Yes, I am saddened that people are dying on the streets of their so-called “haven”, their safeguard from the tyrants in their own country. That saddens me, but most of all I am saddened that our President and his cabinet have let this happen.
The blood of those who have died rests on thier hands, not ours. Saul wrote a post today saying that he has had it and decided that SA is not for him, that he is sad to be South African today. Well I am not, not at all, not in the slightest.
I am not going to say that due to one single event (the xenophobic attacks) that is happening now that I am ashamed of my heritage, my culture and my fellow South Africans. I am not. I am uplifted. I am uplifted by the number of people talking, disagreeing and loudly rebelling against this sort of action. A small faction of savages are destroying people’s lives and we must all feel as if we are part of it? Rubbish. I am not a part of that, I never was and never will be. I am a part of the solution to it. I am a part of the growth in people’s consciousness that allows them to step back and say no to this sort of human rights violation.
It makes me feel good when people don’t keep thier mouths shut, when they stand up (or speak up) about wrong doing and actively seek to end it. I am uplifted by the journalists and police officers putting thier lives on the line to get the truth out there.
I don’t think that we cannot know joy and contentment until we have lived through true pain and suffering. Right now we are caught between the two as a nation and the one will lead to the other. Which one comes first is up to us.
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May 20th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Yes! Thank you nic! X
May 20th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Thanks for the linkage Nic!
I wrote that post in a very emotional mood just to clear that up. I AM embarrassed to be a South African at the moment, the actions our country-men are performing are sickening. I know the point of this blog is to be “rah-rah” South Africa but honestly how can you be in these times of trouble? I don’t have a problem being a South African, I just have a problem with the animals in our country.
I disagree with your entire post, no one really seems to care and no one is making an effort to stop this violence, least of all our useless & incompetent government.
Take off your Pro-SA blinkers and you will realise that it is not as melodramatic as I say it is but the situation is not as “light at the end of the tunnel” as you make it out to be. I think your post is naive and frankly short-sighted.
When an angry mob is coming to get your family for being Greek (and thus not South African enough) then tell me how you feel. Stop speaking from your lily white ivory towers (not to say that I’m not) and deal with reality.
May 20th, 2008 at 9:39 am
I completely agree with what you say Nic, and we need people to remain conscious of whats at stake, what we could lose, whats worth fighting for, if we’re going to overcome these things. We need idealists to be our visionaries.
But increasingly I feel that we need to become activated.
How does my writing this post impact a mob of people who feel justified in burning a man to death because he was born a couple hundred kms North of them. I mean how do we do it? How do we communicate with them. I understand the importance of forums like SArocks in unifying educated people into a force that might be potent, but it reamins impotent until we use that power.
I guess this is more me venting, feeling like a powerless South African, feeling the frustration of being able to see ahead and knowing that we’re at a crossroads where we can’t turn back once we’ve chosen a path, being the one with the compass, but not being able to communicate with the ones who are steering the ship. How do we break through that?
Being a South African takes patience and strength.
May 20th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Saul – Naive I am not. Trust me I have been down this road before with people calling me ignorant, naive, privelaged. I am in my ivory towers but what, that means I need to sit in them, as you have, and cast a judgemental and condescending eye over the “animals”. You don’t know what it’s like for them, to have no food, no job, starving children. I don’t either. I called them savages too, they are murderers and have been overwhelmed by a mob mentality.
But that does not mean that I am going to be naive enough to be one of those whiteys and say that the WHOLE of SA is going DOWNHILL because of an incident involving a few thousand out of +-40Million. That is naive unfortunately. You have just cast all South Africans as savages, murderers and worse. I am not that, nor are you, so why make it sound like your country embarrasses you? It doesn’t. Those fools do. not me, or you, or majority of the working class. These few.
My headmaster at school used to shout at us collectively and then apologise and say, “It is very unfortunate boys, 95% of you are great, but it’s that 5% that destroy our reputation.”
And, my “Pro-SA blinkers” as you so condescendingly put it, are not a blinding part of me. They are a part of me that keep me grounded and often aid me in not jumping on to an emotional and vicious response about things that disgust me. Things like that occur often and I can’t get wriled up about every single one.
