Nurse under fire for k-word message asking why white woman is dating black man
23 October 2018
Larochelle Smit has endured attacks for dating outside her race but when she got a racist Facebook message from the mother of a man she used to date, she decided enough was enough.
Speaking to News24 on Tuesday, 28-year-old Smit said she was shocked when nurse Elaine Jacobs sent her the "absolutely disgusting" private message last month.
Jacobs has since claimed that her Facebook account was hacked. The Life Healthcare group, which the nurse listed as her employer on her profile, has stated that it will not utilise Jacobs' services at any of its hospitals.
The message, which has caused outrage on social media, reads: "Ek meen jy's n boere sa meisie maar jy wil soos n kardasian lyk??? En met k***** uit gaan?? [sic]" (I mean you are a Afrikaans South African woman but you want to look like a Kardashian? And date k*****?)
Smit explained that she dated Jacobs' son about a decade ago and that Jacobs had kept her as a friend on social media.
"I don't know if she has any ill feelings. She has seen photos of me and my boyfriend. This woman somehow felt the need to message me and enquire [about my makeup and boyfriend]."
Bullied
She said she showed the message to her boyfriend, who tried to calm her down.
"From the time I have started dating outside my race, I have been bullied and been a victim of such awful comments. Largely from the Afrikaner community. I have reached a point where enough is enough."
Smit, who is based in Sandton but is originally from Durban, said former eThekwini speaker Logie Naidoo was helping her lay a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission.
She has also opened a case at the Sandton police station.
Replying on Facebook to Smit in the comments section on Sunday, Jacobs said: "Hi there guys facebook just let me know about this and this is the first time ive ever seen this comments i asume my facebook was hacked,im trully sorry about this. And would ever in my life comment something like that [sic]."
News24 has sent a request for comment to Jacobs and is awaiting a response.
No longer employed at Lifecare
Life Healthcare human resources executive Chris Gouws confirmed on Tuesday that Jacobs was not currently employed by Life Anncron Hospital in Klerksdorp, as stated on her Facebook profile.
"We can, however, confirm that she is a former nurse having resigned from the hospital in 2012. Thereafter, she worked for a nursing employment agency and her last shift at the hospital as an agency nurse was in October 2017."
Gouws said racial hate speech was a very serious matter and the behaviour contravened the company's values and policies.
"Despite the fact that Ms Jacobs was not in our employ at the time of her post, we have reached out to the nursing agency and informed them that Ms Jacobs' services are not to be utilised at any Life Healthcare hospital. The group has also made the decision that Ms Jacobs' services will not be utilised at any Life Healthcare facility in the future."
