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YOUR STORY
Mbeki beyond redemption
19/05/2008 14:52 - (SA)
Louis van Rensburg, News24 User
With horror I looked at the front page of a local newspaper this morning. It depicted a man, a foreigner, who had been set alight by an angry mob. I cannot imagine what sort of person it takes who can wilfully, and in cold blood, douse a man with petrol and set him alight.
I cannot imagine the fear and the pain of the person being hunted, being set alight, but it brings back vague memories of witches being burned alive in the name of Christianity, of Christians being dipped in tar and set alight, of being pitted against lions while the Romans watched in excited amusement.
What sort of people have we become and why? Why this sudden xenophobia? Illegal immigrants are, after all, not a new phenomenon. While I have no doubt that some of the "illegals" are involved in robberies, assault and rape, I do not for one moment think that it is their exclusive domain. Similar atrocities, and worse, have been committed by our own citizens.
I believe that part of the answer lies in the way our government has been dealing with the issue of Zimbabwe. We are all familiar with the sufferings of the people of Zimbawe under Mugabe and with our President's weak, nearly non-existent policy of quiet diplomacy, his inability or unwillingness to take a stand while hungry Zimbabweans flee across our borders.
I can understand the frustration of the South Africans who cannot get jobs because the foreigners are prepared to work for pitiful wages but this does not explain the level of violence.
Given up hope
Part of the answer lies in the fact that the average citizen has given up hope that the government can and will do something about the problem of illegal immigrants and that the average man on the street feels that his only recourse, his only protection is to take action.
The blame for this must be placed at the foot of our esteemed, and mostly absent, President. His indecisiveness, his lack of leadership and his reluctance to get out of bed with Mugabe against all rhyme and reason is adding fuel to the flames of discontent.
After his humiliating defeat in Polokwane, Mbeki had one more opportunity to redeem himself - take a stand on the Zimbabwean election spectacle. Instead, and understandably so, he chose ostrich diplomacy. How could he condemn the delayed release of the election results while sitting on the Khampepe report for two years?
I am worried what actions like these are doing to the image of South Africa. We are staging the Soccer World Cup in 2010 and the spotlight of the world is on us. As a prospective visitor, I would think twice about visiting a country where such cruel acts of violence occurs regularly.
Thinking twice
As a potential investor, I would think long and hard about investing in a country where such brutal and lawless acts are carried out, where Mr Average proclaims on various radio stations that it is justifiable to haunt and hunt these people as if they were animals.
That these barbaric actions are hurting the country economically, is not considered. That their actions affect their own future is forgotten in the anger as they mindlessly turn on the foreigners who, ironically, during the apartheid era, had welcomed them into their countries. Who cherished them and, through their combined actions, played a major role in bringing and end to apartheid.
And I think of the necklacing in the 80s and I wonder about what sort of animal we have become and where and how it all will end. And I mourn for our beautiful country.
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