YEARS AGO

There are 83 reasons this week to vote yes in the referendum. Those reasons are all people. And they are all dead.

In the past seven days, innocent people have been hacked to death on trains, murdered in their beds, fired at while seated in taxis or mourning at funerals. Children have not escaped the slaughter: early on Thursday morning, seven children were burned to death in a Pretoria church.

All these deaths are a grim reminder, if one is needed, that the vote on Tuesday will not be an academic exercise. If by some terrible combination of circumstances a no vote is returned, we can expect weeks when 83 deaths will seem almost peaceful.

It is about choosing for tomorrow — between the certainty of a civil war, and the uncertain path to a democratic society.