We Must Look For The Root

The spate of child murders at the hands of criminals that we have witnessed in the past few weeks should spur all of us to draw the line - this far and no further. First it was 4-year- old Taegrin Morris who was dragged to death by hijackers in Reiger Park, Boksburg. When the community of the East Rand and the country in general were still reeling with shock, the mutilated body of 3-year-old Cuburne Van Wyk was found on a mine dump near Reiger Park.

We had hardly recovered from this tragedy when we heard that 3-year-old Luke Tibbets had been shot while sitting on his mother's lap in a car in Westbury. Without stereotyping the coloured community - this could have happened in any community - questions must be asked about what has gone wrong with this section of our society. To borrow the words of American scholar Cornel West, there seems to be a nihilistic threat - the loss of hope and an absence of meaning - facing particularly those who are at the bottom of the social ladder in our coloured community.

We need an analysis of the life chances of a disadvantaged coloured child and how that manifests itself in the social ills affecting our community. The numbing detachment from others made evident by killing a defenceless innocent child is a chilling reminder of how far the self-destructive behaviour has gone. There are structural constraints that seem to be unique to that community.

I say so not because other communities do not face such constraints but as an acknowledgement that how people live and act is largely determined by their circumstances. Change those circumstances and the behaviour might change. I call for an analysis of these circumstances and their alteration because at times I feel we make interventions without fully appreciating the complexity of the problem.

And when our efforts yield no results and we see nihilism continuing, we are taken aback. Now, to the extent that child murders are not unique to the coloured community - we have witnessed them in just about every community in South Africa - we need a co-ordinated societal effort to deal with this scourge.

First, we need society to understand that children have rights. Indeed, children's rights are human rights. Section 28 of our constitution is devoted to children and outlines the rights they are entitled to. But can we say that South Africans in general are aware of and are encouraged to respect these rights? Ours is traditionally authoritarian society when it comes to children and that tendency is difficult to break.

A great number of parents and teachers still treat children as invisible and their views as unimportant. In such an enviroment, the abuse of children is likely to thrive. We need to raise awareness levels of children's rights among parents, teachers and in our communities in general.

I challenge the religious community to raise this issue sharply within its circles. In my particular faith, the Bible contains so many verses about children. Children matter to God, we often say. Well, if they do, it's time for a heart-check on how we treat and view children. Do we truly have God's heart for children? If we do, we cannot keep silent and while children are being murdered day in and day out.

Churches, mosques and temples have to be seized on this matter. In us, children should see and find safe have. We cannot be oblivious to their plight. This heart-check on how we view and treat children shouldn't be confined to the religious sector. The government must ask itself whether it is doing enough for our children and their welfare.

Equally, law enforcers should ask themselves whether they are doing enough to protect our children. Our children are our future. This is a fight we dare not lose. Losing it will mean losing the future of our country. Let the deaths of Taegrin, Cuburne and Luke and many othere children not be in vain.

We need a fresh resolve to elevate children's rights in our society and to defeat those who have made it their mission to cause harm to our little ones.

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