May 20th, 2008 at 10:21 am
So burning people in the streets is news ? … exactly what the ANC did very well couple of years ago !!
But hey … it was a struggle. Africa showing it’s true colours to the world.
May 20th, 2008 at 10:53 am
No-one should be proud of what has been happening on the streets. Nic makes a good point about a few among many – but i too have been disappointed by the response from political leaders on all sides – ignoring the problem or using it to score political points is not cool.
May 20th, 2008 at 11:25 am
gMk – Agreed 100%. I am not proud, I am dissapointed, upset and in awe of the short term memory of the involved parties. But they are not South Africa. They are hooligans, just as Britain has football hooligans and the US has Rapper gangs, we have these fools and murderers.
These factions are not representative. When they do become the norm and not the exception, then we have to start worrying. For now public dissaproval and uproar is a good start.
May 20th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Ah Nic, possibly we should debate this in a more private forum now that the claws seem to be coming out!
You remind of all the stories of German’s pre World War 2. No one did anything because it was just a few thousand Jews and frankly everyone thought the problem was going to go away. I’m pretty sure many Turks felt the same way when their country-men started killing Greeks. Your attitude of “it’s just an isolated incident” is fine for you but not good enough for me.
At the end of the day arguing with you is pointless, you have no choice and have to tow the company line on this site. I just feel like you’re trivializing this situation by taking your “it’s going to be okay” attitude. What we need are people emotionally speaking out and alerting the world to what is happening in our country unlike our “head in the sand” Ostrich like politicians.
May 20th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Saul you misundestand everything that I am saying. I am not saying it is OK because it is isolated. I am saying that I am not embarrased of my ENTIRE country because of a single incident. One death is too many, let alone 20.
I remind you of the germans? Turks? What are you getting at?
I am not obligated to tow any line. I am obligated to feel the way I feel with little to no exception. And if I feel this way about this situation then so be it. I have blogged negative posts on this platform before. I am not blind, ignorant or stupid to anything that is happening in SA.
May 20th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Ah Nic, this is pointless but what the hell.
From a uniquely Jewish point of view you cannot help see some parallels to the situation of pre World War 2 Germany. The German population stood by and watch as the Jews were beaten, raped and burnt (sounding familiar here?) as they expected the situation to get better. They thought it was an isolated incident and 6 million deaths later it wasn’t exactly that isolated. I’m sure the same can be said for many Turks who idly sat by as Greeks living in their country were killed. The same can be said for Darfur, Rwanda and any other hotspot over the past 100 years. We sit back and make assumptions that it’s going to be okay when it very likely is not.
I’m ashamed to be a South African because I am ashamed to be associated with these people. I would be ashamed if it was one incident involving one attacker and one victim. The fact that it is on such a large scale makes me wonder what I should stay here for. This might sound pompous but I do believe that people like myself and those I know will also want to leave have the financial and mental capacity to truly make a difference in our country but that difference needs to be earned by our countrymen. I’m not saying these “people” need to pick themselves up from the dirt on their own but I expect basic human rights to be given to their fellow man.
I just read that a South African was killed and his house torched for employing foreign workers. Does this seem okay to you? These rioters caused their own problem with their lazy behaviour and expectations that government was going to provide.
Need I say more?
May 20th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Are you kidding me Saul? Weren’t you the one saying you wanted to leave the country earlier? Is that not the ultimate of turning a blind eye. I think you’ve got things a bit backward.
I don’t think Nic is saying lets stand up on a pedestal and pretend things are all fine, I think what he is saying, and I am of the same opinion, is that positivity is what is needed now. Not embarrassment and shame. We need to find ways to overcome these problems, because we know that what South Africa is beyond hurdles like this one is WORTH it. Its not a place we should be embarrassed about, it’s a place we should be proud of and be willing to fight for.
May 20th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
As for the arrogance of the statement that countrymen should have to earn the opportunity for us, those with what is the PRIVILEGE of education, to make a difference… I have very little to say except that I think you need to start seeing things from ground level… and knowing that the reasons that things like this can happen is exactly the reason mob-minded people and their victims NEED, not want or feel like they are owed, help. As an educated being, you should feel RESPONSIBILITY, not smugness.
