A legacy desecrated

The hearts of many South Africans are bleeding after 4 months of a hard and draconian lockdown resulting in thousands of job losses, hungry tummies and homeless people; our African Dream shattered!

Photo taken at Suiderhart Cafe in Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa

POLICE BRUTALITY ON PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION

Seeing police brutality on a peaceful demonstration by tourism operators who are in desperate situations as @jaynie wrote about in Dear World... South Africa needs YOUR VOICES!!!!!!
added to the despair felt by many, but our spirit cannot be broken!

DEATH OF COLLINS KHOZA & 11 OTHERS

The murder of Collins Khoza and 11 others during lockdown by the South African Defense Force and the Police has been hushed up by our government yet they made a big song and dance about supporting BLM!
Why keep quiet about South African black people killed by black soldiers and police?

PRESIDENT'S RESPONSE

This is the flippant response from our president about the lockdown murder of Khoza and others:

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 (𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦) 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘮 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

Collins Khoza's family tried to seek justice from the courts and despite the post mortem stating that he died of blunt force trauma to the head, the soldiers and Metro Police were eventually cleared of being responsible for his death!

It has become apparent that our judiciary has been bought by government!

The African Fish Eagle, our young gardener Bongikocy's first lockdown project - a 1500 piece puzzle.
We thought he would not have enough time to complete this as lockdown was initially set at three weeks.

FARM MURDERS & CRIME SPIRALS WHILE POLICE SET UP ROAD BLOCKS

Defenseless farmers are still being murdered in brutal and barbaric ways but the government ignores the pleas from the very people who are toiling from daybreak to feed the nation.

Violent crimes take place in the suburbs while the police are busy harassing people traveling after the curfew, often essential workers!

PRESIDENT ADDRESSES THE NATION

On Thursday night we all sat down to listen to the president's Covid Lockdown address where he once again said nothing; in fact all he spoke about was the corruption of his own government with regards to aid meant for thousands of unemployed as well as businesses facing closures.
Will this corruption ever stop? I doubt it!

DRACONIAN REGULATIONS

Interprovincial leisure travel is banned and guesthouses, bnb’s, hotels and resorts cannot accommodate any leisure guests whatsoever.
Curfews are in place so no one can move around from 9pm to 4am, cutting down restaurant hours.
Tobacco and alcohol sales are still forbidden, but the black market is booming and one of the leaders of the pack is said to be benefiting from the tobacco ban as she has close ties with a self-confessed illegal tobacco trader and some in her family is said to be benefiting from illegal tobacco trade.

The reason for the initial hard lockdown was to give government health systems time to prepare for the pandemic, yet very little was done.

During that initial period of unnecessary hard lockdown, businesses were fighting to stay afloat as doors had to be closed altogether; some staff had to resort to claiming from the unemployment insurance funds.

TOURISM HIT HARDEST

Tourism and leisure operators have been the hardest hit with many closures and thousands more facing job losses.

To exarcebate matters, the large Insurers who provide Business Interruption Cover, refused to pay out as they started playing with policy wordings; blaming lockdown and not an infectious disease as the cause of business interruption. Our BnB is one of those affected by the insurer refusing to be held accountable for this cover on our policy!

The mighty African Lion - Bongikocy's second lockdown project completed.
We're still in lockdown 3 months later!

VIRUS STARTS TO PEAK BUT THE PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY

The Virus is now starting to peak, but there are thousands more hungry unemployed people, many who have lost their homes as well!

Even though we are supposed to be 5th in the world with Covid cases, currently only 0.0071% of the population have been infected and the death rate is a mere 0.015%, yet our economy has been totally destroyed by lack of government leadership, incompetence and power struggles within the ruling ANC party!

What speaks louder, a hungry tummy or the possibility of contracting a Virus which really does not make the young very sick? Of course many are careless now and putting older folk at risk!

GOVERNMENT BOWS DOWN TO TAXI INDUSTRY & SCHOOL TEACHERS UNIONS

The taxi industry threatened violence if government does not allow them to operate at 100% capacity, which means overcrowding by the way, and government bowed down to them without so much as a peep. The police do nothing about overcrowded taxis, nothing new as they’re too afraid to approach them, yet a peaceful demonstration is handled with brutality!

Same with the School teachers’ Union who also got their way, so schools are now to remain closed for yet another month.

Bongikocy starting his third lockdown project, hoping lockdown is eased before this one is completed!

OUR AFRICAN DREAM SHATTERED

@fionasfavourites wrote a wonderful blog about Johnny Clegg le zoulou blanc - a man for all,
and I quote:

Asimbonanga, with its most haunting melody, celebrates and mourns people killed by the Apartheid regime. At the time Clegg wrote it, neither he, nor I dreamed that Mandela would be free, let alone be South Africa's first democratically elected President. One can only but imagine how he felt, singing this song and discovering Mandela behind him. I watch it now, and have, many times. Still the tears come.