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.