That’s just crazy talk.
May 20th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Nic, If I disect what SaulK is saying I can only but sympathize with his feelings and understand his frustrations.
Nic, let’s be frank (constructively) here, “public disapproval” is meaningless! The public have disapproved at the way government has dealt with crime, but to no avail. My point is, “public disapproval” is meaningless to the government.
How can “We” keep on trying to make a difference when the government are the only ones who have the power to make a difference, but most of the time refuse to.
Nic, “single incident” is also not quite true. I could list many, many crisis incidents of the last few months which have had a huge effect on people’s feelings toward the country, so this latest incident should be seen together with all the others. there is the saying “the last straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Sarahdee – how much longer are you going to ask for “positivity” from people? “Positivity” is a feeling, a thought, it cannot deal with the country’s pressing issues.
Sorry for the frustration, but I’m sure many other people share my views.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I went to the red cross this morning to drop off food and blankets for these guys, there were so many people that were doing the same thing that I had to wait in line to hand my stuff in. For every one of those psychopaths that have torched houses, stolen property, murdered, raped and beaten already vulnerable victums, there are a 100 others that are digging into their pockets, rummaging through closets, donating household stuff and food to make this country a better place for all that live in it. Thats remarkable, that is why I love South Africa, Im not denying that we have very serious problems, Im not denying that there are a few psychopaths running around, or that our government, lately has been ineffectual. What I am saying though, is that we are a country of survivous, we are a warm, generous people and that is being displayed today, and I am proud of us.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
ST -
I know that positivity is a feeling. I really do, and if you read up a bit further, I was asking how we can get off our arses and away from the pc to do something. But that can only happen if people are motivated by some kind of optimism. Thats what i mean by positivity – to use it as a motivating factor. I dont mean that we should see only rainbows and sunshine. But there are a HELL of a lot of people that are submitting to the laziness of pessimism and giving in. You need to positive to be active.
May 20th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Ok look I might be repeating what everybody has said already, but I’m sorry I cannot help but feel ashamed. I went to gym this morning, before work… so there I am running on the treadmill. The tvs are on and one of the channels airing in the gym is CNN… and of course the xenophobic attacks are one of their top stories. I felt so embarrassed. It’s shocking to have people from all over the world watching this. These rebels are destroying the image, reputation and the economy of this country… do you know that R3million was lost in tourism yesterday?? 3 million… I’m sorry but if the death toll rises, which it will, things are going to get bad! Well bad!!!!
Here are some other thoughts for y’all to ponder:
- A lady who works with my mom lives in Thembisa. Her husband is Zimbabwean. The rebels (sorry but that is what they are in my mind) have warned them to leave by Friday- given them the opportunity to go even though they are legally allowed to be here. Friday is going to be a heavy day according to these thugs. So what? Do they leave? will the police help them? Bearing in mind this isn’t and I quote “a crisis” so there is no need to deploy the army.
- Hillbrow is notorious for drug lords… the thugs went in causing shit on Sunday night. The drug lords said (armed with ak47s) come! start your shit. The thugs back off, but they’ll go back and when they do I am almost certain they’ll be armed… then what?
- My colleague when into one of the townships today. He narrowly escaped a stray bullet. Then Stupid Aziz Pahad has the nerve to say that the media has a responsibility to report in depth on bigger issues… and that the media shouldn’t sensationalise. Well Aziz you dumb ass, I have seen pictures of a man being burnt to death, I have seen video footage of a man grasping desperately for air after a necklacing (strangling) incident, another so traumatised by the fact that his ear was cut off! What is this?
Nic I really do appreciate your positivity and like I’ve said to you on several occasions I love this country, but seriously I feel like nobody in the leadership listens or even cares and it really really upsets me. Where to from here fellow South Africans?
May 20th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
Powerful stuff people – whew – its a difficult situation – even for those of us that try really hard to remain positive. But I have to admit that I am still with Nic on this. I have to remain positive, and pass that on to the people around me.
