Reflections of a FabAcademic - standing up for justice The looting, attacks and killings of foreigners in Soweto is barbaric and all of us peace loving South Africans must condemn it. This morning I heard that our FB friend Leeto Khoza, online news producer for EWN, was injured while on duty in Soweto. I am disgusted! Don’t get me wrong I do not support the criminal elements among the foreign nationals and I do not support the killing of the 14 year old by a foreign national in Soweto. But what is going on now has nothing to do with the death of the 14 year old, it has gone beyond that – it is just clear thuggery and it must be condemned. What happened to standing up for justice? I am horrified to hear what some South Africans are saying about the situation in Soweto. Many blame the victims for taking their jobs, customers and argue that they are not supposed to be here and must go back to their countries. What happened to Ubuntu? Are we not all Africans? Are we not supposed to stand together? Who took care of our brothers and sisters during apartheid when they skipped the country and lived in other countries as refugees? Now that we have our liberation it seems that we have forgotten how our people were taken care of when it was impossible for them to come back to South Africa. Now we say others must go back to their countries. It is easy to blame the victim especially when you do not know them and you make assumptions about who they are and what they are about. But the problem is that if we allow injustice and abuse to go on then tomorrow your beloved sister, colleague or cousin or even mother may be the victim. Why wait till it hits closer to home? Why remain silent in the face of hate, abuse and injustice? Why settle into being a nation of onlookers? The fact is that when people stay quiet or blame the victim on seeing an injustice, they are secretly saying to the one who is doing the injustice that it’s okay for them to continue. As human beings we are supposed to be pissed off when we see hatred, abuse and injustice even if it is not against ourselves. Remember today it may be someone else today but tomorrow it may be you! Some things we must always be unable to bear. Some things we must never stop refusing to bear – violence and injustice and outrage and dishonor and shame. Not for kudos and not for fame, not to get your picture in the paper nor money in your back pocket either. Just refuse to bear them.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 04:30:44 +0000
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