SA Rocks

I am not sure what the origin of the below passage is, however it is interesting to consider. This is not the reality for many, many South Africans, I know. And I am also quite sure I am going to be blasted for posting this but I think it’s an interesting way to look at things:

We have spoken on many an occasion of the fact that violent crime in South Africa (or certainly a very high percentage of it), occurs between people who know each other. Rowing spouses, drunken siblings, jilted lovers, angry teenagers, disgruntled staff, unhappy colleagues. Murders between people who know each other account for 82% of all our countries murders. 18% of our nation’s murders happen as a result of hijacking, or broadly speaking, ‘robbery’.

So, here’s the good news. If we live in peace, good-will, charity, fairness, generosity and in a way that resolves conflict speedily and satisfactorily with our staff, family and those we know, we have roughly a 0.007% chance of being murdered in a ‘random’ attack by a stranger.

Let’s put this in context so we can appreciate comparatively how small our chances are of being murdered:

– You are 300 times more likely to die in a car accident
– You are 15000 times more likely to die of smoking related disorders (if you smoke)

But get this….you are over twice as likely to commit suicide.

So much rather stop smoking than emigrate – we are safer living here than puffing in Perth – if we live right.

If you do know where this came from, please let me know so I can add in the correct references.

PS: I’m a smoker.

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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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On Tuesday I was listening to the Fresh Drive on 5fm. I have not heard such a heated show in a very, very long time. Fresh prompted a discussion about the 12 year old boy who was murdered by his victim. yes that sentence is a bit screwy, but true.

The boy had just robbed a man of his cellphone. The man apparently chased the boy who dropped the cellphone in the process. The man picked up the phone, fired a warning shot and then shot the boy in the upper body which killed him.

The debate on the Fresh drive was fought, and I mean fought, between Catherine and Ruben (two of Fresh’s team).

Ruben was in favour of the murder. He was emphatic that the 12 year old got was coming to him and that crime has gone unpunished for too long in SA.

Catherine was fighting for a humans right to live and believed at the time of the conversation/debate that no one person has the right to take another humans life.

I must say I sat in my car and was grateful for the traffic for the first time ever. The traffic allowed me to catch most of the debate and I was absolutely involved in the whole thing. I was even talking to them and their callers. Some of the callers were exceptionally ignorant and even this morning someone phoned in and contributed to the conversation on Gareth Cliff’s show.

My opinion is extremely torn. I am extremely torn.

Let me begin by stating that I do not in any way, shape or form agree with or condone the death penalty. I believe that a person’s right to live supersedes almost and just about everything. This is a principal that I believe in, however I am well aware of the fact that this opinion could easily be changed by various violent circumstances. If I have to choose between my life or my attackers life, they die. Simple. And I know that this flies in the face of what I have just said, but so be it.

I do not believe that the man should have murdered the boy, and let’s not forget that this is what he did, murdered the boy. Catherine’s argument on the radio was that we do not have the right to judge the boy, his actions or his future because we just don’t know. This I agree with. She felt that the man should have taken the boy to the police. This I agree with. But at this point let me use Ruben’s rebuttal; there is no system in place in SA that is effective enough for people to know that if a 12 year old is taken to the police, a correctional service or any other educational facility, he will be helped to become a contributing member of society in a positive manner. Ruben is spot on.

This boy would’ve been taken in to a correctional service, or prison and become more of a criminal. Then when he is released 10 years (or however long) down the road he would become an educated, desolate youth with no future and no choice but to return to crime and develop this skill.

And with that let the catch 22 kick in. What is a person to do? Take the law in to their own hands? Become vigilantes? Rule with an iron fist and lead bullet? I cannot agree with this.

This man needs to be found and put away like the murderous criminal he is. The law is clear about this:

Researcher and retired police commissioner Johan Burger, of the Institute for Security Studies, said the law was clear on when people were permitted to shoot.

“You can only shoot at a person if your life or the lives of people in your immediate presence is in danger.

“So, only if a robber threatens you in a way that is serious enough to believe that a life is in danger can you use a firearm,” Burger said.

And this is my opinion. We MUST let the law be effective, we must HELP the law to do so, we must not take it in to our own hands and create our own sense of justice. This is not good and will not turn out well. Ever. Anarchy is not an effective situation for any coherent resolution. Ever.

