Sunday, August 10, 2014

Justice and Humanity


O People of the Book - have you no fear
That you spill blood of those who we hold dear
While you bomb them with all your might
and expect them not to put up a fight

And O people who claim to follow Jesus Christ
Can you really support those who took the land in a heist
Where is your sense of justice and humanity
is it too much too ask you to think and come back to your sanity

We understand what it is like to be oppressed
and to restore justice certainly we will not rest
We fear no one except Allah, Our Lord
In His path we strive and die, be it by bullet or sword

The call is to the people of truth, the people who care
to show their support for Palestine if they dare
Your silence is your consent for the people to be oppressed
You too will be judged for God does not rest.

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We applaud the peace-loving Jews and salute you!
We applaud the peace-loving Christians and salute you!
We live for peace and wish peace upon all the nations of the world
But we love justice more - for peace without justice is nothing but fear, slavery and oppression

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#gazaunderattack
 

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Ways to fight CRIME


This is not the first time I am writing about crime and it is unlikely to be the last time I write about it.
Recently, the area I live in and its surrounding neighbourhoods have lived under the fear of spiralling crime. The police (SAPS) and all the armed response units have been unable to track down the criminals or have been unable to keep the criminals behind bars. Much speculation exists about who the perpetrators are, their backgrounds and even to the extent of thoughts of a conspiracy. There may yet be some truth in what everyone thinks or says. Sadly, we have become weak such that we blame the government for everything and, in this case, a lack of attention to our problem. Rightly so, there should be no place for crime at any level and we should not tolerate this.
Every government is caught up in its own agenda and often that does not coincide with the wish and will of the people. Before getting carried away, the few thousand people that we are, we are really fairly insignificant in the bigger scheme of the entire population of this country whose needs are as much as ours or more. I wish to bring a little perspective to the problem rather than siding with government because it is the role of government to protect its citizens. There is no contradiction to what I am saying, rather I believe ultimately we will have to find solutions for ourselves.
The dilemma will be such that government will claim a lack of funds and we will hold tight onto our wallets lest they take more and we shout "corruption". Now that is an ugly word. If truth be told, every organisation is tainted by corruption. Why, even our own households might be tainted by it.
We don't need to form another organisation such that we are targeted ourselves by criticism but yet we have to be organised. Did I hear someone shout PAGAD or anyone thought of starting PACQ(man).
Perhaps on a different slant the solution to most of our problems, be it crime at any level, is simple.
The following steps need to be taken by me (yes as you read the word - each and everyone is "me")
1.               Clean up our own act - that pen you took from the office belongs to the office, your levels of productivity in the workplace, etc 

2.               Culture of honesty in the home - make it a priority to speak the truth and hear the truth. The value system is important lest our own homes become breeding grounds for criminals and corrupt officials and business people.

3.               Become selfless - care about the next person, your family members, neighbours and colleagues and even those you don't know

4.               Be God-conscious - a clean act involves knowing who is your Provider and Protector.

5.               Community structures - build strong community structures - networks, neighbourhood watches, etc

6.               Serve the community - in whichever way, be it the leader or the follower. March also if you wish but there is much to be done. Making a cross on the ballot paper is not community work.

7.               Stay vigilant - ok, don't be too nosy about the neighbours visitors but good neighbourly interaction will make it easier to spot unwanted "guests"

We will only start making a difference when we within ourselves make a difference and help the next one to achieve the same. When we are a strong community, the likelihood of the criminals claiming the freedom of our areas will not be possible.

We have to do more and the buck stops with every person in this community. When we become God-fearing then we will put the fear of God in the criminals.

Please, I too need this crime to stop. Let's help each other.

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* The help of Allah is near but we need to turn to Him

** This is a test for us and we pray that the Almighty Allah grants us the strength and wisdom to pass this test

*** Let him who has no sin caste the first stone - let us be clean to cleanse and help our      community

**** Other communities are facing wars and famine,etc - We are facing crime - our should be easier to deal with - O Allah we turn to you in repentance and pray that we may overcome this scourge of crime.

