What Can We Learn From Beggars Who Do Not Choose?

I know a friend who will not work as a taxi conductor, citing hard work; a relative who rejected a job in a car wash, citing hard work; a friend who will not work in a funeral parlor, citing indecent job; some months ago I gave a friend some money so that he can build some interior in my house. I’m still waiting for that job to begin. A family relative quoted me an exorbitant price for build a concrete ramp. All these people have one thing in common, laziness, but expect lots of money as payment for every little work they do.

On the other hand people have referred me to African brothers to build the ramp for me. I know a business owner who has contracted African brothers for maintenance and also renovations in her business and at her home. She has expressed great satisfaction at the service these people have provided. Everyday in almost every street corner you find these African brothers with tools ready to be picked up by a either a plumbing, painting, electrical, building, or tiling contractor. Both my associate business owner and these contractors are suckers for these African brothers who provide cheap labour while getting the job done and giving 100% of their abilities. It does not matter what country these guys come from, they just want to work and earn a wage, and they do.

Running up to 2009 tensions have been growing in different parts of the country. These tensions relate to allegations that “foreign people” are stealing jobs of South Africans. As results African brothers, sisters and their children have suffered abuse, discrimination, assault, violation, and death at the hands of South Africans. Why is that so? How is it that people pin entitlements to jobs which they don’t seek and are not employed in that job? Can we also say that “foreigners” are stealing business opportunities for South Africans? Will this satisfy out falsified perception and understanding of the current economic situation we are faced with?

Most of my relatives who are physically able, and should be economically active individuals, given their age, have never held a long term job and have never made efforts to look for one? These are men and women who are parents, have responsibilities which range from having to provide food, shelter and clothing for their children to planning for the future of their children. However these people have never done any of that. Now would it be justified for someone with such an approach to life to complain about someone who goes out there and seek employment to provide all these things for his or her family? That is exactly what these African brothers and sisters do. They have a purpose to provide for their families. Therefore they don’t sit and wait for a truck to come and collect them from their dungeon and take them to work or let bygones be bygones if the truck did not come.  

There are also many people who were laid off from work because they were no longer pitching at work and when they did they appeared drunk and basically produced nothing. On the other hand these African brothers and sisters work hard and accept whatever little they get.

As South Africans we have complained over and over again about the scarcity of employment opportunities in this country. We have pestered government to provide for us in all aspects of life including employment opportunities.  However there are very few of us who find creative ways to meet government halfway by acquiring skills which are essential to compete in the job market. On the other hand African brothers and sisters come to our country equipped with a variety of qualifications, skills and experience which are, in this country, deemed as scarce skills. However, these people start form scratch when they arrive here. They do all odd jobs in order for them to gain platforms to demonstrate their capabilities, skills and experience.

Just when we thought that we have passed the incidents of xenophobic attacks, and that our people have learned from the devastating effects of those xenophobic attacks which happened last year, these incidents are being reported in the news. It is shocking to find that in 2009, while our political leaders are working hard to form relations and partnerships with our neighboring countries in order to open doors for trade and exchange of skills and sharing of resources, the people on the ground are attacking people from neighboring countries who are trying to find refuge in our communities. Not only are the current ties imposed by our leaders suppose to unite us as African people but there is also a need to consider our past experience where South African men and women found refuge in these neighboring countries and evidence show that they received good reception. South Africans were given opportunities to compete in the job market of these countries in all sectors of the economy of these countries, regardless of the skills (or lack thereof) South Africans were equipped with.      

Maybe, now that people no longer undergo military service after competing secondary education people can, through the Department of International Relations and related government clusters, undergo a year of community service in an African country. It is then that South Africans will understand the plight of being in a foreign land, just to get a feel of what it’s like not to have a choice but to do all kinds of jobs to earn a dollar.   

What is this talk of foreign land, foreign soil, and foreign people anyway? Aren’t we all Africans?   

