‘In war, there is no justice’

IN keeping with the huge interest currently being shown in the Oscar Pistorius trial, the topic for Writers’ Forum this month was ‘justice’.

‘Talmudic justice’ was a factual and most interesting treatise on the Hebrew text of justice and how the rules and regulations of it were formed.

Wars are, and ever will be, fought because of man’s greed or, all too often, religious beliefs. Millions of lives have been lost and there is little or no sign of people turning to love rather than greed. The writer of this story brought a blood-red pebble, picked up on the beach where troops had landed during the Second World War, and kept it to remind herself that in war there is no justice.

The illegal shooting of a buck in a wildlife sanctuary was the cause of the killing of the shooter by the volunteer who was taking visitors around to view wildlife. The buck was the offspring of a young doe saved from death some time earlier by the volunteer and was a very special member of the animal community. The volunteer was charged with murder and found guilty. Now, justice has been done in more ways than one.

The husband of a wife dying of cancer was in despair. Apart from her agony and his grief at the thought of losing her, the costs of the treatment were now eating into their savings and everything was going downhill. Being a veterinarian, he knew the answer and took it. An injection into his wife’s arm and another into his own brought an end to their troubles. Euthanasia is a much-debated topic. Is it kindness or is it killing?

A serial rapist and killer was finally brought to book because his fourth victim had managed to stab him with nail scissors before her death. The police found the scissors and sent out notices to hospitals and a law student was brought to trial. Because he was the son of a senior partner of a large law firm, the accused was found not guilty.

A year later, an attempted murder was foiled when students went to help a screaming girl. It was the same killer, but this time he did not get away with it.

A small boy caught picking pockets was seen by a woman who always tried to guide young children who had gone astray and ordered him to return what he had stolen. She then took him home with her to join the other fifteen children living with her.

The woman hoped to build an orphanage and went to court for the hearing of a land claim. The small boy went with her and while at the toilet he removed the file from the opposition’s briefcase. As the case was regarded as not being fully prepared for, the land being fought over was handed to the woman for the building of an orphanage. Justice was served.

The last story was part truth and part fiction. It told of a woman giving birth on the street as she could not reach the clinic. As she was in the pangs of childbirth, she saw a notice on a door saying ‘Justice of the Peace’ and decided to name her baby Justice if it was a boy and Peace if it was a girl. It turned out to be a boy and the story pretends to be that of the life of Justice Malala.

Anyone interested in putting words together, contact Beryl Lakin at 039 3150464 for more information about this popular group.