I suppose because I refuse to be dumped into the same long-drop as these thugs who are trying to profit from peoples fears, those with nothing else to do with their time other than to find someone else to blame for their own situation.
I have to stay positive. And dammit, I will stay proud too. There are too many inspirational people making a difference every day in this country for me to give up in frustration.
Our politicians are no better or no worse than many others in charge of 1st world countries – they just compete very well on a soap-opera level. At the end of the day, the children still need to be fed, and most importantly, they still need to have hope. They are our future, and if they have no hope, what hope do we have?
For every bad thing that happens in this country daily, there are a 1000 good deeds being done. And that’s just one example of what we have to stay positive about.
Bitch, argue, discuss, protest, but don’t give up hope!
May 21st, 2008 at 12:13 am
dude, the media have gone nuts about this in auz! how bad is it really?
May 21st, 2008 at 7:02 am
Courtz, it is pretty much as bad as it looks in the media. People are dying and that is always bad enough.
May 21st, 2008 at 8:28 am
Jason, don’t let people like Aziz Pahad get to you. I agree, he is one of the reasons that our country so often gets embarresed on the international front, certainly by some of the statements he makes. How does he expect the media to report this?
This is exactly my point on my previous post – the government, instead of taking serious action on major issues, prefer to downplay it (ie Pahad). No different to their approach to crime. They do their damnest to hide it from international media.
But, let us all remain positive.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:41 am
Funny how Saul lived next to the Concentration camps (townships) for the last 14 years, writing his blog on how kick ass the Asus EEE is and what his cool cell phone does, but damnit now he’s like really pissed that those damn have-nots (some don’t even have cell phones, weird) have decided to make him think about them for 5 minutes, now he pissed off and embarressed about that, how dare they, he’s not proud, he’s going to kick it outta of here (maybe go live in Isreal next to some other concentration camps) where he can get some piece of mind, where he does not have to think of 10 million people living like that down the road and have to wonder how you like make it better, nope he’s going to go somewhere he can blog about some IT crap and other important shit…
May 21st, 2008 at 2:42 pm
I’m not embarassed – precisely because I lost hope in SA years ago and left.
I cried with relief when De Klerk unbanned the ANC. I voted ‘YES’ in 1992. I was delighted to vote with EVERYONE in 1994. I worked, paid my taxes and did my best in the ‘New’ SA…
…and I was horrified as friends and family were hijacked; a family member was beaten with a crowbar and his wife raped in their own home; my home was staked out by a gang; my environment descended into violence and (justified) paranoia; my personal (European) cultural heritage was relentlessly branded as somehow morally deficient because it was “the cultcha of the oppressa”; I was refused job after job (despite having a university education in a techincal discipline) because I was the wrong demographic – white, male and 30something…
So I decided to embrace my first world standards, protect myself and young family, and moved to a first world country. Africa is shot through with xenophobia, and tribalism, and incompetence, corruption, savagery and a general ethos of deflecting blame to someone else – the West, the colonial powers, the whites, the invaders from the next country. Very, very little to be positive about.
The “current” xenophobia is bad in and of itself, but it is what it implies about the “African” response to things that speaks volumes. The solution to hardship is to blame someone else, then resort to violence. And if you think this isn’t true, I refer you to the 50-odd years of post-colonial disaster that is the African continent. SA is part of that continent, and it’s only an accident of history that a relatively small, self-interested group of European descendants managed to apply their technological, political and economic ascendancy to subjugating the local black majority long enough to buffer the country from the rest of the continent. But SA is, after all, linked to the rest of Africa in many, many ways. And it is showing.
I am afraid that many middle-class South Africans (of all races) are a bit like the lobster in the pot – not aware it’s being cooked because it fails to notice the heat being turned up.
I am sure a lot of readers of this will consider that SA is better off without negative people like me, and so be it. But I am not embarassed to be a South African, because when the Brits around me look at the pictures of people shooting, looting and burning, and they shake their heads at yet another familiar African story, I can hold my head up and ackowledge that I used my brains, thought of my family, and got my backside out of there intact. And that’s more to be proud of than some misplaced allegiance to “the country of your birth”.
