DEAR Editor:-
I recently visited the Southcoast Mall and thoroughly enjoyed the numerous delightful pictures from our local primary schools displayed on a wall.
From the display, it would appear that the pictures were to express a happy situation. One does not have to be a psychiatrist to know that these pictures actually convey inner precious thoughts of the little ones and reflect the issues they are exposed to in their world.
With this in mind, I wish to share my opinion on two of the pictures that I found extremely thought-provoking. The one from Suid-Natal Primary dealt with a funeral of grandparents, depicting the graves in peaceful and pretty surroundings. One can assume this little one had lost grandparents who were very precious, has made peace with it and understands that they are gone.
The other picture from Izotsha Primary depicts a little girl in a pretty garden waiting at a gate. The following words appear in the picture ‘My dad went to war and every day I wait for my dad to come.’ Needless to say this little one does not understand the implications of war.
The picture she had drawn reveals a sensitive mind and the longing for a dad that had gone to war. I think we underestimate the number of families that find themselves in a similar traumatic situation, where the father had gone to war for whatever reason.
Some of these fathers, as we have recently seen in the media, will not be coming back. I trust and pray that the abovementioned little girl’s dad, and similar cases, will be returning from war.
DIRK SCHOEMAN
Umtentweni
