Burning and looting is not the answer
What is the moral justification for such an evil act, against an emergency vehicle and the employees of the municipality who were merely doing their job and responding to an emergency?
There is no doubt that there’s something drastically wrong with the manner in which we deal with anything we dislike, or anybody we feel is the reason for our dissatisfaction.
The fact that, at the slightest provocation, we are prepared to set alight our neighbours’ homes, schools, libraries, institutions of higher learning and even a fire engine that has been dispatched to extinguish a fire at a neighbour’s house is, to me, an indication of a nation that is at war, not only with itself, but with just about everything and everyone it is unhappy with.
It came as a shock to me, and I believe to the rest of the community of Kathorus, to learn that residents of Moleleki Section in Katlehong had set alight a fire engine that had been dispatched to the area to extinguish a deadly blaze at the home of a neighbour in the early hours of last Sunday morning.
Not only did I find such an act abominable, but, like any other peace-loving and law-abiding citizen, I found it highly perturbing that a community could behave in such a manner against an emergency vehicle and state property that is used to save lives.
What is the moral justification for such an evil act, against an emergency vehicle and the employees of the municipality who were merely doing their job and responding to an emergency?
As Mayor Mzwandile Masina lashed out: “This kind of behaviour cannot be tolerated. We have just completed the roll-out of fire stations in all areas that historically did not have such facilities, and now some people in our communities are destroying the very same asset that is supposed to save their lives. We strongly condemn such barbaric criminal acts which can only deprive the broader society of much-needed services.”
The mayor added: “In the past we have had isolated incidents where our crews were attacked while attending to emergencies, especially the ambulance teams. However, this is by far the biggest attack in recent times and we thank God that none of our people were killed or injured in the attack.”
I, and all other peace-loving members of the community of Kathorus, especially those in Katlehong, must join Mayor Masina’s call for those responsible for this inhumane and barbaric act to be brought to justice and dealt with in the most appropriate manner under the law. It is now up to the community of Katlehong, who know who these lawless and irresponsible criminals are, to come forward and identify them to the police.
And lastly, it is up to our criminal justice system to ensure that their savagery be dealt with in a manner that will make any other criminal who may harbour such destructive thoughts in future to think twice before they act. “We can never prosper as a country if this is the behaviour we always prefer to demonstrate to vent our anger and frustrations.”
As a society, it is up to the rest of us, to make sure that we become our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers by protecting one another against any evil that is aimed at destroying the very things that we are supposed to be the custodians of. Fire engines and schools as well as libraries should be part of what we protect to ensure our growth and development as a nation.
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A happy Heritage Month to all
The fact of the matter is that, whether we like it or not, we are all part and parcel of our country’s miserable past. Regardless of how much some of us may love or hate who we were before 1994, our history and heritage will always remain intertwined.