May 21st, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Sorry Nic – I seldom get into political debates, but I have to just comment on FirstWorld’s lack of historical understanding with his “it’s only an accident of history that a relatively small, self-interested group of European descendants managed to apply their technological, political and economic ascendancy to subjugating the local black majority”… that’s a pretty sad – because it denies what has truly happened on this continent over the last 500 years, and with it he pretends that history has nothing to do with circumstances of the day.
For every action there is a reaction. What has caused people to act so low on the human moral scale is not because they are inherently bad – it is because they have suffered in some kind of way, precisely because of their circumstances, or their sympathy towards another’s powerful rhetoric. Most of these thugs probably get drunk and high and then are easily coaxed into blaming others for their own poor situation. And a gang on the rampage is always more powerful than the man on the street.
As for us middle-classers that have remained here, proudly or otherwise, we have to make it work. The only way to move forward is by taking a step at a time; and yes, sometimes that step needs to be sideways, or even backwards, to get over a bump in the road – we just have remain positive that we will soon be going in the right direction again by taking detours.
Do you cross the road if you see a gang of youths coming towards you? Or do you walk with your head held high and say “Nee fokman, ek’s ‘n Suid Afrikaan!”
Stay proud, FirstWorld. In the mean time, we’ve got work to do. I start with my family, teaching my boys to have respect, and to honour the people they come into contact with – it’s a small step – but it is a start in the right direction.
May 21st, 2008 at 8:47 pm
This is very much the same situation as the football hooliganism which England was so infamous for in the 1980’s.
Yes, I was English – and a football fan: but it wasn’t me. Simply my name and that of my country being dragged through the mud.
The South Africans who we want to hear more about are those who are turning up at Police Stations in the affected areas with food parcels and blankets for those foreign nationals driven out of their homes by these animals.
But those are very boring pictures – and very boring pictures don’t sell newspapers and attract TV viewers.
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:31 am
I was having a cup of coffee at a local franchised coffee shop a few days ago. To make conversation with waitresses I usually ask what the meaning of their (African) name is. Many of their names reflect the emotions of their parents at the time of their births. Examples are “Happiness”, “Loveliness”, “Surprise”, “Gift”, etc.
My waitress’s name that day was “Barbara”.
To cut a long story short I discovered that she was Zimbabwean. We became involved in a heated but friendly conversation about the causes of the high unemployment in South Africa, the main factor being, in my opinion at the time, that Zimbabweans were “stealing’ the locals’ jobs. She told me that she had a college degree (from London) in hotel management and that she had left her family in Zimbabwe to earn money to send food back to her family as there is no food there.
Barbara further told me that the locals would not work for the wage that she was earning – mainly only tips and a small commission on each order taken.
After she had taken my order a guy sitting at the next table (he had overheard our conversation) approached and told me he was a local college teacher and that he did not know how most of the locals who had graduated from high school had passed matric (now grade 12) as they did not have the scholastic skills that they professed to have. He further explained that they had no work ethic, were lazy, bunked college often, and almost impossible to teach. They offered bribes to obtain pass marks at the college he was teaching at!
So this is the profile of most of the local work-seekers. No wonder they are unable to obtain employment! They sit around doing nothing all day and attack those returning from work.
All that is one theory.
I have a possible scenario. Perhaps Mugabe is somehow orchestrating all this to take the ‘heat’ off his own back in the eyes of the world.
What is happening here is worse than tragic.
I cry often for my beloved country.
