Why are some lives still more equal than others?

I AM left with a sense of concern at the responses to the fires that have devastated parts of our country. It seems that while fire burns, regardless of whether its fuel belongs to rich or poor, our response to its destructive nature varies according to the economic standing of its victims.

In short, we seem to care less if fire consumes property, possessions and even lives in places called Greenwood Park or Khayelitsha and more if it affects suburbs called Noordhoek and Constantia.

Stories and pictures of fire-ravaged informal settlements have become so commonplace – an average of 10 shack fires break out every day in South Africa, with a life lost every second day as a result – that we hardly notice them any more. Yet when upmarket suburbs of Cape Town catch alight it keeps the nation rapt. Newspapers, radio and TV stations feature the story for days on end; double-page spreads contain pictures and tales of civil bravery; social media is abuzz with friends and relatives pleading for news of loved ones.

Was it the size of the recent Cape Town inferno that gripped the nation? Was it the fact that the beloved Table Mountain ecosystem was being devastated and that precious wines, art works and historical properties were being threatened? These factors certainly played a role.

But the fire also graphically demonstrated the vast chasm that exists between rich and poor in our country: if you live in an affluent area you are more likely to be okay when disaster strikes; the media will ring the bell loudly; civil society will rush to help; in the end you will be less likely to lose your home and all your belongings.

On the other hand, if you live in a shack and have nothing then you are more likely to lose what little you do have and possibly even your life. What a tragic irony.

I am not for one second suggesting we should care any less when more affluent suburbs are affected by natural disasters, as was the case with the recent Cape fires. I also wholeheartedly salute the brave efforts of firefighters and the general public who helped out.

In fact, the response to these fires was as good an example as you are ever likely to see of a community – a nation – standing together in the face of real adversity. What I am suggesting is that our response – the attention given in the press and on social media, the resources committed by civil society, the willingness to bravely get involved and help out – should be equal whether the affected areas are rich or poor.

I am suggesting that, as individuals and as a society, we need to ask ourselves the questions that this disparity in reaction demands of us: is poor and black less deserving of our attention than rich and white? Why, more than two decades after the demise of apartheid, are some lives still more equal than others?

We need to answer these questions because, until we do, we will continue to misunderstand – and oppose – the systems that are in place to restore the dignity and equality of poor black people.

Until we are prepared to bravely face these questions we will always believe our own lie – that white South Africans have been given an unfair deal. Frankly, we have yet to discover what it truly feels like to be unfairly treated.

The solution to the inequality in our country is as easy as it is difficult. Before we abdicate our responsibilities by crying “the government must create jobs” we need a personal change of heart. It requires that we re-evaluate who we are and begin to see ourselves as equal to our fellow citizens, regardless of whether they live in a Constantia mansion or a shack in Gugulethu.

Once this change of heart begins to happen we will develop genuine empathy for the poor of our country. We will begin to support every effort to restore the balance between rich and poor.

And as we do this we will find ourselves unable not to get involved ourselves; pay our staff well above the odds – a poverty-busting wage; give to organisations whose mandate it is to help people out of poverty; if money is not an option give the poor around us respect, dignity and kindness.

But as long as we remain indifferent to the afflictions of the marginalised we will never reach our full potential as a nation. Simply put, we can advance no further than the weakest members of our society. Our future will – ironically – be determined by those we choose to ignore.

Foxton is the founder of The Peace Agency. This column is dedicated to the memory of Anene Booysen, 17, who was gang-raped, mutilated and murdered in 2013.

Then in the Six Nations an absolutely pulsating match between England and Scotland. The Scots at one stage seemed to have it in the bag – that would have been a turn-up for the books – but ’twas not to be. And Wales beating Ireland, begorrah, indeed to goodness! England, Ireland and Wales now level-pegging. Pressurecooker stuff in the northern hemisphere. Roll on the World Cup!

Tailpiece

“WHERE’S my Sunday paper?” It didn’t get delivered.”

“Ma’am, today is Saturday. The Sunday paper gets printed tonight and delivered tomorrow.”

Long pause. Then: “Well, blow me down! That explains why there was no one at church either.”

Last word IF THE English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur. – Doug Larson