Send in the navy if the army is busy ( Cape Times – Poverty Wars)

From an academic view Minister Nathi Mthethwa may be correct for not sending the army to the Cape Flats. He may even be correct when he said that the problem is socio-economic. Blaming parents for their kids’ behaviour may also be true, but it does not win the hearts and minds of those affected. The Minister was unable to appreciate the simple reality that people living amid violence are not interested to ruminate on the academic reasons why children are murdered. Traumatised people do not care how the problem is solved. What they want is for the drugs and violence to stop. People, who live amid violence, obviously have poverty issues. They work long, hard hours in jobs that have no real prospect. They use unreliable and costly transport, travelling for hours to and from work. Many do not have the energy or time to serve on school governing and community forums as they leave home before sunrise and often return after sunset. They struggle to pay high electricity and food costs and cannot assist their children with homework and project that requires internet access. What these suffering people want is not to be robbed and raped to and from work and Church. They want their kids to go to school without the anxiety that some-one will offer them drugs, shoot or molest them. They want safe play parks, libraries and community centres like the rest of Cape Town. To those who blame Apartheid for current criminal behaviour, why do villains always drive costly cars and are shielded by expensive lawyers? Criminals do not sell drugs to buy food, if this was true, do rapist rape because they are hungry? The Minister should accept what many already know. Some people are just evil; they commit crime because they can. Villains enjoy terrorising people as it gives them a sense of purpose and power If the army is unavailable maybe Capetonians should petition the South African Navy. Since their expensive submarines and frigates are in for long term storage and repairs, they do not seem to be busy in any case. Cllr Yagyah Adams Cape Muslim Congress