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I blogged about the disturbing and gripping documentary SA, Murder Most Foul last week. It has proven to be a hot topic with a quite a few lengthy and rational comments. Thank you for those comments.

One of the people who commented was the director himself, Jon Blair. I emailed Mr Blair and I asked him if he would be interested in contributing in some way to this blog. What we decided on was an interview. Here is what he had to say:

Many people watched your documentary titled South Africa, Murder Most Foul. Why did you choose to create this documentary now?

Like most of what I do, it isn’t so much a question of choosing to do something at a particular time but about how things fall into place and when. As I think I have said elsewhere, Tony Sher approached me about trying to make a film about the murder of Brett Goldin and Richard Bloom less than a week after they were killed during Easter 2006. Once I had figured out what film I actually wanted to make, which involved using the Goldin Bloom murder as an entry point in order to examine South Africa’s current problem with violent crime and murder, then it was a question of getting the funding. As it happens that fell into place relatively quickly since Channel Four in the UK agreed to put up sufficient of the money to allow my company to deficit fund the balance. Just for the record though I will almost certainly never see that deficit back as films like Murder Most Foul only have a very limited worldwide market, but I am absolutely certain that it was completely worth doing even though it will show a financial loss.

The film was more or less completed by the end of 2006 but then, because we had been given privileged access to quite a lot of the sub judice material relating to the circumstances of the Goldin Bloom murder on the understanding that it would not be released until after the court case of the two accused had been completed in the Cape Town High Court, we had to sit on the film until that process saw its way through. The two accused pleaded guilty and were sentenced in May of this year, so that’s when we could finally complete the film and have it released.

Initially there was no interest from any South African broadcaster in showing the film but thanks to the Encounters Film Festival whom we approached at the very last minute, it had its first world premiere at their festival in Cape Town. Shortly after that, thanks in no small measure to the persistence of Brett’s mother, Denise Goldin, Mnet decided to acquire it for which I am extremely grateful.

Sir Antony Sher with posters featuring some of the 50 a day victims of murder in South Africa

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I am watching the Carte Blanche documentary about crime in SA. I have been told that this documentary was showed on British television last night.

My impression: The doc is sensationalist, just look at the title: South Africa, Murder Most Foul. The host is trying too hard to make SA appear to be a war zone all day every day for everyone in the entire country.

The documentary is effective, real, eye-opening, effective and true. It is not everyone’s truth.

Quotes like “Violence has always been a way of life in SA” are bullshit and misleading. The author only talks about guns, drugs, and gangs. This is all that he can go on about. It is more complicated than this man is letting on.

Desmond Tutu was interviewed, great move on the docs behalf. He adds humility and a softer face to the issue.

One of the focuses of the documentary is the murder of Brett Goldin and Richard Bloom. Their execution-style murder was horrific, shocking and unacceptable. This documentary has definitely done one thing right and that is share the exposure. I am extremely glad that Jon Blair chose to put a wide variety of people from various backgrounds in the documentary. Crime affects more people of colour in SA that whites. That is a fact without a doubt (I don’t have statistics) and I think that very often white people complain and the world believes that the violence in SA is black on white. But this is not true, it happens, but it is not the only kind of violence and is definitely not the most widely seen violence.

I am torn about this sort of documentary. On one hand I don’t want the world to see this sort of publicity. It is bad for our image, it is not entirely true and not entirely representative.

On the other hand I don’t want anyone in the world or in SA to say that they never knew that people were dying, being murdered, raped and molested. Let the world know that there is a crisis in our country and maybe they can make a difference because the issue is fast become (has become) too much for our systems to manage.

Did you see the documentary? What are your thoughts?

UPDATE: The documentary is almost over. I am moved I must admit. I am upset by what I have seen. Not because I wasn’t aware of the extend of the situation that our country finds itself, but because I have let myself forget much of it for whatever reason or not. I am not blind or ignorant and the documentary has made me feel that this blog and initiatives like it are necessary now more than ever. We need to stand up, expose the wrongdoings and make things right. Even if it is one person at a time or one mindset at a time we need to try.

One thing that I would like to do more of is hands on work. I want to get out in to the country and make a physical, visible difference. In that respect I think I am falling somewhat short considering my privileged position.

UPDATE: SA Murder Most Foul will be broadcast tonight (Sunday 7 October) at 9pm on DStv Channel 150.

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