From GQ May 2007

GQ talks to author Hazel Friedman who infiltrated South Africa’s car hijacking syndicates to unravel their methods and unveil the myths for her book Hijack!

What motivated you to write Hijack!?
Previously, I steered clear of writing about car hijacking, I am a seasoned drain-sniffer, but as a survivor of three smash ’n’ grab operations, as well as two botched hijackings, I felt the topic was way to close to the bone. However, my publisher commissioned me to write a book about the taking down of a hijacking syndicate. My brief: it should be factually based yet written not as mere reportage. The challenge, therefore, was to weave empirical research and fact onto a fictional format that would read convincingly as a thriller.

Do any of your personal hijacking experiences appear in the book? Did you ever feel traumatized by the process?
No, I had some marrow escapes and I can only attribute my luck to the fact that the guys who had targeted me were inexperienced or inept. There was nothing in my responses to the threat (extreme acceleration through red traffic lights) that mitigated the threat. I was just lucky. But in researching and writing the book, my trauma levels rose to the point of extreme paranoia. I think I could have been cast for The Exorcist 3 because I acquired the knack of turning my head 360-degrees each time I stopped at an intersection.

Why did you choose to write the book under a pseudonym?
Two reasons. There is a theory that there is a male bias towards certain literary genres, and I figured that readers would respond better by a ‘guy’ writing about ballistics, car chases and violence than they would to woman. Hence Guy Brown. But ultimately the choice of a pseudonym was predicated on my desire to write outside of myself, to let the book speak for itself, to be judged on its content, without any preconceptions about the author.

Did the fact that you are a woman hinder or help your research?
Both. It was a hindrance in the terms of being taken seriously with my questions regarding ballistics and forensics and so on. A deep-seated chauvinism remains entrenched in the SAPS and DSO (Department of Special Operations). But being a woman helped when it came to encouraging informants to open up about the sensitive, emotional issues, I provided them with a receptive ear and sympathetic bosom – figuratively speaking of course.

During your research you interviewed various elements of the criminal underworld. Tell us about that.
Behind every criminal (or criminal act) is a convoluted tale. Even the most heinous of crimes committed by the most psychopathic of criminals are padded by a personal narrative that usually incorporates a rationale or justification. So I tend to empathise with the personal pain of both perpetrator and victim. It is a dangerous space to straddle. It blurs moral boundaries. But if you can fine-tune your balancing skills, empathy can allow access without too much damage.
I met with many offenders, most of whom present congenial, polished – and seductive – public personae. They hail from all sectors – public and private – and all, without exception, are masters (or mistresses) of manipulation. I encountered them on every tier of the criminal hierarchy, from ‘fieldworkers’ or ‘runners’ to senior lieutenants of major organised crime syndicates. Getting under the skin of these people entailed a lot of deception. I had to make them believe I had suspended judgment, when in fact I often wanted to lodge a knife in their knee-caps. Desperation can drive you to crime. But nothing can explain or excuse gratuitous violence. That is not a poverty-related issue. It is pathological.

Were you ever in danger?
Potentially, particularly when I attended a party in Soweto, hosted by a notorious drugs syndicate boss with links to just about every smuggling racket in town. Her guest list included a minister of two. Although I generally keep a low profile, I was afraid of knocking glasses with scaly sources for previous stories, who might have recognised me. I was lucky. But in the main, I covered my back and my butt I was more afraid of a lawsuit then a hit.

What shocked you in your research? Anything that contradicted your preconceived notions of carjacking in South Africa today?
I think it was Hannah Arendt who wrote about the banality of evil. More unsettling to me was the gentility of evil – how some of South Africa’s criminal masterminds permeated all levels of polite South African society. Their pictures adorn the social pages; they are patrons of the arts and donors to charities. But I was mostly horrified by the fact that honest law-enforcement officers do not even have vehicles at their disposal, let alone the necessary technological tools, to conduct effective investigations. It was important for me to attempt to convey in the book the endless uphill battle that our honest police officers have to endure.

Who was particularly helpful or unhelpful in your research?
I got in touch with the SAPS through various contacts, but was mostly helped by members of the NPA’s Hijacking Initiative, one of whom is a close friend. I found that individuals within the SAPS where very, um, reluctant to assist. They initially talked that talk, but in reality I would have needed the Jaws of Life to prize their cards from their chests. Generally, even the most forthcoming police sources confirmed that a culture of paranoia pervades both the SAPS and the Special Task Units.

