Groups of foreign nationals stood in despair on Wednesday morning as they stared at the remnants of what used to be their wares after the Yeoville Market went up in flames on Tuesday.
Several vegetable and grocery stalls were destroyed in the blaze that razed parts of the market.
With smoke still billowing from one of the stalls, the group pondered how they could resuscitate their businesses.
The vendors told News24 the market went up in flames just after 00:30 on Tuesday.
The fire was extinguished by firefighters before it could spread to more stalls.
A woman who identified herself as Sylvia said she and her sister were woken up by phone calls from people alerting them to the fire.
"We were told that my sister's shop was burning. We rushed here and saw a huge flame ravaging our shops. We were told that the fire was allegedly caused by people who are against foreigners.
"What have we done? We have lost everything that was putting bread on our table.
"We are pleading for assistance. My sister has lost almost R50 000 worth of stock. She doesn't have insurance and money to restart her business," said Sylvia.
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
Police are investigating.
We want to hear your views on the news. Subscribe to News24 to be part of the conversation in the comments section of this article.