The past week my heart has been burdened as fear and anxiety keep rising as many South Africans worry about their futures.
People have been consuming nothing but Covid-19 news.
When you log on to social media, all you see is people sharing their frustrations and worries about how the lockdown is going to affect them.
Many have already felt the impact of the pandemic, from losing their jobs to salary cuts.
No one was prepared for the terrible wave.
But what I find most worrying is the future of the younger generation.
Currently, their future looks very bleak and uncertain.
The Department of Education seems like it does not have a plan to save this year.
I don’t blame them, everyone is making things up as they go along.
There is no manual or disaster document that will guide us through this difficult time.
But what makes me even sadder is the negative comments people share on social media platforms.
It has reminded me how humans can say the most hurtful things in the most terrible times.
I’m not a president and for that I feel I do not have the right to shame President Cyril Ramaphosa.
This year marks 26 years of freedom, but it’s also the year where social injustice will be exposed.
The rich will not feel the pain, but the poor will get even poorer and suffer at the hands of the pandemic.
The only thing they will get are food parcels, but will still be left poor.
I know job losses will increase as people are already losing jobs because companies are not coping due to the lockdown.
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I hope we can learn hard and difficult lessons from this pandemic and the government really looks at how we can address the issue of poverty in our society, and also the rich can look at how they can bridge the gap.
It is now more than ever as a country that we need to accept and face the real scars of apartheid.
It has taken a lot from the black community and disadvantaged.
We have not healed as nation, but just swept the pain under the rug of freedom.
Yes, we are free, but are the poor really free?
Because poverty does not just happen it has a foundation and many are born into it.
Many families still carry the results of apartheid, which denied parents the right to get a better education to be able to get a better job and provide for their families.
Covid-19 has brought fear, death and a reality check.
Just because companies and rich individuals are donating we should not say we are a nation that can overcome any challenges.
There is no dignity to what is happening to disadvantaged people.
There is nothing new about their situation.
They were living in poverty and it will continue to be their reality until social injustice is addressed.
Covid-19 has no mercy, black, white, poor, rich, educated or not, it is here and knows no boundaries.
The important question is: Are we ready as a nation to admit and deal with the past pain of apartheid and admit some benefited more than others?
Let’s all look at the news with a different eye.
Look at the people who are crying for help, not because they want to break the rules, but because history and the present have failed them.
It’s the same faces who suffered at the hands of apartheid.
* Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
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