We’ve become numb to the violence

IT is heartbreaking to watch as our country is torn apart by mindless violence.

The killing of 10 people near Mariannhill and other areas in KwaZulu-Natal shows that our rainbow nation has become a killing zone. Respect and fear for the law is non-existent.

While we remain a democracy, we seem intent on striking out at the democratic values that have enabled us to survive against the odds. The violence has been overwhelming. No democracy can allow such violence. No civilised society can tolerate such wanton disregard for human lives and no state can accept such mindless discord.

The hymn God Bless Africa composed for the founding conference of the ANC in 1912 became the hymn of freedom for many nations in southern Africa. We have betrayed the spirit of that hymn by displaying all forms of prejudice that is an insult and an affront to humanity.

The monumental scale of wanton destruction jolted the consciousness of the country. These tragic deaths became a grave symbol.

Our leaders have been on auto-pilot amid this crisis. They remain deaf to the cries and agonies of the law-abiding masses who are being robbed, killed, hijacked and kidnapped daily as criminals violate the country’s laws. The deaths of many innocent people means nothing to them.

One cannot help but feel taken aback when one realises that people show neither restraint nor awareness of the enormity of the destructive nature that is unfolding. It is an indictment of man’s inhumanity to man.

As incredible as it seems, we have been anaesthetised to the horrors.