A nine-month old girl is in a serious condition in hospital in Upington after having been raped by six adult men, who were allegedly all drunk at the time. The child’s teenage mother was arrested at the same time, also allegedly drunk. The men’s ages ranged from 24 to 66. Were they too drunk to know what they were doing?
Poor victims of society, unable to help themselves, unable to stop themselves. What rubbish. We no longer live under apartheid. We have a government of the people, for the people, supposedly democratically elected by the people for the purpose of serving the people of this country.
We can no longer allow our politicians and government to use that tired old excuse of the “legacy of apartheid”. We have a new government, a new society our laws and our government should reflect that we cannot and will not tolerate such vicious abuse of human beings by other human beings. Our president’s dream of the African renaissance is pie in the sky for as long as ordinary people can carry out such extraordinary acts of cruelty. It’s time our government and our leaders tackled the big issues, the ones that really count, like child abuse. I’m tired of hearing bland statements about how shocking it all is: let’s see some concrete actions instead. Or let’s have a new government.
I want the president to explain why his government can spend between R40-billion and R60-billion on high-tech First World weaponry, but we cannot afford to implement the provisions of the United Nations convention on the rights of the child.
I want the minister of finance to explain why, once the big boys have their shiny new toys warships, fighter planes and Mercedes-Benzes there isn’t enough money left to increase policing, enforce the laws, change the laws if need be, provide safe places for children and fund organisations that care for children when their parents can’t or won’t.
I want the minister of education to explain what he is doing to teach boys at school that violence against women and children is not acceptable in our society, and that children are to be protected at all costs.
I want the minister of justice to explain why we don’t have adequate laws which send a clear message to those contemplating carrying out this kind of atrocity that they will be punished in full measure, and that the punishment will fit the crime.
I want the government of the Northern Cape to tell me how they plan to bring this matter to justice, and how they will keep us informed of the progress of the case.
I want the leaders of the opposition political parties to question, to shout, to make this a priority issue.
I want that child’s grandmother to know that every woman in South Africa (and every decent man) stands with her in this dark time.
Don’t let this case be pushed out of the headlines and forgotten. Heather MacKay, Olivedale