Dear Mr President: An open letter from a 14-year-old boy

Neri Chawane, a 14-year-old learner from Hoërskool Gerrit Maritz has penned an open letter to the president of South Africa, expressing his deep-rooted concerns regarding the state of the nation. This comes amidst the xenophobic attacks, protests and crimes against women which have plagued the country in recent days.

He is one of four children and he lives in fear for the safety of his three sisters, aged 6, 12 and 19. Filled with anxiety, he has questioned his mother regarding the possibility of immigration to Canada, as he is acutely aware of the rising tension filling the country.  The letter reads;

“Dear Mr Ramaphosa,

Sir, I plead with you to read this letter. I am a 14-year-old scholar who was born in South Africa. I’m writing this letter to plead with you for change. Sir, as a country have no other hope but you. I’m so young and I am not sure if I have a future in this country and I am sure the majority of this youth think so too. The things that happen in our country scare us as a youth. We are said to be the future of this country but our country is falling apart and when we take over there will be a lot of work to do.

There is a lot of xenophobic war in our country and the only reason is that South African citizens are not granted good lives. They attack foreigners because they feel foreigners have taken their belongings. I’m talking about jobs and a good standard of living. I’m not saying it’s foreigners’ faults but I’m also saying that South African citizens deserve to be given a chance to live comfortably. Sir, I do have a solution idea for this problem. More businesses should consider hiring people instead of adopting the 4th industrial revolution fully. This industrial revolution should not affect this country so much. If so then it should be denied because it is a negative change to this country. Our economy won’t be growing anymore because of technology.

The rights of females are violated. Each year women die because of their rights being violated. I am sad because of the number of women who have been recently raped and killed. I have sisters and my mom is also a woman. I’m scared Mr President. Today I almost fainted when I went to wait for my sister after school and she took her time to come to the gate where we always meet. I only imagined death.

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Our police force is horrible and they claim to be doing their jobs but they are not. When youth protests for something reasonable they shoot at them to stop, instead of protecting them.

These are just a few things going on in our country. I could go on but I won’t because thinking about them saddens me.”

His feelings mirror the sentiments of many South Africans, who have taken to social media using the hashtag #DearMrPresident, in order to voice their grievances, calling on the president for a response.

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