, who directed the film and worked as a doctor in a clinic in Lavender Hill, explained that the purpose of the film was to look at the complex issues that affected the health system.  Mark van der Heever of the Western Cape health department reported that from January to May this year, 12 attacks on emergency medical workers had been reported, including robberies, physical and verbal attacks and the stoning of ambulances.  In December 2017, paramedics marched to Parliament demanding better protection against attacks.  There have been 10 successful arrests made this year, due to the technology and help from the community.  

• Read this report by Ashraf Hendricks in full at GroundUp

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