Speak out for the vulnerable
Open Letter to those Who Choose To Remain Silent
THE “POOREST of the poor”. Words bandied about daily. Nameless people in the background. Allow me to explain what it means to be the poorest of the poor:
They live in pathetic houses built of your throwaways. A child once described shack dwelling to me: “In winter it’s freezing, in summer sweltering. No bathroom, no privacy, no sanitary pads, no dignity”.
South Africa welcomes all Africans, right? Well, forget xenophobia. What about “stateless” children? The shameful practice of denying children born to one South African parent a birth certificate and an identity, all because officials get away with it.
Tens of thousands of these kids have grown into a life of crime to survive because they cannot secure a proper job. Fighting this as a parent will probably get you repatriated, so you keep quiet. There are no grants or assistance for your child. They grow up stateless, angry and disillusioned, cannot cross the border legally, matriculate or vote.
Aids denialism and years without antiretrovirals robbed a generation of parents. The foster-care system doesn’t work. Families are approved but no grants are given. Fromexperience, being approved as a foster mother is no guarantee there will be a grant. It’s been a year of waiting.
Starvation has a look: A blank expression on a tiny, skinny, listless body. The greatest pain of all is giving a plate of food to a starving child and see him stare at it. How deprived can your body be to not crave food anymore? All the Department of Education’s hard work to get kids attending school is futile without food.
Illness, as a result of malnutrition, places a huge burden on the overstretched health-care system. People turn to crime to feed their babies. I would. So would you.
Put politics aside; we are dealing with human beings. Stop passing the buck. Stop the blame game and the court appeals. We are in a crisis and need someone to stand up and lead. We need a plan. The future is all that counts. Forget arrogance and greed.
Those who can speak out but silently watch, find your conscience. We have a moral obligation to stand up for those who cannot. Mahatma Gandhi said: “The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.” Along with your silence comes morbidity, most likely mortality if you who don’t take a stand.
I beg you, find your voice. Marilyn Bassin Founder and trustee of Boikanyo the Dion Herson Foundation, a registered NGO which works in indigent communities in Soweto, running programmes that uplift kids and their caregivers using food security as a foundation.