Bitter harvest

ASECOND wave of farm strikes started yesterday, characterised by a level of violence that makes it difficult to sympathise with the plight of farmworkers.

There are genuine reasons for the workers to have grievances over their lot; a R70-a-day remuneration can never be considered a living wage.

But what happened yesterday, and during the earlier round of unrest late last year, cannot be tolerated.

Cars and members of the police were pelted with stones, hundreds of the strikers occupied a stretch of the N1 highway, and the vehicle of at least one newspaper crew was set alight. There were also reports of looting in some towns.

By yesterday afternoon, some 50 people had been arrested on various charges related to the violence.

Last year, the police said in a statement that they were battling to cope with the sporadic nature of the unrest.

Two people died in the violence last year that also saw substantial damage to farms and property. It was easy to predict that a fresh round of strikes may have brought more violence.

WAS it not appropriate to send in the troops to support the police – a request made by Premier Helen Zille to President Jacob Zuma – to help protect farmers, workers not participating in the strike, property and residents of these rural towns at a time when the agricultural sector and our economy can ill-afford such acts of terror?

Questions have been raised about the apparent ease with which Zuma deployed a battalion to the Central African Republic last week. There may be good reason but there was also a clear and present danger right here at home.

The backdrop of yesterday’s events cannot be removed from the dangerous rhetoric that led up to the strike. It is high time for our leaders to behave responsibly and do all they can to arrest the situation.

In the end, the biggest losers will be the very farmworkers who deserve a better life but who will be subject to circumstances brought about by a few who are hell-bent on creating chaos in the region.