Media not to blame for violence

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa is a man on a mission: determined to debunk the belief that the recent mayhem in parts of Gauteng was driven by xenophobia.

He opted to stay home and attend to the fires burning here, rather than go to the UN General Assembly and should be applauded for leading efforts to ensure such violence does not erupt again.

His efforts have taken him to the family of slain taxi driver Jabu Baloyi, to meet Tshwane taxi drivers, and the Grace Bible Church where he delivered a message criticising attacks on foreigners, saying he was ashamed to call it xenophobia because South Africans are not xenophobic.

He has directed senior ANC members to work with him on this mission, determined to convince us and others that the violence that rocked parts of Joburg and Tshwane and led to long-distance truckers being targeted is criminal rather than xenophobic in nature.

Others have suggested a “third force” that wants to destabilise the country being at play, while the latest salvo coming from the Minister of International Relations, Naledi Pandor, is to blame the media for a deliberate and misleading narrative.

“I think it is the South African media that is depicting South Africa as xenophobic” because, she claims, “South African media is very keen to keep this impression alive.”

To turn the media into the enemy is unlikely to engender us to appeals to drive a different narrative when we strive to report truthfully, accurately and fairly, based on what we see and experience on the streets of our cities.

There is no doubt about the complex set of socio-economic circumstances that have contributed to our violent society, and our elected politicians need to be out there following Ramaphosa’s example in taking responsibility with what has happened and connecting with disillusioned communities to find lasting solutions.

Where there is criminality, make sure there are arrests, but where there is anger targeting foreigners simply because they are foreigners, let’s be honest and call it out for what it is.

I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.

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