Crime is putting us under siege

The murder of our business people graphically illustrates the lawlessness in our beleaguered, crime-infested country. These killings cannot be described in words.

The horrific nature of these murders and other killings on an hourly basis grimly confirms that we have no respect for human life. Lives do not matter. Sadly, we are enmeshed in a culture of death which now involves killing spouses, raping women and children, killing cops and injuring innocent human beings.

These savages have created a wound in our society and the infection continues to weaken us. With each breaking news report of brutal murders, we are again jolted and dismayed. Certainly, all who lost loved ones under brutal circumstances deserve our heartfelt compassion. Human life is sacred. Whoever takes life wantonly strikes out against not just his victim but against the very moral foundation of society. Murderers send out destructive waves into society, and must not be left unpunished.

The culture of death in our rainbow nation embodies consummate evil. We have by our inaction and complacency invited the spirit of death into our homes. We view ghastly murders and violent crime as cruel statistics.

Whenever and wherever it occurs, we suffer another loss from that little which sustains us and holds us together. Images and accounts of violence pervade the media, it’s on our streets, in our homes, schools, workplaces and institutions.

The rights and freedoms which the constitution entrenches are threatened every time a citizen becomes a victim of crime. We await the end of this crimeinfested year with grim trepidation.

Farouk Araie, Actonville, Benoni