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Monday, February 24, 2014

Media


There are generally three types of people who read the news.  I guess “read” may also mean hear/overhear and watch. These all being forms of getting information. We will disregard those who dream about the news.

The first type or category of people is the one that media people love. It is this group who readily suck up every little bit of information being fed as being holier than the gospel. They cannot or will not discern what is written and will not consider what is being written as perhaps biased, sensationalist and/or twisted. The journalist will no doubt argue that what is being written is the truth and they are not lying. You are thinking that perhaps I am contradicting myself. And maybe I want you to think that. But really what I want you to consider the way in which the story is being presented, be it in print or audio or visual newsclips. Presentation is such that the desired outcome is achieved by being selective and/or economical with the truth.

The second group of people are those that are phlegmatic in their approach. They are agreeable to what is being presented will not at first question a news article unless confronted by someone who object to the same article. These people have no clear views or perhaps have a problem making their views known. They too help sales and viewership because they are unlikely to challenge the status quo.

It is this third category which treats the main media with at least scepticism but most likely find it revolting. These people have an alternative media and sources. Do they not also have their own agendas? We live in a time where everything is an agenda item so it is perhaps derogatory to question their motives in the same light. But they too have an obligation to publish the truth. Unfortunately the world populace are like sheep and are gullible to the bigger money spent by mainstream media to get their point across and the bigger propaganda machine. Thus whatever is presented by the alternative media is viewed as conspiracy theory. So instead of the case being made for a conspiracy, the word theory is added as if it unlikely that a certain “crime” could have been committed.

I remember in the lead up to the Gulf war or what we more commonly call the “Iraqi invasion” how many backed a war to topple Saddam Hussein. For the record, none of these people looked at the bigger picture but gulped up everything that was fed to them of propaganda. They certainly believed every word and there was no alternative or to put it more accurately their sense of justice failed them. One cannot have a complete picture from a few printed words or a few visual clips. So in accepting everything from the media, one assumes that the media is fully informed and is the torchbearers for justice.

Each one has a choice to make, and if you believe blindly then that is your choice. Apathy is a choice. Whatever choice you make regarding the media, unless it is informed by more than just the media, it is best to keep quiet for truth in all probably will evade you.

 

 

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Zuma will not survive second term



2014 is the likely to be the worst year, in many ways, since South Africa became a democracy. The economy, too put it mildly, does not look good and there is much discontent with the President, Mr Jacob Zuma, if not with politics in general. Yet it is highly unlikely that the ruling party will be toppled or will lose too many votes.

The fiasco around the merger of Agang and the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the DA’s initial publicising of its presidential candidate did these parties no good and indeed did South African politics no good. The reality is that such a merger was not going to garner too many new votes from the black electorate. The liberal white voter thought that this was a good move to get someone like Dr Ramphele into the DA set-up. This is not uncommon for liberals to think in a way to always protect themselves and their base while supposedly being welcoming of others. To be truly meaningful to their aspirations and be part of a real solution, white liberals will have to move beyond their “race”. This is the only way to create a truly non-racial platform where the policies of the party attract people from a wide range of backgrounds. The DA is generally seen as a “white” party  which makes it extremely unlikely that they will ever topple the ANC. For the latter to happen, another broad-based party of strength has to emerge and then perhaps, if the DA survives, they can form some form of coalition.

Considering all of this, the only concern the leadership of the ANC has to maintain power is the challenge from within, i.e. the ANC is likely to remain in power for some time, but the leadership will change with the challenge from the various factions that exist.

Mr Jacob Zuma is not the popular choice for president of South Africa, but the voters will give little indication of that later this year with general elections take place. There is a level of politics that is not always easy to analyse because like good strategists these things are kept tight, but one thing is for certain that people within the ANC are plotting the downfall of JZ – how soon remains to be seen but I would hazard a guess that he too is unlikely to serve a full second term.


http://www.news24.com/Elections/News/SA-voters-to-make-their-mark-on-7-May-20140207