Global leaders must take responsibility

HE POLICE are facing a lot at this point: the Marikana aftermath, a commissioner fighting for her job, their generals in trouble with MPs, low morale, misdirected budgets, insufficient resources, identity confusion, and more.

This should not hinder them, though, in securing themselves and those comrades around them in the blue line. Too many names have been chiselled into the South African Police Memorial at the Union Buildings. THE PHOTOGRAPH of Aylan Kurdi lying lifeless on the edge of the shore broke the hearts and shook the minds of conscious-driven people around the globe

The scale of the Syrian refugee crisis is increasing daily. Every day, hundreds of traumatised families are crossing into Europe. With no peace in sight in places like Syria, human beings desperate to escape the brutality of war have been placing their lives in the hands of smugglers.

What’s really terrible is that instead of taking urgent action, global leaders are playing the “blame game”. The reality is both Islamic State and the refugee crisis are products of a series of wars which some Western countries like America have waged in the Middle East and other parts of the globe over the past many decades.

Unfortunately, no one has been held accountable for waging a war of aggression in Iraq that was based upon lies.

The failure of global leaders to bring war criminals to book – and not stopping Bashar al-Assad’s brutality in Syria – have led to this catastrophe.

For far too long the plight of refugees around the globe has been ignored and thousands have already died attempting to find peace, safety and a life of dignity.

We need to demand that all global leaders lead the world to a refugee policy that saves lives and protects people fleeing war and hunger.