Recent mockery videos of #CapeTownWaterCrisis humorous or insensitive?
Whilst residents of Cape Town sit in the midst of the worst drought in a century, Tzaneen residents seem divided in their response to the situation and mixed emotions have been evoked.
A resident from Tzaneen shared a video to the Facebook Group Crazy Mzansi Memes , mocking Capetonians.
It is not uncommon for people to take the mickey out of serious news or events and posts similar to this video were already in circulation on different social media platforms.
The above mentioned video shows two men in Tzaneen taking a bucket of water, shouting, “Hey Cape Town…” and proceeding to use their hands to splash the water unnecessarily out onto the road in a residential area.
The video had 2 893 shares already on Tuesday afternoon.
The original post:
Here are some reactions to the post:
Other, similar posts were shared on Twitter:
#CapeTownWaterCrisis can you hear the sound of water? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/wg21ktrEZp
— Nkuna Wa Mavutani (@ClintDN) January 26, 2018
Letaba Herald made contact with the video sharer for a comment. At first, he responded by saying:
“I just thought it was a funny video…”
After explaining to him the seriousness of the drought that the Cape is currently experiencing, he was astonished and assured the Herald that he will immediately remove the video.
Which he did.
“I am truly, truly sorry. I did not realise how bad the crisis is,” he said.
Read: Cape Town targets water abusers amidst drought crisis
On the flip side, other Tzaneen residents are going above and beyond to offer their support to the drought-stricken Cape.
The Tzaneen Care Group have initiated a water drive locally under partnership with Oasis Water, AT-PET bottle suppliers and Gift of the Givers. Donations are requested from citizens to assist in this venture.
Read: Water Wednesday: A critical time for South African water
By Monday, 15 000 litres of water had been donated and the empty 5L bottles were waiting to be filled by Oasis Water. Once full, they will be collected and transported to the Western Cape by Gift of the Givers.
Knowing Tzaneen, the number of sponsored 5l bottles will increase rapidly as Tzaneen’s open hearts and Ubuntu spirit is something the town is known for.
Read: Tzaneeners urged to help with #CapeWaterCrisis
In contradiction, community members in surrounding informal settlements are angry over the Town’s involvement in the drought relief initiative and feel that charity begins at home.
Some of the comments by the community:
One may get the impression that those leaving such comments are not aware of the seriousness of the Cape drought crisis.
Our situation locally cannot remotely be compared to the crisis the Cape is experiencing.
More comments:
The Herald tried to explain on social media that the municipalities are responsible for the water supply to our neighboring areas.
With regards to the rural areas surrounding Tzaneen, it is not a question of availability, but rather a question of supply, competence and service delivery from our municipalities.
Conversely, in the Cape, there is no water to supply.
The South African city of Cape Town is facing its worst water crisis in a century.
City officials have announced that a “Day Zero” situation, where taps are expected to run dry, will most likely occur on April 12.
It seems that some local residents forgot about this article: MODJADJISKLOOF: Millions for cars but not for water
The open question to all is quite easy…
Would you be appreciative if Limpopo was declared a drought disaster area and Capetonians stood together as a province, showed us Ubuntu spirit, and donated water by the millions of litres, to provide us with water for our most basic needs?
Can you live with only 87 litres per person, per day? This is the current restricted amount stated under Level 6 of water restrictions by the city of Cape Town.
After “day zero”, restrictions will be tightened to 25 litres per person, per day.
To give you an idea, in Australia, the average household of four people, are consuming on average 900 litres of water per day.
Last year in November, violence broke out due to a water shortage in the Ga -Kgapane township outside of Tzaneen.
Read: BREAKING: Water shortage leads to violent protests around Tzaneen
And then there was the possibility that Tzaneen’s water may be cut off completely.
This following an announcement by The Department of Water and Sanitation in December 2017 that notices would be issued to at least 30 municipalities to pay their outstanding water debts or face being cut off.
Mopani’s District Municipality was one of them, which includes Tzaneen, Modjiskloof, Hoedspruit, Giyani and Phalaborwa.
A total outstanding water debt of R10.7 billion existed.
Read: Water will be cut at 30 municipalities in SA
…It’s dog eat dog, will you kill for that glass of water?
Put yourself in this situation… there is one glass of water standing on the horizon, you are standing in a crowd of 10, you haven’t wet your lips in days and you all begin to run, it’s first come first served, it’s dog eat dog, will you kill for that glass of water?
Just asking.
It is easy to use social media as a platform for mockery and jokes, but do you really, fully understand the situation, the event, the topic you are making light of?
Ignorance is truly bliss.
“Without us, the Earth will abide and endure; without her, however, we could not even be.” – Alan Weisman, The world without us.
Some of the stints published on Twitter making a mockery of the drought situation in Cape Town.
#Sassa
Must be seen especially the ones from Cape Town water crisis pic.twitter.com/UrMacfUHS2— MAN LIKE JAY (@fuergo_1997) January 25, 2018
Cape Town pick up line 😆#WaterCrisis #CapeTownwatercrisis #pickupline #humour #SouthAfrican pic.twitter.com/08pSpgGLM9
— James Williams (@Wilddog_ZA) January 25, 2018
Shame on him #CapeTownwatercrisis pic.twitter.com/7NKRlEk8jH
— Karabo GP (@karabo_dire) January 24, 2018
