Holidays a time of sorrow for many initiates’ families
The festive season, for most, is a time of joy and reconnecting with loved ones. However, for some Eastern Cape families it is a season of sorrow. The summer circumcision season, which saw thousands of young men undergo the traditional rite of passage to manhood, at last count had claimed 20 lives. This year’s death toll has already surpassed that of last year when 14 initiates died.
Each year the state contributes millions of rands to safeguard initiates, which includes more than 40 vehicles with monitoring teams criss-crossing the province to ensure initiation schools are above board and that abakwetha are taken care of and in good health.
Then why do these deaths persist? In some cases, the causes are natural. The concern comes when the deaths are at the hands of man and could easily have been avoided.
This newspaper has previously exposed how initiates are brutally assaulted or neglected at some illegal schools, at times resulting in a loss of manhood, or worse, the loss of life.
Law enforcement has over the years taken a tougher stance against criminal elements who taint the custom, with dozens of cases already having been prosecuted.
What is shocking is when family of the initiates – perhaps inadvertently so – play a hand in an innocent life being lost.
An 18-year-old initiate died recently after family reportedly would not allow him to get treatment.
It is alleged that when a monitoring team visited the boy’s initiation school on December 6 and raised concern over his condition, a relative would not allow him to be taken to hospital for medical treatment.
When the family was eventually persuaded, it was too late. The boy died, becoming yet another sad statistic of initiate deaths in the province.
Co-operative governance and traditional affairs MEC Fikile Xasa recently said that authorities should act decisively against parents or guardians if it was found that their action – or lack thereof in the case of the 18-year-old – might have played a role in any death. Ulwalukho is a sacred rite – one which should not be compromised by the actions of a few individuals. We must all work together to curb the deaths of our boys and ensure that they return to their homes healthy, young men.
We must all work together to curb the deaths of our boys and ensure they return home in fine health