The cover of your book features a stylised bulled hole in a car window. An original cover that featured a black man pointing a gun at a driver was rejected by the book’s sales team for being too aggressive and threatening to potential readers. What’s your take on this?
I personally would have opted for the original although, as the book reveals, hijacking is not a race-specific crime. I think the original cover evokes the visceral reality of hijacking, a pictorial preface to the gritty, filmic realism of the writing style and narrative. I don’t believe in soft-serve packaging of literature that involves around crimes that are aggressive, threatening and unmitigated in their brutality. But hey, I’m no marketing boff. Covers that bleed may not lead.

Hijack! has been called ‘the best thriller this country has produced’ by The Star, and has been praised as a groundbreaker in South African literary circles. Did you base your style and method on any other titles or were you working from scratch?
My publisher suggested some suitable literary precedents, not in terms of subject matter but rather style – the likes of Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden and Munich by George Jonas. I deferred to his wisdom, but ultimately the narrative and the characters evolved in the most unexpectedly organic ways. I didn’t have to construct organograms or plot-character synopses. It all just fell together in a harmonious clatter, with some astute nips, tucks and enhancements by said publisher.

In the book’s postscript, you describe Hijack! as ‘faction literature’ or ‘creative nonfiction’. How much of the story was true, and how much of it relied on your imagination?
My imagination was the principal source in getting under the skin of the characters. Read the postscript for a chapter-by-chapter deconstruction of fact and fiction.

Which was harder: discovering the fact or creating the fiction?
Undoubtedly the facts. I have traversed the darkest, most sordid recesses of my imagination for the fiction, but accurately piecing together empirical evidence that defies the most depraved evil, fantasies constitutes a greater challenge. There are factual inaccuracies in the book because the truth of South Africa’s labyrinthine history, circa 1976 to 2006, has yet to be fully disclosed.

The book centres largely on the character of Eddie, a young gangster from the Cape Flats who is infiltrated in to a Johannesburg syndicate. The reader gains a fair deal of sympathy for the character even though he claims to have committed over 100 carjacking in real life, and to have shot people. What did you feel for the real ‘Eddie’ who you interviewed?
I grew to care very deeply for Eddie. As I mentioned in the book, he was born on the wrong side of history but ultimately he proved that he too has moral boundaries and that he did not have succumb to the stereotype of the ghetto-kid-turned career-criminal. I respect his intelligence, insights and ultimately, humanity. But I am unsure whether or not he will be okay.

Any subsequent devilments with regards to Eddie, since the release of the book?
Eddie is in the Witness Protection Programme, disabled and cut off from his familiar reference points. He is deeply depressed and believes he isn’t worthy of happiness.

What about ‘Paul’, the syndicate kingpin, who was still operating in South Africa at the time of publication?
Keep abreast of the Selebi corruption scandal and Glen Agliotti’s trial for the murder of Brett Kebble. Paul’s name will crop up in connection with a private investigation company.

You have depicted one Gauteng-based syndicate, which is involved in carjacking, cash-in-transit robberies and drug smuggling. Do they all work like this?
The most sophisticated syndicates are involved in cross-sector activities. But there exist a turf war between crime outfits, much like gang warfare, but for bigger stakes. Some of the smaller syndicates are locally based. Others are regional. The most powerful resemble multinational corporations, with ties to the Russian, Middle-Eastern, Asian and Eastern Europe mafia.

What have you learned about car hijacking from a practical personal point of view?
I have devoted almost an entire chapter to the DOs and DON’Ts of a hijack situation, as conveyed through the eye of the offender. Rule number one: vigilance! Rule number two (if confronted by hijackers): no resistance, no sudden movements, no hysteria.

What is your opinion on the SA government’s refusal to release carjacking statistics? Should they or shouldn’t they?
I believe it is the government’s duty to inform South Africans of the reality and extent of hijacking crimes in the country. The danger of course is that knowledge can also breed a culture of paranoia. But paranoia’s most fertile breeding ground is rumour. Perception becomes reality. If imparted with wisdom, knowledge is the ultimate source of empowerment.

The book features various true hijackings stories – which one is your favourite?
Definitely, the first one in the narrative Eddie’s so-called ‘initiation’ to ndota (adult) status in the gang. I personally know the courageous couple who where hijacked and forced to simulate sex. For me, that particular hijacking conveyed the gratuitous brutally of the crime, the extraordinary survival skills of the victims, and also the fact that even criminal minds experience moral conflict. I also like the story of the fed-up Eastern Cape old timer who veered of the road and drove down a hillside with hijackers in this car. His thinking was if I die, you die. I think we all get where he was coming from.