Keeping it real on Phuthu
I became a statistic late yesterday afternoon. Snatch-and-run. I was so high on adrenaline that I jumped in my car and chased after the two guys who snatched my handbag (how rude!) but lucky for me an angel in the form of an Indian guy appeared out of nowhere and cornered the one skebanga. Long story short, I got my bag back and all was intact. With all I mean the R3000 cash that was in my handbag. Yes, very irresponsible of me. If I lost my money it would’ve been due to my own stupidity.
At Phuthu we like keeping it real. We are not blind to the problems in South Africa; we just choose to stay positive in spite of it. This doesn’t mean that we approve or accept it. We all know that the crime rate is ridiculously high and we live in hope that our new President will indeed bring about change in this regard. I don’t know what the future holds and I will never commit to saying never but for now I take things like this in my stride. I live for the good moments and I deal with the not-so-good moments if/when they show themselves.
We are all good. Perhaps just a bit more awake and aware.
Thugs like that are all over the world. In some countries things like these just seem to happen more often than in other countries. We should ask why – as South Africa is most definitely not the only country with employment/poverty problems. For every action there is a reaction. If something is wrong, it’s wrong. The main problem is getting blasé about criminal activities and crime as a whole. One could compare it to your child telling a fib – you know it’s a lie, but you don’t react/reprimand him/her. So things get worse, the lies become bigger and more life changing etc. etc.
It boils down to law and order. Crime is socially unacceptable and most South Africans had to change their whole life and standard to ‘accommodate crime’. Why? Police should get tougher, people should not take things like this in their stride – it is wrong and that person should be followed and prosecuted. It’s all about systems and whether a government can cope with problems in the country or not. You find very poor countries with extremely tough criminal protection systems. My opinion is that South Africans should be up in arms (not literally) about the fact that they are not protected and that they have to be on guard at all times. Such a beautiful country, lovely people with endless resources. Get tough. Complain. The Bible condemns stealing and all kinds of criminal activity – why should we accept it?
Yup. I agree. By “not accepting” the situation I meant that we need to do whatever we have to, to let the government know that it’s not acceptable. We posted something on this a while ago – as far as we know plans are being put in place to fight crime more efficiently and we hope with all our hearts that it will be effective. It is the government’s responsibility, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t get involved to help bring about change, like join our local neighbour watch team. We are all looking forward to a happy and safe future in SA.
Yes and a huge investment in CCTV cameras! You won’t believe how effective those things are. It will also create a lot of jobs as people need to man those cameras, let police know etc. It is a good idea to learn from the ‘best’ – South African police/government can take a page or two from countries where things are more in order and maybe apply some of the methods to solve this ongoing and frustrating thing in our lives. There is a huge spirit of volunteering in England and a lot of civilians volunteer as community policemen and women to safeguard schools etc. I think it is an excellent idea. It is normally people between jobs or bored people etc. Obviously they volunteer for a lot of other things as well but we are addressing crime now. It can be done!
I had mixed feelings about this drama, and drama it was, believe me! A rather young and inexperienced, but very enthusiastic young white women, followed by her young and protective black worker, chased after this thief, to do what, I wouldn’t know. Then came Elzet in her little car, shouting threats at the top of her voice, and together with, thank God, the Indian man, they caught the thief. Their excitement was more than their fear, and while I was very proud of them, I was also worried that the whole episode could have turned sour if the guy had a gun of a knife. So, in future, think with your head, and not your heart!
I merely followed instructions… But yes, I was quite high on adrenaline! I wouldn’t have done anything irresponsible like riding him over though. Well… I also believe in never saying never.