Powerful quotes from Cyril Ramaphosa’s open letter to parents

President Cyril Ramaphosa released an open letter regarding the tragic death of Enock Mpianzi and other children. In the letter, he is associating the abrupt loss of these young lives to the negligence of parents. Our lost sense of community is one such reason that he details in this letter. It’s this lost sense of community that makes us feel like we are not responsible for other people’s children.

Here are 5 quotes from the letter that were extremely powerful and relatable:

“Sadly, Enock is not the only child in recent weeks to lose his life for reasons that were entirely preventable; if only adults had exercised due care and responsibility”

“It seems to me that, as a society, we are failing our children.”

“As a society, we need to build a culture of responsibility.”

“Just as we need to ensure that children are able to grow up in a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment, so too must we feel a duty to protect and care for all those who we know and interact with.”

“This country has witnessed far too many tragedies. Too many young lives have been lost, too many children hurt and traumatised. We can bring these tragedies to an end if we all, each one of us, take responsibility for raising the children in our great South African village.”