Amb Mehreen Mia Cassimjee is a UN Goodwill Ambassador in Humanitarianism, based in Durban, South Africa.

She has been directly involved in the peace and social cohesion efforts during the unrest and violence plaguing South Africa at the moment.

Large-scale looting, destruction of infrastructure and development, extreme violence was prevalent over a week until the army was deployed.

Now racial tensions are bubbling to the surface as the looting has become violent based on race. 

Amb Mehreen describes to us what is really happening on the ground, how the women are taking back the power, how racial cohesion is actually playing out on one end while we are seeing media reports of racial violence, and how the media are perceived to the community at the centre of it, in the conflict-ridden environment.