Sithole Sithole

Guys, as South Africans, we have failed Jacinta. And Jacinta is not fighting only for her family. She and her husband are fighting for the future of all our children and the country they will inherit. If you think you are somehow exempt from what is happening, fine. Maybe you believe she is not fighting for you. But she is fighting for your children, too, children who may soon inherit a country that has failed to protect their future. Now she is being targeted because she is always at the forefront. Imagine what would happen if we all stood together in solidarity to save our country. Imagine if we stopped being keyboard warriors, put down our phones and actually showed up. Imagine if South Africans across the country stood together instead of leaving the same people to carry this burden alone. Jacinta is not fighting a personal battle. She is fighting for all of us. And we have failed her. We have failed them. This is why Ramaphosa and this government seem to believe they can deploy soldiers and police to intimidate people who are marching and speaking out. Time and again, it feels as though the burden of taking to the streets falls on the same people, particularly in KZN, while the rest of the country watches from behind their screens. What exactly are we waiting for? Must we wait until our children are living in fear in their own neighbourhoods? Must we wait until people are pointing guns at us, until more lives are lost, before we decide that enough is enough? Why must it get to that point before we stand up and demand accountability and the protection of our communities? And Jacinta is right to question whether ordinary South Africans still have a voice in their own country. Why does it sometimes feel as though the government is more concerned about managing the sensitivities of foreign nationals than addressing the fears and concerns of the citizens it was elected to serve? What is happening to the social contract between this government and the people of South Africa? Nobody should have to carry this fight alone. We cannot keep watching a handful of people speak out while the rest of us express our outrage online and then carry on with our lives as though nothing is happening. GUYS, WE NEED TO WAKE THE FUCK UP! We need to stand together, organise, march peacefully, demand accountability and insist that our government puts the safety and interests of the people it serves at the centre of its decisions. Because by the time we all decide that enough is enough, we may have lost far more than we ever imagined. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

I hope my suspicions are wrong, but I have a feeling we might be in for a rude awakening post-elections…..The ruling parties aren’t moving like people who still need our votes. They’re moving like people who already have a plan…💔😭 I’m an overthinker, so I genuinely hope I’m reading too much into things!!!