Murders are equally traumatic

SINCE Janet Smith has chosen to highlight the Skierlik massacre at a time of heightened racial tension in South Africa, and emphasised the racist nature of the incident, you will forgive me if I respond in the same vein, much as I would prefer not to (“Confronting truth on anniversary of the Skierlik massacre”, The Star, January 14).

Statistically, white on black murders are a rarity in post-apartheid South Africa, and when they do occur, they are invariably front page news.

This is not to deny the fact that white on black violence still occurs, and far too often, but to focus on one specific incident at a time like this ignores that fact that whites in South Africa are far more likely to be victims of murder than perpetrators.

Obviously, many of these perpetrators are of a different race group, and the motive is more than likely to be the theft of valuables rather racial hatred. However, the motive is immaterial, a life is lost in the process, and the pain felt by the family of those murdered, and by their community at large, is no less traumatic.

Is Ms Smith trying to say that the victims suffer less because they are members of a minority group, or that they deserve what they get? Are the dozens of white farmers who have been murdered in recent years supposed to feel comforted by the fact that they were merely killed for their possessions, rather than from a desire for racial revenge?

Violence and murder transcend race, and the loved ones of the 10 people butchered by striking workers in Marikana before the now infamous Marikana Massacre will take small comfort from the fact that their loved ones were murdered by members of their own race group.

Every life has equal value, and the loss causes equal pain to those left behind.

Noordheuwel, Mogale City