x close

SOUTH AFRICA'S TV WEBSITE

SOUTH AFRICA'S TV WEBSITE

ACTORS | ARTICLES | CASTINGS | SHOWS | TEASERS

1 Million man march against crime-24 April!

Written by Toxic from the blog Anything Goes on 24 Mar 2008
Favourite this post

I wasn't sure if i should write about this or if i should just sit on my opinion: well it's obvious what i eventually decided to do.

I HATE that i live in fear of my life being taken away by a stranger's impulse; i HATE that each time i open the garage door my stomach muscles contract in preparation for a gun shot that may be standing behind the garage door; i HATE that i cannot drive on my own at night for fear of being hi-jacked; i HATE that i constantly wonder about the "security" of the burglar doors, the alarm system, the locked gates at my home; i HATE that i constantly worry about the safety of my family in my own country-family that is within a 10km radius of where i live.

I HATE that criminals are now represented by teenagers and a teenager poses the same threat to me as a hardened criminal that's done his/her time in jail. I HATE that a group of black men standing in a corner could make the decision for me on whether or not to take another route; i HATE that i am constantly on the look out for potential threats to my livelihood and am on a constant watch over my driving behaviour (i don't use the same routes habitually, i don't leave the house at the same time each morning or arrive at the same time at night, etc) . I HATE that the word statistic has taken on a whole new meaning cause i don't want to be a statistic!!
I HATE that i am a prisoner in my own home, in my own town, in my own city, in my own province, in my own BLOODY country!

What i hate more that everything is someone that sits and moans about the crime-levels in this country ad nauseum. I hate listening to people go on and on about moving elsewhere because the country has gone to the dogs. I am tired of reading about how half the people in parliament are criminals. I am tired of the "apartheid was horrible but the crime was never this bad" statements that come from every 5th person i come across-some of them black.

This is not about my rant-believe it or not.

Weeks ago, Desmond Dube mentioned that he'd be organising a million man march against crime. Recent news indicate that the march is planned for 24 APRIL 2008. Yeah, a working day. Just about every 2nd person applauded this initiative-cause finally here's someone who's tired of sitting back and letting the criminals run his life! Here's someone who has decided to take action! Here's someone who wants his voice heard and his complaint dealt with.

How is this going to happen? What action is this though? In the end is it not just a collective show of gatvol-ness at our pathetic fight against crime? Are the people going to the march not just displaying a united front with a common "belief" or wish if you will? Sure it's better than doing nothing but what good is it if in the end we don't suddenly have the construction of 3 more max security jails? What good is it going to do if we don't suddenly have a united police force dedicated to actually preventing crime and not one that colludes with criminals? What good is going to come out of this march other than 1 million people at the same time telling the government what it hears every day?

I am hoping the "man" part is a collective term for people and i am hoping that each province holds similar marches on the same day and i am hoping that in the end, the president goes on national tv and tells us what the government is going to do differently now that 7 million people have spoken with one voice.

So, are you taking a day off on the 24th to take part in the March? Why or why not?

26 Comments

WhiteSockGirl
24 Mar 2008 14:01

Hi Tox! I don't live in SA and I have this thing against marches... what is the goal? Raise awareness? People are aware... if they are not aware then they are most probably living under the rock... so one can presume that they are safe under that rock.

I do travel often to SA for work and I have family there (my mother is South African) and even though I love OR Tambo, I had some freaky scary moments there.

Everyone of my cousins who are staying in JHB experienced the horrible ordeal of being a highjacked victim. In fact ,my one cousin who moved to JHB last year was highjacked for the third time about two weeks ago.

My ex found it quiet funny that I was also tense when I had to go to SA, according to him it is not that bad... could not be worse than WHK. He stayed about 8 years in JHB before he came back to Namibia 4 years ago. He did not experience any violence while he was there but he was not even back a year in WHK and he was the victim of housebreaking.

And I have to agree with him to some extent. Even SMALLTOWN has its own crime. I always have to organise guard service whenever I have to go out of town. The small town criminals attempted to break in (when I was at home) several times.

Last night around 02H00 I woke up and I thought it was the wine that I had earlier that was hammering in my head... but then I realized that the hammering was next door at my neighbour's place. She was out of town. I called my other neighbour for help.

It took them less than the minute to open the security door and was busy with the second door when my neighbour interrupted them.

That scared me, .... they are so skilled they can enter your home within seconds...

Renegade
25 Mar 2008 00:18

@WSG, I also find myself asking...whats the goal? I dont think criminals really give a second look at people marching against crime.
But maybe its more for the powers that be, to urge them to take more action. But like Toxic says, perhaps its better than doing nothing, surely?
I really hope i can make the march.

Toxic
25 Mar 2008 00:44

WSG:

Everyone of my cousins who are staying in JHB experienced the horrible ordeal of being a highjacked victim. In fact ,my one cousin who moved to JHB last year was highjacked for the third time about two weeks ago.

My ex found it quiet funny that I was also tense when I had to go to SA, according to him it is not that bad... could not be worse than WHK. He stayed about 8 years in JHB before he came back to Namibia 4 years ago. He did not experience any violence while he was there but he was not even back a year in WHK and he was the victim of housebreaking.

