Why can’t SA come together in solidarity?

Europe’s spontaneous reaction to Paris slaying highlights our deficiency

THE shooting of 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris has shocked the world. As a result of the bloodcurdling slaying of the country’s top cartoonists, several journalists and two police officers, vigils have been held across Europe and the US.

These spontaneous emotional gatherings bear testimony to the severity of the incident, and reflect the personification of human solidarity.

The reaction of ordinary citizens from across the globe is an enduring symbol of unity and the universal espousal of the right to life.

It is an emphatic rejection of the twisted notion that some have a “God-given” right to kill those with whom they disagree.

I envy these nations’ ability to spontaneously reach out to each other at times like these and see an attack on another as a personal affront.

One man, asked on TV why he had braved the cold to come out and add his voice to the chant “Je suis Charlie”, answered: “Because all human beings have taken these bullets today.”

I am certain that some of those who have congregated are not proponents of free speech and some may not rate satire very highly as a tool for social commentary. There may also be many, from various faiths, who are not particularly impressed by the cartoons of the prophet Mohammed or who have not even seen any of the victims’ work. Many had probably not even heard the names of the cartoonists whose lampooning of prominent newsmakers had won them notoriety. Yet these ordinary people came out in numbers to say “No” to such barbarism.

South Africans can learn a lot from this show of unity.

In this country we talk about cohesion — but do we actually demonstrate it?

If this incident had happened here, I believe that cartoonists, journalists and some human rights activists would have staged a march. The rest of society would have expressed outrage on social media and by contacting newspapers and radio stations. There would be the obligatory press statements from political parties condemning the act. But it would have remained largely a “media event”, because it happened to “the media” and not to society in general.

In the US recently, thousands joined rallies to protest against grand jury decisions not to prosecute white officers who had killed two unarmed black men — Michael Brown and Eric Garner. Different races and classes demonstrated against excessive police force and racially biased policing. In the crowds I saw placards reading “Black Lives Matter” being carried by people of all races, who had not known the victims and who did not all come from the same neighbourhoods. The protesters had ignored the freezing weather to come out and object to the injustice, even though they were not personally affected.

Two years ago, the gang rape of a 23-year-old student in New Delhi brought India to its knees. Protests spread all the way to Mumbai, which is more than 1 000km from where the attack took place. Men, women and children gathered in their

We have a rich history of protest action — but our protests do not bring us together in our diversity

thousands and many marched to the Gandhi memorial in India’s capital. And when the woman died 13 days after the attack, the activism continued; thousands again held vigils when her body was flown home to be cremated.

These countries, like ours, experience racial inequality, class divisions, crime and social ills. But how are the people of these nations able to come together at certain moments, in spite of the chasms between them?

We have a rich history of protest action — but our protests do not bring us together in our diversity. Only those directly affected by an incident take part, or those protesting under the banner of an organisation.

We have witnessed and will continue to witness our fair share of tragedies — murder, rape, police brutality, textbooks not delivered, unlawful evictions in the depths of winter and xenophobic attacks. Are we losing our hearts? Do we feel violated only when something affects us personally?