Rozario Brown, Mouille Point
Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed a terrifying and tragic escalation of gun violence across the Cape Flats, particularly in communities such as Mitchell's Plain and Manenberg.
While those of us who were born and raised in these areas have long been exposed to the scourge of gang violence, nothing could have prepared us for the sheer brutality of what now resembles a low-intensity warzone.
Between Sunday, July 20, and Sunday, July 27 alone, a staggering 76 lives were lost to gun violence in Cape Town, an unbearable toll that no society should accept as normal. Our citizens have become helpless targets in their own homes and streets, living in fear and dying in silence.
The silence from our national leadership, most notably President Cyril Ramaphosa, is deafening and deeply troubling. Where is the president when the people of the Cape Flats are being slaughtered? He has the power to declare a state of emergency, to deploy additional law enforcement and military support, and to instruct police commanders in red zones to restore law and order.
At the very least, we should investigate whether this is normal gang violence or something being instigated elsewhere. After all, our country is currently embroiled in a major dispute with countries wishing to see our demise. Could these countries be engaging in actions aimed at destabilising our communities and country?
Why is the president so disengaged from our suffering? What have the people of the Cape Flats done to deserve this apparent disregard? While our families endure bullets and bloodshed, his remains are protected by state-funded security – a privilege the rest of us can only dream of.
If the government is either unwilling or unable to protect its citizens, then surely it must consider legislative reform to empower communities to defend themselves — without the threat of prosecution for merely trying to survive. No law should criminalise the instinct to protect one’s family when the state has failed to do so.
We are not asking for favours. We are demanding the right to live, the right to safety, and the right to be heard. The time for silence has passed. Mr. President, we need action now.
Related Topics: