If you’re South African it is more than likely that you’ve heard of Sheldean Human, a girl that went missing a month or so ago and “De la Rey”, a song by suddenly popular Bok van Blerk.
People’s propensity for jumping on the so-called bandwagon irritates me.
I only really have something to say about Sheldean Human’s kidnapping and murder and the South African populace’s reaction to it. If you really have no idea what I’m on about and would like some background, just hit Google.
My first reaction to stories such as those of the kidnapped and recently found dead Sheldean Human is “Why her?”. I would’ve loved to quote a statistic here about how many children go missing every year but I couldn’t find a reliable resource on the Internet. It is a little known fact however that not every child reported missing makes it onto the front page in South Africa. One might even go so far as to say that the minority of missing children do. So why Sheldean? Why the two or three other missing children that get the attention they need in order to be found, their cases getting the attention they deserve to bring their kidnappers and murderers to justice?
This picture by Mynderd Vosloo that appeared in the Beeld (an Afrikaans newspaper) last week Friday (9 March 2007) said it all for me.
I caught myself getting angry at everyone who climbed on the Sheldean bandwagon. Some pushing their own (however noble) agendas.
Yet why should I be angry at those who choose what news to tell for having to choose the news? Would anger not be better directed at those who kidnap and kill children in enough numbers that there are not enough front pages in a week to do them all justice?
Why her? Why now? Why the raucous retaliation?
I guess it depends on who’s interest the story picks up. Its true, sadly, that a scarce minority of missing/murdered children stories will ever be publicised. True too, that most will be nothing more than another statistic in a encyclopaedia-sized volume that even when hit over the head with would still not get our president to admit that crime is a problem in this country.
Next week the big issue will perhaps be pollution. The following week we may be re-entertained by corruption. Maybe after that comes news of yet more wars in foreign lands. As Avril Lavigne so clearly sings it.. “What’s wrong what’s wrong now, Too many too many problems..”
There is no way for the newspapers to possibly ever cover/bring to our attention/highlight/investigate every single issue/problem/murder/kidnapping/suicide/accident/theft/rape/fight that occurs in our alledgedly “beautiful” country. So we rotate through them. Whatever we can find this week that’s different to last week, worse being even better, that will sell the papers and get the most attention, is ultimately what ends up being the “fad” for the week.
Is it not better that at least the kidnapping/murder of one or two gets highlighted, than none at all? If none were publicised, we would be none the wiser. And if they weren’t publicised furiously enough, it would not evoke the necessary reaction – for us, the people, the majority, the country, to get angry enough to demand that something be done about it.
You complain of people jumping on the bandwagon. I agree that there are those profilerating opportunists who would take any situation and work it to their favour. But what about those who have been fighting for a true cause for a long time, only to be ignored? Come such opportunity to speak out, to make the truth known – they would be failing in their purpose were they to keep quiet.
So the people protested. They marched. They sang and shouted. The got angry and got sad. They made the nation aware. Reminded us that someone needs to fight back. Reminded us that these things happen every day, all over the country. Next week we’ll march against the hole in the ozone layer. That’s important too. After that we’ll battle the battles that are taking lives on this planet.
So it’s all rather subjective and the publicity received by a specific issue is merely a proponent of circumstance. If the journalist who covered Sheldean’s disappearance hadn’t pressed for a front page article, and the editor hadn’t shelved more stories about corrupt politicians in order to put it on the front page… would we have known?
Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is merely the avoidance of the reality of hell. Its the easy way out.
So get angry! Get upset about that dog that was dragged behind a car. Get upset about the state of our hospitals. Get upset about the XDR-TB outbreak in our country. Get upset about our president’s fence-sitting approach to Zimbabwe’s crises. Get angry. Get a poster. Go march! Wear a pink ribbon. Next week’s colour is red, for AIDS awareness. Then white, for peace. Perhaps green, for the environment. Cover yourself in them till you look like a maniacal rainbow poking-hazard and stand outside government. Perhaps throw a rotten egg or tomato at a passing felon. Probably get arrested for assault and spend more time in jail than that felon, who’ll walk after his docket paperwork mysteriously vanishes. Is that a new Porsche, mister bailiff?
Go Protest if the urge overwhelms you. But do it properly, and for the right reasons, or shut up and stay in your box, wearing your blinders and earplugs. Get angry about my bad grammar. Fact remains – if nobody jumps on the bandwagon, the wagon will always be empty.
And the wagon is not the deed, nor is it the fault of the messenger. My thanks go out to the reporters who covered the story, as well as those “wagon-grabbers” from the associated press groups who followed their lead and carried the story. Perhaps it was for personal gain – after all, the biggest story is the best seller, ain’t it? It still did good – it spread the word. I needed to be reminded. Didn’t you?
Ja, wel dis omtrent tyd gewees dat die koerante iets meer as ‘n bladsy 6 storietjie doen oor al die kindertjies wat verdwyn en / of vermoor word. Dit het die hele land bietjie wakker geskud!
The SA government is in the process of launching a “365 days of activism against women and child abuse” campaign (to support the 16 Days campaign).
The level of aggression and arrogance in SA is totally astounding for me. “Me-myself-and-I” seems to be the only thing that counts. Aggression and arrogance go hand in hand for me. They have the same root cause: ego
At the same time it is a pity that the devastating floods in Mozambique had to take a back seat (on page 6). (I noted that you have a link to Nikki’s blog where she gives details about the floods and the reliev work).
Ons onthou Mosambiek as “Die Spens van Afrika”. Maar na die oorloë was daar min oor van die land. En toe kom die vloede.Wat wonderlik is, is dat daar ‘n “revival” uitgebreek het onder die mense. Hulle kom tot bekering in hulle duisende. Nie honger vir brood alleen nie…
The storms have now hit our own coastline, the impact is enormous and what hits the front page today…? Bob Mugabe. (sigh).
The more people carry on abut him the more he will dig his heels in and do anything and everything to stay in power. Hy steur hom min aan ander mense. Sy ego is groter as die Empire State gebou. En hy het nie ‘n kriesel medemenslikheid nie en nog minder het hy enige respek vir ander mense. Hy sal eenvoudig diegene wat teen hom opstaan platvee. Haloooo, hy is ‘n diktator! Zim is lankal nie meer ‘n demokrasie nie. Ek sien tot die aartsbiskop is nou ook op sy seepkissie. As jy ‘n deathwish het kan jy by SAPS aansluit of gaan betoog in Zim.