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Sir,

The silence of senior emaSwati is very worrying; it speaks volumes to those who can analyse the political mood.

Some will attribute the silence to fear, some to respect, others to ignorance, while others say it’s deliberate silence and some simply say its indifference to act on issues of national importance.

Generally, all people may have love for their country, however, with a patriot the feeling of love for their country and the values upon which those feelings are based are very different. Feelings of patriotism are based on the positive values the country embraces – like freedom, justice and equality.

Young patriots have played a pivotal part in political changes throughout history but without the guidance of senior citizens, who have the hindsight, this can be very dangerous and detrimental to the country they are trying to protect.

It is the duty of all patriotic citizens who have the wisdom and the means to stand up and contribute to saving this country from serious calamites. As much as it is our duty to also seek democracy, we need to do so within the rule of law as much as humanly possible.

A few non-politically affiliated concerned

K T emaSwati feel the frustration and helplessness caused by our political situation. They see the escalation of tension within the country but are also not witnessing any movement towards the dialogue from any of the State leadership structures. Parliament is seemingly paralysed and government is pretending nothing is happening.

It is the duty and responsibility of all of us to take our destiny and that of our future generations into our hands. Religious people, our spiritual leaders, have been silent for far too long yet we need their leadership and prayers.

Sabelo