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:55 am
Hi Nic. Once again my question is “what can we do to make this better?” As I mentioned in my previous letter (which was forwarded by Rouvanne and posted on SAROCKS on 16 May) it’s the pervasive feeling of powerlessness which really gets to me. Besides venting on sites like these and engaging in endless negative frustrating conversations, what more can we do? My angle (for now) is to continually confront the media on their sensationalism. I know that politicians, policy makers and a host of other factors are probably the cause of the problem, and newspapers are merely reporting on the symptoms. However, I refuse to accept their one sided focus which (I believe) only serves to perpetuate the problem. Yesterday I came across a truly shocking front page of the Cape Times (19 May) showing a man in flames. ( http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=3233&fDate=2008-05-19&fEdition=2)
Disgusted, I immediately wrote a letter to the editor as follows:
Sir
I am absolutely appalled that you would choose to put a full colour picture of a burning man on the cover of your May 19 Cape Times! For goodness sakes man, what are you hoping to achieve by this? Are you trying to shock the attackers, the police or the government? Are you attempting to somehow stop the xenophobic violence? Are you hoping to get some positive action from Cape residents? Please, please tell me what drives you to make such an appalling editorial decision? Or is your main objective once again to sell more newspapers to your shell shocked, violence numbed customers? This is not a lashing out, just a genuine attempt to try to understand the rationale behind your decision. For the life of me, I cannot see any logical reason for what you did.
I would deeply appreciate your honest response.
Sincerely
Mark Berger
PS:I’ll tell you what I believe you did help to achieve:
My total disgust.
My 8 year old child being haunted by the image.
Germany issuing a travel advisory.
90 African delegates pulling out of a Cape Conference.
The Rand losing significant value.
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:31 am
Hi Mark,
Coming from a media background the questions you’ve raised are fairly common from readers. I really am of the opinion that more information is better.
Would you rather they not have published the photo at all and not have the world know that things are rough at the moment? Is ignorance bliss? I don’t think so in spite of what many might think of me through this blog. Ignorance is not bliss and turning a blind eye leads to no solutions.
The Times up here in JHB also published that horrific photo on their cover page a few days back. I think it is a necessary course. If they didn’t show the world what was going on then they would be reprimanded for not doing an effective job. It’s somewhat of a lose-lose situation I feel.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:28 am
Hi Mark (we met a few years ago in Bellville at T-Systems). I see your point; however, it is as Nic says – would we rather not want people to know about this reality?
These things are happening – a fact. I fail to see how one can ignore that. In this instance, I do not believe it was sensationalistic reporting – shocking, yes, to witness a fellow human being suffering an horrific death and being robbed of the only thing worth anything in this life because of a particular label borne to him by the malice of man.
Sensational reporting, as such dribble found on one particular site with the opposite name to Nic’s, is far removed from the current manner by which these events are portrayed in the media.
For me these images starkly emphasizes the unavoidable, murderous grip of a few misuided soles’ various immemorial beliefs, and our failure in general to defend the future by winning the longer and greater war against intolerance, bigotry, zealotry and hatred which so brutally divides humankind against itself. I want that exposed so that my son has a frame of reference for considering his future and I hope that the horrible images that we are exposed to will help to achieve liberation from such tyrannies of belief, replacing them with informed commitments to human affections, tolerance, and the wisdom taught by individual experience.
“Never, never again” and yet sadly … It must not be hidden from public opinion.
Again, Nic, thanks for a great post that rekindled a dwindling flame.
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Thanks for the replies Nic and Emil. I appreciate your points of view. My question remains: could you possibly elaborate on what you perceive to be the positive benefits of the world knowing that things are rough through seeing this image? If it is meant to shake someone into action: who is that someone and what could they do to improve matters? And can the same message not be conveyed a little less starkly? I was once told that the term NEWS originates from an acronym of North, East, West & South. I belive that it means that Not Everything is Worth Seeing. Nonetheless, I repeat that I believe 100% in press freedom. It is undoubtably the cornerstone of a functioning democracy and also the reason that we are able to have this debate.
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:39 pm
You bastards are no better than the perpetrators of Apartheid. You are no better than the animals that did this to our people during the dark days of Apartheid. You are no better than Craig Williamson. No better than Ferdi Barnard. You are Eugene de Kock.
You spit on our people who died at Sharpeville. You spit on the killing of the Guguleto 7. You spit on the deaths at the Bisho Massacre. You spit on the 27 years Madiba spent in jail for people like you. You spit on the murder of Biko. You spit on the memories of Braam Fischer. The memory of each and every South African who died and suffered for you to have freedom. Every mother. Every father. Every wife. Every husband. Every sisters. Every brother. Every child. You spit on their suffering.
No. You are not just as bad as those perpetrators of Apartheid. You are worse. Because you should know better. This has happened to you. How could you? How the hell could you? You stupid barbaric bastards. You are killing a dream. Our dream.
http://angryafrican.net/2008/05/20/terror-in-south-africa-and-the-end-of-a-dream/
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Mark, I wonder if there are indeed any positive messages to be taken from that – I don’t think it is meant to potray a positive image. But it is a reality nonetheless, an actual event that occured – no, it was a person sat alight and burning in the street.
Yes, the effect was perhaps to shock – for it is a shocking deed. Of course, there could be a complete clampdown on the freedom of the press to prevent these images from appearing in the papers – but that just sound so … “been there, donnit”.
Perhaps words alone no longer express the full gravity of the situation – perhaps without these harrowing images no-one will sit up and notice. Perhaps without these images a smouldering piece of wood is left only to catch fire and destroy so much more. Perhaps it is meant for the incorrigible and tawdry collection of puerile braggadocio’s, our politicians.
Can one argue the same about images of genocide from other areas in the world, of the concentration camps on the 40′? I hope the postive message to take from this is that we endeavor not to repeat it.
I do not argue that people abuse and misuse the privilages that comes with the freedom of the press. For me, these images brought the experience home. I guess one can always choose not to show it to others, or turn a blind eye and ignore their impact.
It is as Nic wrote: “I am a part of the growth in people’s consciousness that allows them to step back and say no to this sort of human rights violation. ” Maybe I am too philosophical or spirtual about this, but the images made me appreciate that I am part of this “consciousness” and I can distance myself from the barbarians who commit these atrocities. And have a frame of reference to teach my son tolerance, understanding and the values of co-existence.
In short – I don’t know the positive benefits for the world to know. But it also does not make sense to hide this away, for evil happens when good men do nothing, so the old adage go.
I can only try to deduce positive ones for myself.
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Angry African, did we spit on your toes? I hope you are ranting about the people committing these autrocities?
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Emil – Yes, he is! Took me a second to figure it out too!
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:12 pm
FirstWorld – in summary, I assume that you took your family to a safer environment because the government couldn’t provide that for you, a South African citizen. That is the single biggest problem – the government have turned their back on us.
Rouvanne – you seem to have a lot of answers – when will the government act, if ever, in the fight against crime?
The day they do that is the day we can all really be positive and have hope again.
My thoughts, which I’m sure will be respected.
May 22nd, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Yes ST – I share your question – when will the government finally take a stand and act decisively against crime?
May 23rd, 2008 at 9:18 am
Do any of you think the OLYMPICS will make a difference in fight against crime in SA? Will there only be a increase of security and police during that time? Or do you think enough will be done to keep that level of security and police on the streets?
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Woo! We got the Olympics too?!?
Or do you think you’re on Chinarocks.cn?
I presume you mean the World Cup in 2010. I don’t think the recent attacks will last anywhere near that long and I don’t think they’ll affect FIFAs decision to bring the tournament here. After all – if China can get the Olympics… well.
During the tournament, the only difference to crime will be an increase in hysterical reporting of it as everyone uses the eye of the world being on SA for a month to get on their soapboxes.
May 26th, 2008 at 9:00 am
So ‘6000′ are you also one of those who downplays the shocking effects crime has on the nation?
Blaming the media, sounding a bit like some government officials – it is real, it is happening, it is not a perception as a certain leader may believe.
My request is – let’s just all be realistic and not fob off the most serious issue facing our country.
May 28th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
SA does rock. There are moments when being proudly South Africa becomes a heavy yoke. The past few weeks were exactly that for me. However the warmth , empathy and compassion that has been shown by south african of all race groups and from different classes too has lifted my spirit. Thanks forthe post. i enjoyed it
August 14th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
GDP in SA: 277,188
GDP in ‘Stralia: 1,010,699
Population of ‘Stralia: 21m
Population of SA: 48m
Crime in South Afica: A survey for the period 1998-2000 compiled by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ranked South Africa second for assault and murder (by all means) per capita and first for rapes per capita.
