Hello 2017, goodbye 2016!
With a new year comes a sense of great positivity and excitement, but man, 2016 was tough.
Can I start by saying welcome back everyone and a happy new year 2017?
With a new year comes a sense of great positivity and excitement, but man, 2016 was tough. I came across an article titled 60 reasons why 2016 sucked that puts everything into perspective.
In 2016 numerous big names in the entertainment and sporting industry passed away. Among them were boxing legend Muhammad Ali and music icons Prince, George Michael and Mandoza.
Politically, things got rough and tough in South Africa. Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s State of Capture report implicated high-ranking officials including the President; a number of councillor candidates were killed before the local government elections; fraud charges were levelled against the Finance Minister and the Marikana Report was released, showing suspended police commissioner Riah Phiyega’s culpability in the massacre.
The article describes some South African tragedies such as the country having suffered its worst drought in two decades; the violent clashes between police and protesting students; the fact that more than 800 people have died on SA’s roads since 1 December 2016; the many videos of race-related incidents and bullying in schools; the Doom Pastor and others giving religion a bad name; the fatal flash floods in Johannesburg; the murder and rape of a 19-year-old whose half-naked body was discovered in a toilet in Khayelitsha; paramedics under attack; and the numerous cop killings across the country.
But that’s not all …
Internationally, the conflict in Syria, the ISIS attacks in Paris and Brussels, and Istanbul airport attack; the Orlando nightclub massacre and Charleston church massacre; a church building that collapsed in Nigeria and killed at least 160 people; and the US elections made headlines. On the sporting front there were much drama and disappointments such as the Springboks’ poor performance, the Russian doping scandal and numerous Brazilian football players being killed in a plane crash.
Read the full article online here.
