One of the most sobering comments I read last week relating to the latest crime statistics, is that more people are killed in peace-time South Africa than those who die in Syria - a country currently at war.
More than 21 000 South Africans were murdered between April 2018 and March this year; that’s more than 57 murders per day, with most of it happening in the Cape Metro.
Usually these numbers are given a cursory glance, but considering the current climate, it has confirmed our anecdotal experiences, over the past few weeks especially.
While the stats are gruesome and frightening, confirming that we are under siege by criminals, I am glad that it came out when it did.
The anti-crime protests of the past few weeks give the stats a context that would’ve been absent otherwise.
Recently, I wondered out loud on this page, how we were going to keep our momentum of disgust going.
I worried that we would simply move on once there was something new to be outraged about.
But the latest crime stats have come and hit another nail into the coffin, providing us with detailed support for why we are feeling so unsafe these days.
And if our feelings are anything to go by, then next year’s crime stats (which will reflect our current reality) will be even higher.
Just think about that for a moment; an annual murder rate that’s close to 30 000 - or 40 for every 100 000 citizens.
SOBERING THOUGHT: More are killed in SA than war-torn Syria. Photo: Supplied.
That means 40 people in the average Capetonian suburb; 40 of your neighbours and friends could be brutally murdered in the next five months.
It is a reality that is beyond untenable and is the main reason why at least two of my close friends were talking to me about emigrating recently.
As patriots, they too are willing to tackle just about any problem we face as a nation.
But they simply won’t risk the wellbeing of their daughters and their wives.
So this is no longer a crisis that affects only certain communities.
It is a problem that will affect our intellectual capital and eventually the country’s coffers, and affecting yet another generation.
I no longer believe that this is a problem that government alone can solve.
This is something we as citizens will have to tackle collectively.
And as long as some people don’t have the legal means to make a decent living, they will understandably sabotage such attempts, as it is criminality that puts food on their table.
Whether we like it or not, we are going to have to start sharing our wealth.
Our own privileged selfishness is part of what is keeping this not only alive, but causing it to grow year after year.
If we don’t find a way to help young people in the ghettos see a brighter future for themselves, then they will be left with no choice but to fall for the temptations staring them in the face every day.
So as I said previously, we can either spend our cash on tighter home security, or we can share it so that our kids won’t need electric fences on their homes one day.