Reality of terror

UNAVOIDABLY, the incidence of terror in Paris, Beirut, Iran, Nigeria and most recently Mali, have raised the question of how secure South Africa is from similar banditry. The harsh truth is that no country can be completely secure from terrorism. No intelligence agency can claim to predict every planned event in every detail.

This calls on all of us to be the intelligence agencies we wish we had. That does not mean being inquisitive neighbours. It means being interested in our neighbour. There is a difference.

Being attentive and respectful neighbours will enhance the relatively high levels of social cohesion between South Africans of different races and faiths.

While we cannot ignore that there are always pockets of religious and racial tension between some South African groups, by and large South Africans are able to live side by side in peace, regardless of their race and religious affiliations.

We might, as South Africans are wont, take this for granted, but the relatively high levels of co-existence in our country form our first layer of defence against sectionally based terrorist groups. Which brings us to why we should pay attention to our neighbour.

The brand of Islamism thriving lately has found fertile ground among those who feel themselves to be on the margins of society. It has benefited from the prejudice and ignorance of those who have made fallacious assumptions about what Islam stands for and exploited this to deadly effect.

To pay attention to our neighbours does not mean spying on them. It means knowing what they care about.

In most instances, all of us, regardless of our race, faith or lack thereof, will find we seek the same things.

We all want a better future for our children. We want to feel that others recognise and respect our inherent dignity as people. Paying attention to who our neighbours are and what they are about is a way of reminding us that what separates us is only skin deep or degrees of emphasis.

Paying attention to who and what our neighbour is reminds us that we are all involved in, and part of, one race, the human race.