African brothers and sisters are like beggars in this country, given the plight of their survival. The difference is that while some South Africans may feel equivalent, the latter continues to demonstrate attitudes of people with choices when competing in the job market, whereas the former are like beggars who do not choose, beggars who take that what is given to them and make the most of it. This is not to condone the act of exploiting people by paying them less than a minimal wage, which also creates unfair competition among those who compete for jobs and lead to the incidents which have been reported.

So the challenge that I want to put across is that, before we burn houses and chase away our African brothers and sisters, let us learn from their survival tactics, hard work, perseverance, and determination. Then maybe we can decide if they cannot live amongst us and compete in our job markets.  

[Article also published in The Witness, 10 December 2009]

I Do Read

Spud - Learning to Fly (limited edition) by john Van De Ruit.
I never really had the chance to read this journey through life. but now that i do. I'm enjoying it.

"As Spud Milton continues his diabolical stagger through adolscence, he learns one of a life's most important lessons: when dealing with women and cretins, nothing is ever quite as it seems"

The police can harness its energy and do good for the public

A lot has been said about government’s “shoot-to-kill” statements which are directed at amending legislation to empower police officials to use deadly force when faced with criminals. It has occasionally formed part of agenda in parliament sessions, media statements, and a lot has been written about it in almost all the national newspapers. In its premature implementation these statements have caused some devastating loss of innocent lives in different parts of the country, where police have been more than happy to pull the trigger on innocent people who seem to be running away at the fright of the police chasing them.

Civil society organization have expressed due shock at these incidents and from this side it is difficult to blame a public which is becoming scorn by innocent deaths at the hands of the very system which should be protecting the public. The rate at which this is going, SABC will have to sensor the news to protect sensitive viewers. It even leaves a much bitter taste when authorities utter statements which say that the death of innocent people is unavoidable in the implementation of these shoot-to-kill statements. What happened to human rights for all in this country?  

While it is probably comforting to play the blame game it is also commendable to suggest solutions to this situation where our faith in the police is being destroyed at policy level. Pardon me in this case but even before this shoot-to-kill frenzy the police were never big on merit to many South Africans. Forget Apartheid regime related police crimes. We are still trying to bury those hatches. I’m talking about post-1994 attitudes of the police force. One would look at this as the ‘rise of the civil servant’ where, if you could, go through the Independent Complains Directorate database of complains, I bet you will find issues relating to undue use of force and violence by the police during investigation, uncontrolled anger, hate speeches and gross violation of human rights, loss of case dockets, lack of follow-up and little or no service to rape victims which is sometimes accompanied by further victimization of victims by the police officials, absolute disservice on administrative duties for those requiring service at police stations. The list is endless…

However, there are solutions to this. There is so much that the police can do for the society in order to change our perception of the police. There is a way in which the police can harness this energy of pulling the trigger, as modus operandi, and direct it to running programmes which create relationships between the police and society, revive the merit of the police as champions of community safety and, instill our faith in the system as a whole.   

I live in Edendale, south-west of Pietermaritzburg. Pardon me once again as I may say this out of ignorance and lack of information but having witnessed things which are happening in different communities around Pietermaritzburg, I can frankly say that awareness related activities of the police have shied away from our black townships. I also read some of the community newspapers and, of course there are some activities which take place in some suburban communities which are predominantly White or Indian. These activities are also needed in black townships.

It is these kinds of activities which may be seen as little intervention but are useful in creating relationships between society and the police. In my 13 years of primary and secondary education I don’t remember the police coming to any of my school in the area to create awareness about violence, substance and drug abuse and related consequences, and I don’t remember hearing about it at anytime after I left school. In the last couple of years underage drinking has become a norm for teenagers in townships. These are great opportunities for the police to be visible in society, create awareness, advise on preventative measures and educate the communities as well on how these problems can be dealt with by the community as a collective.

The last years have also reported a growing number of children dying within school premises at the hands of their fellow school mates. While the police may not always be there when these incidents happen the police could work with the schools to organize and run different outdoor activities and parades for school children. The police can contribute in creating harmonious relationships between children, which could reduce stress among children and children would fight less.

