*Poverty can no longer be a debate for intellectuals at a damning cost of our people*
*“The Complex of simplicity-we need to reinvigorate consciousness”* I read an editorial piece by Mpumelelo Mkhabela titled “unforgivable death of innocent children”, subsequent to that an article tracing the footsteps of the children was published where a photographer and journalist decided to relive the journey of the four children. You would have to be stone cold not to be moved by such abject poverty and the tragedy which ensued as a result of avoidable hunger. Four children collapsed and died unnecessarily in search of their mother and food. The hard hitting question posed by Mpumelelo was, is this justifiable in a country which is supposedly rich, well developed and boasts such economic progress. In fact the question should be in a continent where diamond pieces worth 12 million dollars (recently sold yellow diamond piece)are discovered and oil reserves are in abundance, is it justifiable that we have children in Somalia that collapse from hunger , that these four children had to die under such atrocious circumstances? A story so tragic will unfortunately receive a supposed statement of condemnation from the necessary authorities and a pitiful NGO will go there to donate groceries and blankets for the family-taking an opportune moment for publicity. A pitiful advert was published under the story about a food bank. What promptly came to mind was the thousands of NGO’s that are on the continent attempting to fight poverty- creating a further distortion that Africans need food and shelter; that this is what we fundamentally need to transform our socio-economic conditions. Have we institutionalised sub-humanism as Africans and allowed our leaders to ratify that we remain beggars in a world where we lead with resources demanded globally. The mother is now being charged with negligence; would it have been better if she merely stayed with the children and they all died...fact is there is no amount of justification for this and yet we have accepted that this is the societal status quo for Africans and it’s a matter that can only be addressed through the institutionalisation of hand outs through NGO’s and the United Nations. We have allowed the international community to dictate that the only solution to such poverty in Africa is more aid which we don’t necessarily need. That Africans merely need to be fed to survive as peasants and slaves whom should be kept at bay as the rich and elite squander true wealth through civil wars and questionable foreign aid contracts- keeping Africa dependant on their masters. This family lives near a farm- privately owned, which could feed them. Since they have no ID’s, this simply means that they are subjected to severe exploitation and that any form of compensation for hard labour on the farm under the scourging sun and unbearable conditions is acceptable. These are the atrocious realities of the economic system we are living in. It’s a system which tacitly ratifies socio-economic disparities, perpetuating abject poverty and ascertaining the master –slave configuration according to class. Four children one by one fell to the ground seeking salvation from abject poverty. One cannot begin to imagine what the elder child had to go through watching her siblings die and feeling helpless that there was nothing that she could do to save them. She also didn’t make it. She had to leave her siblings to burn in the sun as she carried only hope that she might find help close by. The children have been robbed of education, fundamental rights but more importantly life. They have never experienced democracy but they were born post 1994. They never went to school, but they lived in a country which has the best constitution recognising rights of children to access education. We should frankly ask ourselves if stability isn’t an illusion if such realities still exist in our society. Every single day NGO’s, pledges and foreign tourists making a mockery of Africa by parading their newly found philanthropy spirits and adopt children, donate food, inject millions. Just by goggling “poverty alleviation programmes” on Google search, in 0.30 seconds you have 6,380,000 findings. Where is it all being channelled to? The classical scapegoat has been leaders of the continent, conveniently forgetting that the architects of poverty sit in empire offices outside Africa (IMF, World Bank, UN, and USAID). Poverty programmes and NGO’s have become a detrimental fashion statement for the elite, a reason to strengthen PR relations and a pass time for first ladies with no purpose besides accompanying their beloved husbands. Wealthy philanthropists have found their consciousness through donations to Africa. We have become dogs that patiently wait for a bone to be thrown our way and get just a taste of what was eaten by those that can afford. The shrewd nature of capitalism unfortunately. I have lost count of inhumane “man-made” atrocities which have left lives of millions of Africans despondent and yet no one has accounted. The inconsistencies of humanitarian organisations which have evidently never prioritised Africans and Law enforcement agencies which continue to severely punish leaders on the continent with punity as and when they please(ICC). We have justified supposed revolutions which have left countries more displaced then they were prior to orchestrated invasions...at what cost do these tragedies come. How many innocent lives do we lose as we ponder and debate the “politically correct “definition of poverty, a definition which eases the mind of the economic oppressor seeking all means to clear his sordid conscious of this African burden. As a young person I fear that my generation is now destined to also inherit the same burdens of enslavement and colonisation despite the daunting journey to eradicate it. That even generations to come Africans will still be aspiring towards millennium goals, towards another millennium. As we painstakingly watch politicians exercise their might for power, let’s take cognisance of the millions of South Africans and Africans in general who remain voiceless and whither way in pitfalls of poverty. Let’s reinvigorate consciousness around our struggle for total emancipation of our people. We can’t be apologists for seeking economic emancipation. The begging syndrome has severely dealt with the political might and consciousness of the African child. Our struggle is simple; it’s the complexities of academic phrases and politicking that distort what we need to do. A lot of young people are facing the plight of the 4 souls that passed on, it’s only a matter of time we see a leaderless revolution seeking justice using whatever means necessary...action has become long overdue Gugu Ndima -- Gugu Ndima +27 76 783 1516 -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. 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