Crime in Australia: #43 Australia: 0.0150324 per 1,000 people
Crime Statistics > Murders (per capita) (most recent) by country
#1 Colombia: 0.617847 per 1,000 people
#2 South Africa: 0.496008 per 1,000 people
#3 Jamaica: 0.324196 per 1,000 people
#4 Venezuela: 0.316138 per 1,000 people
#5 Russia: 0.201534 per 1,000 people
#6 Mexico: 0.130213 per 1,000 people
#7 Estonia: 0.107277 per 1,000 people
#8 Latvia: 0.10393 per 1,000 people
#9 Lithuania: 0.102863 per 1,000 people
#10 Belarus: 0.0983495 per 1,000 people
#24 United States: 0.042802 per 1,000 people
#43 Australia: 0.0150324 per 1,000 people
#44 Canada: 0.0149063 per 1,000 people
#46 United Kingdom: 0.0140633 per 1,000 people
#52 New Zealand: 0.0111524 per 1,000 people
SOURCE: Seventh United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems, covering the period 1998 – 2000 (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Centre for International Crime Prevention)
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita
AIDS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_HIV/AIDS_adult_prevalence_rate
SA: 5,7m (11.9% of population ~ 1 out of 10)
AUST: 14k (0.1% of population ~ 1 out of 1000)
August 14th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
dude Nick,
i posted that as some un-infored idiot on you blog throught and wrote that crime is double in Aussie than ZA.
do your own research and prove these stats wrong.
goof will hunting mate Greek.
August 14th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
sure Nic.
my post status = “Nick Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.”
check the stats: and then tell me i am wrong, ok. but do apolise if i am right.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:43 am
GDP in SA: 277,188
GDP in ‘Stralia: 1,010,699
Population of ‘Stralia: 21m
Population of SA: 48m
Crime in South Afica: # 2 assault and murder (by all means) per capita and #1 first for rapes per capita.
Crime in Australia: #43 Australia: 0.0150324 per 1,000 people
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita
AIDS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_HIV/AIDS_adult_prevalence_rate
SA: 5,7m (11.9% of population ~ 1 out of 10)
AUST: 14k (0.1% of population ~ 1 out of 1000)
Life expectancy:
SA: # 183 @ 42.45 years
AUST: #8 @ 80.62 years
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Expectancy_by_Country
Tourism:
SA: 10m or 2.5m per year from outside the African continent. 1-3% of GDP (wonder why they quote 2 numbers…..). Crime in South Africa is an issue every tourist should be aware of. wonder how may come for a foliday??
AUST: 5m per year. 3.9% of GDP, 52% come for holiday.
Australia also received the 10th biggest revenue from being a tourist destination in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
During the year ended 30 June 2006, there were 5 million
visitors to Australia aged 15 years and over. This is an increase of 1% over the previous year.
http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/South_Africa
http://www.tourism.australia.com/content/Research/Factsheets/Inbound_TourismFINAL0506.pdf
http://www.drakensberg-tourism.com/crime-south-africa.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071129011030AAepwSn
http://www.ioltravel.co.za/article/view/3949237
August 15th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
nic,
the stats show more than just murders. You need to read my post again. Or let me summarise a bit for you. ( it is scary)
SA is:
No1: rapes per capita (one rape every 40 seconds)
No2: assault and murder (by all means)
No2: Murders (per capita)
No1: Murders with firearms
No4: Burglaries
No2: Kidnappings
No10: Total crime per capita out of 60 countries measured.
No1: Incidences of child and baby rape in the world
No1: Ranked by HIV/AIDS population 5,7m (11.9% of population ~ 1 out of 10), or No5 Ranked by prevalence rate
No183: Life Expectancy of only 42.45 years.
No130: infant mortality rate 44.8 deaths/1,000 live births and 66.0 Under-five mortality rate (deaths/1,000 live births)
farm attacks: murder rate is four times that of the general South African population. ~ 3,000 deaths, rate of murders had increased by 25% since 2005. 9,400 farm attacks, an estimated 61% of victims are white
for a full report see: http://www.nationmaster.com/red/country/sf-south-africa/cri-crime&b_cite=1
January 17th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Sorry, aber das bezweifel ich ganz stark…Baer