Thabo Kgomommu brushes off being caught up in two different acts of terror as simply: “wrong place at the wrong time”.
Prayers from back home help too‚ Kgomommu tells Tiso Black Star Group Digital from Turkey‚ where he is still stranded following last week’s failed coup bid.
“I do think it’s being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I knew Turkey was risky‚ but I was fearing an ISIS attack and not a coup‚” he says.
He was in Paris in November last year when ISIS insurgents killed more than 130 in a shooting and bombing spree.
Kgomommu‚ an Environmental Affairs official‚ is due to be back in South Africa on Thursday‚ after battling to get earlier flights.
For both the Paris and Istanbul attacks‚ Kgomommu was attending meetings of the United Nations Organization for Education‚ Science and Culture (Unesco) meetings.
“In November‚ when there were attacks in Paris‚ including around the Bataclan Theatre‚ I was there for a meeting at Unesco headquarters.
“In the Paris attacks we could hear the gunshots and see the police clearing the streets. But the rest of it I watched it on TV in my room.”
When the attack in Turkey took place‚ Kgomommu says‚ he and other delegates were on their way to have dinner.
“We had to run back to the hotel only for the shooting to happen from the hotel.
“ could see the bullets flying. This was scary because didn’t know whether the jets will fire or not‚ or whether a stray bullet can come through your window‚” Kgomommu recalls.
“I didn’t think about death… It was just about avoiding being hit.
“The guys I was with were also more concerned about being safe and we gathered in one room. Some of the guys were lying on the floor when the gunshots intensified.
“But I think staying in a group until the guns stopped sort of made us feel stronger.”
“I didn’t expect that we would be in danger because we stayed at a hotel that is inside the convention centre and neighbouring a military base‚” Kgomommu says. – Tiso Black Star Group Digital
Tale of two terror attacks - South African tells of being in Paris and Istanbul
Prayers from back home help too‚ Kgomommu tells Tiso Black Star Group Digital from Turkey‚ where he is still stranded following last week’s failed coup bid.
“I do think it’s being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I knew Turkey was risky‚ but I was fearing an ISIS attack and not a coup‚” he says.
He was in Paris in November last year when ISIS insurgents killed more than 130 in a shooting and bombing spree.
Kgomommu‚ an Environmental Affairs official‚ is due to be back in South Africa on Thursday‚ after battling to get earlier flights.
For both the Paris and Istanbul attacks‚ Kgomommu was attending meetings of the United Nations Organization for Education‚ Science and Culture (Unesco) meetings.
“In November‚ when there were attacks in Paris‚ including around the Bataclan Theatre‚ I was there for a meeting at Unesco headquarters.
“In the Paris attacks we could hear the gunshots and see the police clearing the streets. But the rest of it I watched it on TV in my room.”
When the attack in Turkey took place‚ Kgomommu says‚ he and other delegates were on their way to have dinner.
“We had to run back to the hotel only for the shooting to happen from the hotel.
“ could see the bullets flying. This was scary because didn’t know whether the jets will fire or not‚ or whether a stray bullet can come through your window‚” Kgomommu recalls.
“I didn’t think about death… It was just about avoiding being hit.
“The guys I was with were also more concerned about being safe and we gathered in one room. Some of the guys were lying on the floor when the gunshots intensified.
“But I think staying in a group until the guns stopped sort of made us feel stronger.”
“I didn’t expect that we would be in danger because we stayed at a hotel that is inside the convention centre and neighbouring a military base‚” Kgomommu says. – Tiso Black Star Group Digital
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