It's a sad reality in SA that they are lucky they came out of it alive! Crime is everywhere but i think people are more "gatvol" with the increasing levels of violent crime than anything else. When my life is under threat, then i no longer enjoy living.

Last night around 02H00 I woke up and I thought it was the wine that I had earlier that was hammering in my head... but then I realized that the hammering was next door at my neighbour's place. She was out of town. I called my other neighbour for help.

It took them less than the minute to open the security door and was busy with the second door when my neighbour interrupted them.

That scared me, .... they are so skilled they can enter your home within seconds...

That's the thing!!! One is reduced to cowering behind locked doors-we're even afraid of going on holiday for fear of our homes being broken into!! Damn, these people's J-O-B is basically surveillance-we're being checked out and the minute we leave, they pounce!

Renegade:
I really hope i can make the march.

I wonder about the logic of having a million people marching on a work day----isn't this a glorified version of a strike?? Hmmmmm.

sponono
25 Mar 2008 01:38

i've also never understood the purpose of marching.....other than giving them criminals anther chance to rob and hijack us after the march...(thats what happened last year after another crime-peace march)...but i guess anything that is supposed to make a diference is welcome....i just dont know what difference this march is supposed to make.......

suzzy82
25 Mar 2008 01:40

The march will not help anything
we not free in our country ,we living like prisoners
the crime will still be high so far they make the prison a place of entertainment
no one is scared of going to jail

Toxic
25 Mar 2008 01:57

Sponono:
other than giving them criminals anther chance to rob and hijack us after the march...(thats what happened last year after another crime-peace march)...

LOL!! Or they'd housebreak while we're away from our homes, marching!

suzzy82:
no one is scared of going to jail

Yep, apparantly jail conditions aren't that bad around SA...maybe that's what the march should be about: "worsening" conditions in jail so people fear going there.....

How do other countries manage this?

Fluffy Head
25 Mar 2008 01:59

I think that we should not discount awareness marches guys....If you look back into history on how the apartheid issue was solved - it involved a lot of marches around the country and into the union buildings. I know this is a very simplistic example to make - but if they worked then, surely they can work in changing something with the crime. It all has to do with our attitude.

A friend of mine was murdered in January in Capetown at her flat. The people who did it only took a dvd player...since that happened someone sooo close to me being a victim of crime, I've become a prisoner in my own flat. And I leave in a neighborhood that is supposed to be safe (but is it really). I can't leave the house at night unless my boyfriend is with me. Once I come back from work I lock myself in and lock all the other doors in the house...Its a painful thing to leave like this. But I believe that the DD march can help..

Toxic
25 Mar 2008 02:30

Fluffy:

What's missing for me is that "mission statement"-what the purpose is! If they are marching to say, we're sick and tired of crime, then what else is new?

If they are marching with a list of demands and changes they want to see, then it's a different story-like the women marched and burnt their "passes" back in the apartheid era.

Zee Babes!
25 Mar 2008 02:53

@Toxic - I HATE that a group of black men standing in a corner could make the decision for me on whether or not to take another route

A friend of mine was robbed by two white guys and you know the funny part is dat while they were busy LOADING the furniture into the truck in broad day light - everyone thot she was moving out - but had it been BLACK guys um sure sum1 would have seen it strange. All this tym her maid was standing outside the gate chatting with her friends - upon seeing this she coled her and asked her ukuthi why she did not tell her dat she was changing her furniture - all the tym while they were packing she was sitting outside the gate - she too trusted WHITE guys. I mean it shows dat they were not in a hurry while doing it and knew of our negligence. It was later discovered dat in the same complex 3 break-ins dat happened de were done by them... white guys bt who would have thot!

I am not defending blaque man they are rotten...I know them (um a victim at their hands) but ke they are not the only crooks out there.

Fluffy Head
25 Mar 2008 03:00

Toxic: I think that - that's the purpose of the thing....They can't just walk the streets without making a statement. Actually walking the streets in itself is a statement. But yah hey, our country needs prayers guys...nna thats what I think.

ZeeBabes: Why are we bringing race into this, I think we are talking about crime not who is the pepertrator.

lepogo
25 Mar 2008 03:14

I hate marches!!!!!They will be flooded by old white aunts clutching their bags very close everytime a black fellow marcher comes any close to her,and it will simply be another platform to elevate has beens to the limelight.

Guys like Dube are able to reach more people throught the medium of tv,through relevant stories and narrations-not through ardorous marches...

And,oh,can or will someone pleaaase be brave enough and raise the issue of foreigners being responsible ,in a large extent,for this crime we see?????

And our country need more than prayers-it needs doers,not any more preachers-DOERS mense.

And Im out to count my booty from last night....

