An open letter to Ukraine’s ambassador in South Africa

Your Excellency Liubov Abravitova,

Let me begin by extending my deep sympathy for the terrible events unfolding in your home country, Ukraine. Like many, I have watched with a mixture of horror and disbelief as the Russian military illegally entered Ukraine’s sovereign territory and left only destruction in its wake. More than anything, it is the wanton disregard for human life which leaves one feeling empty. With time and great effort, roads can be repaved, bricks can be relayed, and homes can be rebuilt, but the lives of friends and family are lost to us forever.

It is against this backdrop that I believe Clayson Monyela, South Africa’s head of diplomacy, acted in haste in his response to your plea for an audience with our ministers in cabinet. Although his characterisation of your comments as “undiplomatic” may be procedurally accurate, I consider your actions to be in keeping with the spirit of your responsibilities as a diplomat. One may even ask what the job of a diplomat is if not to represent and advance the interests of their country. If South Africa were ever to face an aggressor on our soil, I pray that our diplomats would show the same resolve as you have.

It is in this same spirit of advocating for the interests of one’s country, that I write to you now. While I disagree with the sentiment expressed by Mr Monyela, I must, unfortunately, agree with him on the substance.

In a recent conversation, you explained that the reason for your request is to ensure that our ministers receive firsthand knowledge of the situation in Ukraine. While I agree with the importance of unfettered communication between countries, that avenue has already been made available to you through the department of international relations and cooperation, and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s adviser on international relations. It is their responsibility, under the guidance of the president, to convey the relevant information to his wider cabinet.

Any similar conversation with South African ministers, especially those solely responsible for domestic affairs, would serve no further purpose. I point this out not because of a desire to maintain diplomatic decorum or an indifference to the plight of the Ukrainians. Rather, I believe that our ministers’ time must be spent focusing on the humanitarian crises within our own borders.

As Ukraine’s ambassador to South Africa, I am sure you are familiar with the multitude of problems facing our nation. Our official unemployment rate, which excludes those who have given up their search for employment, has reached a record 35%.

As a consequence, poverty has become endemic. A thin veneer of urban wealth disguises the 10 million South Africans living on less than $1.90 a day (a little more than the price of one cup of café coffee). According to official statistics, 2.6 million South African homes do not have access to piped water; 1.7 million homes are not connected to the electrical grid; 5.9 million households still use pit latrines or buckets as toilets. It is a heartbreaking reality that millions of people in my country have never had access to the basic infrastructure that the Russian army is so callously destroying in yours.

South Africans are also starving. In a recent survey, 35% of respondents reported running out of money to buy food. Researchers also found that 14% of households reported a child going hungry at least once in the preceding week. It bears noting that 4% of households reported a child going hungry for three to four days a week. Yet another study found developmental stunting in 216 out of 854 children surveyed (of whom 81 were classified as being severely stunted) and highlighted poor diet as one of the leading risk factors.

These economic hardships, exacerbated by record levels of inequality, contribute to the persistent spectre of crime in South Africa. In 2020, nearly 20 000 people were needlessly murdered (10 times the current United Nations estimate for civilian deaths in Ukraine). South Africans can take little comfort in the fact that this represents the lowest number of homicides in the past four years. The unconscionable crime of rape continues to be a moral blight on our land, with more than 36 000 reported incidents in 2020 (the lowest number in a decade). One shudders to think how many thousands more go unreported.

Though South Africa has not been the victim of an illegal war on its soil our humanitarian crisis is, in many ways, no less severe. A notable difference between the suffering of your people and mine is that our pain is, regrettably, not televised on the world stage. Tragically, this is a reality which many in the developing world have had to become accustomed to.

It is with these stark realities in mind that I believe the interest of South Africans, in particular those that are most vulnerable, would be best served by our ministers devoting every second of their day and every ounce of their strength towards alleviating the massive amounts of suffering in South Africa.

It is my sincere hope that you do not construe my words as indifference, or a veiled attempt at fanning the flames of nationalism. Had South Africa’s fate been different, I would similarly advocate that it is our moral imperative to do whatever is possible to prevent the human suffering in Ukraine. Unfortunately, that is not the hand which we have been dealt.