It is not only the children who require outdoor activities. People who have better education and decent jobs have access to different forms of distressing. In that way those people will reason better when under pressure and when faced with a compromising situation. However the majority of our working class does not have access these forms of reducing stress. Once again here is an opportunity for the police to provide outdoor activities to communities, get the community to engage with the police. This is where platforms for co-operation between society and the police can be established. A co-operation which will benefit the police when doing their work and a community which can trust the police that these are blue-uniformed men and women who care and look after the communities, especially the vulnerable.       

Gender-based violence and domestic violence is growing in our society where children are left orphaned by these crimes of passion and are disturbed or left with emotional scars their entire lives. The police have laughed at these cases along with insensitive and ignorant people in society. While the police may not be able to provide counseling for troubled couples a police station is a good centre of referral for such couples. The police can also play a major role in different campaigns on violence against women and children and other domestic and gender-based violence. The police may educate the public on the kinds of remedies which are available which they can enforce as law to protect a member of the public which is victimized.    

Criminals are human beings as well, they can realise when their place has ran out in society. This can be achieved if the police become more visible in communities, patrol the street at night and try to educate people about the dangers of being out and about at night alone. It is sad to note the visibility of the police only in main roads, speeding and driving state vehicles recklessly, disobeying the rules of the road with no apparent valid reason and endangering the lives of other motorists.     

It is quite obvious that these shoot-to-kill statements are misleading and are quite provocative on mind of a trigger-happy police officer. Thus the question which may be asked is, while we are still confused by the essence of what these statements really mean and what they intend to achieve, “What can the police do to harness its positive energy and do something good for the society of this country in order to revive our faith in the force?”

The Royal Show Down Memory Lane

The ‘City of Choice’, Pietermaritzburg of course, always experience an influx of traffic around this time of the year. People travel from many corners of the country to PMB with one purpose. If you’re a Maritzburger you’ll know that I’m talking about the ‘Royal Show’.

The Royal Show is an event which dates back from 1851, and is a major business boosting event for Pietermaritzburg. This is an event filled with heaps of festivities ranging from agricultural exhibition, fun rides and rollercoaster, shopping, art decoration racing, and it basically boils down to a promotion orgy. Over the years the show has drawn the interest of the SABC and government, where government has used the platform as means of communication.

On the other hand the event has become an annual calendar for high school kinds and ahs also been dubbed as a drinking orgy for these kids who travel from distant town to meet the popular culture kwaito musicians. There were years when they excluded the rides. I believe that the organizers shot themselves in the butt by taking this unpopular decision which lost the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business (PCB) some grands. I heard it through the grapevine that they will be bringing back the fun to the show and laaities who come to the show with this one single mission and purpose.

I also have a personal experience of the Royal Show. I remember the first time I went to the Royal Show. I think at that time the fee at the gate was around R2.00 - R2.50. Man it was worth the price. I was still in primary. At that time nothing used to matter more than fun and the rides. Playing all those ‘shoot the bear’, ‘ghost train’ ‘merry-go-round’ ‘carousel’ and many more. Then it was the food, the burgers, donuts, ice cream, you name it. Those were treats for me at that age. It was a craze for me and my cousin, and it was a bonus for us if we re able to buy those foil gas balloons and propeller fans. The aircraft display in the skies above was spectacular. It was such a great experience.

Now when I heard that the uKhozi FM concert will be moved to a weekend a week after the show closes. It doesn’t take a genius to realize why this concert has been moved to dates outside the ‘grand royal show’, citing the eclipsing of other events and promotions of other activities by the uKhozi FM concert. It’s plain simple, the bourgeois who come to the show and who are predominantly white have become not very keen on the sight of black school children getting drunk to shock the values of the white man, a perception which says that the Royal Show is probably not so ‘royal’ anymore. Of course, the last weekend on which this concert usually take place generates more revenue for the show than other days because it is always a month-end-weekend.

Next week I pack my Olympus OM10 and get down there to experience the show one more time.