Toxic
25 Mar 2008 03:15

@ZeeBabes: yes, i'm aware that crime knows no skin colour it's just that at the level it's grown, espesh violent crime even innocents look guilty PLUS where i hang out, i see a lot of black man, have suffered 2 losses at the hands of black men and see victims of "black" crime almost daily-so it is in that context that i referred to that specific group from the population :)

suzzy82
25 Mar 2008 03:31

And,oh,can or will someone pleaaase be brave enough and raise the issue of foreigners being responsible ,in a large extent,for this crime we see?????

hey some zim guys were robbing my friend on her way to work, they told her to take out the phone they need money to support their family mugabe is burning their asess
and if we as youth of S.A can stand up and chase all these ppl in our country
we can be able to deal with the crime in S.A

Fluffy Head
25 Mar 2008 03:31

Lepologo___then do something dear. U know don just preach as well - you are also responsible for doing something not only Desmond Dube. Atleast he's doing something, instead of bringing him down on his efforts - support him or try your own innitiative.

Toxic
25 Mar 2008 03:37

Saw in the news last night that residents in pretoria were torching foreigners' shacks and the 1st thing that i thought of was "they must be tired of the crime"........

Zee Babes!
25 Mar 2008 03:45

@Fluffy Head -ZeeBabes: Why are we bringing race into this, I think we are talking about crime not who is the pepertrator. Trust me i am not playing race cards was just saying based on what Toxy said -dats why I did a cut&paste. Please re-read my post.

@Toxic - I get your point...and your context but was just sharing - lyk I said dat Black guys are mogoes but we must not leave Magoa outside cos they too are crooks....B 4 I repeaat myself. I understand your context loud and clear.

realist
25 Mar 2008 03:49

2009 elections are close by. You can make a difference.

Toxic
25 Mar 2008 03:50

and right you are.......i would probs not raise an eyebrow if i saw white men lifting stuff from some house or even going into a bank together.

Toxic
25 Mar 2008 03:53

2009 elections are close by. You can make a difference.

@realist: HOW??? Certainly not by marching!

realist
25 Mar 2008 04:07

Crime is happening under the watchful eye of the government which is led by the ANC. So far they have not shown that they can bring the level of crime under control. Come 2009 and you can change all that. If you are comfortable with what this present government is doing you vote them into power again. If not you change you vote to a party that you think can represent your interest.

Toxic
25 Mar 2008 04:12

Thing is i'm not convinced that another party will fight crime any differently. Are people just sitting in parliament with solutions to crime and hoping that their party is voted into power come 2009? Are they not currently affected by crime RIGHT NOW so much that they want to bring a stop to it NOW?

realist
25 Mar 2008 04:19

Agreed. But the thing is you won't know until you change it. What we agree on is that this present government has failed dismally at protecting its citizens. Until this present government can have a 51% or even less as opposed to having the majority in parliament nothing will change. It will be bussiness as usual.

sweetie my baby
25 Mar 2008 05:38

nice article, Toxic - and very timely indeed. 2 weeks ago, i had the rude shock of waking up to see some motherf*%#er on my balcony, trying to get into my bedroom thru the glass door - this was at 4h45 on a monday morning, and i live on the 3rd floor, mind you...

fortunately, i managed to get out in time, but then they managed to break in - by the time i'd called security (don't even get me STARTED about the police response time), my laptop and cellphone were gone -major losses.

and like fluffyhead, i think the march is a good idea - yes, they certainly need to put together aims/objective/manifesto/petition to hand over to someone in safety and security - but in truth, desmond dube is using his celebrity in the best way he can - as for it being a workday, i think that's just fine - this is a crisis that paralyzes our lives, i'm sure that the bosses would be ok with people marching on this issue- hell, they'll probably join in!

after the whole thing was done, i felt so sick about how many similar stories i heard - a week later, a friend of mine woke up to see six guys surrounding her bed. like me, she is 'lucky' in that they didn't touch her - just cleaned her house out.

a march may not be ideal as a solution, but it is SOMETHING - as south african's, we really don't unite on issues, and this could be a great platform to start more formal COMMUNITY BASED structures - because that's where the ultimate solution lies - with the people., i really do believe that...

WhiteSockGirl
25 Mar 2008 06:58

Ok, I don’t drink during office hours… might the fumes of the wine that I had in a very limited quantities during the weekend. Please Tox, delete my response. My apologies.

Toxic
25 Mar 2008 07:49

this was at 4h45 on a monday morning, and i live on the 3rd floor, mind you...

What makes me so "awestruck" is the timing this happened- people usually get up at 5.00am and around that time of the morning, we're no longer in deep slumber!!! On the 3rd floor??????? Sweetie, thank goodness you woke up when u did-whom knows what story u'd be telling now?? You must be feeling 'invaded' i assume cause that's how i felt when we got up to find our living room almost cleaned out, the kitchen window wide open, doors left open and the garage door removed off its hinges! And we slept through it all....tsk tsk tsk.

as for it being a workday, i think that's just fine - this is a crisis that paralyzes our lives, i'm sure that the bosses would be ok with people marching on this issue- hell, they'll probably join in!

Maybe it's a good thing i don't own a small company, i'd never let them go to the march!

WSG, you're forgiven love:)

sweetie my baby
26 Mar 2008 02:20

Maybe it's a good thing i don't own a small company, i'd never let them go to the march! - Hah - Tox, I own a small company, and am taking my gatvol with crime staff with me!!!

Only TVSA members can reply to this thread. Click here to login or register.