Government Incompetence (Round 1 and 2)

Be warned. This is a rant against our stupid government. I don’t like our stupid government. They are (almost) enough to make me unproudly South African. But then I remember that they’re generally a bunch of fat cat dimwits, and that South Africa is SO much more than them. Which is why I will not pack for Perth.

Rather, I will pack them to Perth.

Two stories relate…

The first is about government torture in Zimbabwe…

http://www.carteblanche.co.za/Display/Display.asp?Id=3306

The second is about the reluctance by government to allow foreign adoptions…

http://www.carteblanche.co.za/Display/Display.asp?Id=3308

I don’t often get a chance to watch Carte Blanche, which is really quite a pity because it’s a fantastic show that provides heart-wrenching stories that cause you to think most deeply about you and the society you live in. Apart from the story above,  there was a story by a young man who had been drafted into Zimbabwe’s ‘National Youth Service,’ which ended up being a mask for activities by the Gestapo-styled Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).

The stories about the torture this young man inflicted on innocent people sends shivers up my spine. Stories like taping cardboard tape over a man’s mouth, blocking his ears and then electrocuting his testicles resulting in him bleeding wherever he’s able to bleed. Then dumping the man’s (still alive) body into a coffin and filling it with cement (whilst he remains unconscious) and then dumping it over a boat into the beautiful Lake Kariba. One can only imagine him waking up and then being engulfed in water whilst unable to do absolutely anything. I haven’t any faith in humanity when I hear stories like this.

But moreover… I just cannot fathom the idea that South Africa allows this to happen. It is now unacceptable to consider the issue from an idealogical point of view.. that it is a flagrant abuse of human rights.. which it is.. but more importantly, it’s something real and tangible that happens 500kms from where I sit now.

The photo is of Samuel Khumalo, a Bulawayo ward councillor for the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions, who was assaulted by police during a protest.

I’ve said it so many times before (as have many other), but our government can no longer just sit like lame ducks and pretend that nothing is happening. How can they continue to claim that our country is a bastion of human rights when they turn such a blind eye to what is happening north of the border? How can we continue to just not care?

But another story… One which can’t be ‘justified’ on fucked-up Pan-African notions of quiet diplomacy and passive engagement. Oh.. and peer review. Forgot that one.

———–

The next story relates to the general stupidity and absurbdity of another governmental department: this time the Department of Social Services. For some fucked-up reason, the Dept has in place a policy of first placing orphaned children in South African homes, and only as a last resort, finding them a home internationally.

Which I suppose, in practice, is OK, because they are South Africans and one wants them to grow up in South Africa. The problem, however, is that there aren’t enough children being adopted by South Africans. Out of an estimated 2 million orphans, only 3000 were adopted last year.

And because there is this HUGE reluctance to allow foreign adoption, and more importantly, because of our government’s inability to deal with the HIV crisis effectively, by 2015 South Africa will have four million orphans. Which means 4 million children will not likely have access to adequate education, health care, parental care and will probably grow up without any skills and will become destitute adults that will have to rely on the state for support and might even turn to crime to support themselves.

Debbie Wybrow, a family law advocate, says they get about ten new foreign applications every week to adopt children. Yet in one particular orphanage, only twenty children have been given to foreign parents in the past twelve years.

Why? Government’s response is that they prefer children to grow up in local communities rather than overseas. Fine – we want South Africa to grow and we need the next generation to help us do that. The problem is that the next generation is unlikely to grow up and contribute if they don’t have any parental supervision!!! like, duh!

It defies logic that the state would want to support children when there are private individuals willing to do it themselves. And whilst they might go live in another country and not grow up in their own community, in many circumstances the community in which the child originated from is unknown anyway (!), and besides, you might find them actually returning to South Africa properly educated and willing to contribute to the growth of their home nation.

Like, wow. What a revelation. oh. my. gawd.

To me, it just smells of xenophobia on the part of the government. For some reason, there is this fear of foreigners in South Africa, that exposing ourselves to foreigners will degradate our national identity and retard our growth as a nation.

Either that, or they are just plain dumb and incompetent. That they just cannot think beyond their own noses and apply logic to something that really isn’t that complicated to work out.

Or… a more sobering thought… they just don’t care. And it makes me so upset, as a proud South African, to be led by a government that doesn’t seem to care much about the vitality of this country and it’s neighbours. And I’m not being one of those whiney white people who moan about crime over a braai.

I am a truly concerned South African who wants to see this country and all it’s people prosper. And that’s why I just can’t accept the government’s stance on this issue. I have to find something that will enable me to contribute to positive change in this country.

They don’t care. I do.

Point-by-Point by Tom Cat: Volume 2 (DHA = GR)

• The Department of Home Affairs is the most useless fucking government department in South Africa. Sarah and I went to the Edenvale office today to collect various documentation, namely a passport and ID for Sarah, and an ID for me. After waiting in the queue for an hour, we got to the front, and were dealt with in the rudest and most arrogant way I have ever experienced. L. Tsebe (name and shame tactics rock) was incompetent, arrogant, nasty and a general pain in the butt. The Department is equally useless, having smudged Sarah’s fingerprints and not bothering to tell her about it. So now she has to reapply again. Her ID was ready, luckily, and although I applied on the same day, my ID was not ready. I’m convinced that it was ready, but L. Tsebe was simply tired of seeing my face and wanted me out and away from his sight. But whatever. I wrote a nasty note (and I never write nasty, for I understand what it feels like to be behind the counter) about what a useless department the DHA is, and although I know my complaint was not going to be taken seriously, I told them that the entire country (and much of Africa too, if you think about it, with it’s useless Refugee section that messes entire families about – and I know this too because of my work in the Refugee Clinic)… anyway, I told them that the ENTIRE country perceives them as THE most useless institution ever, and they should be ashamed to work in such a crap place.

  In retrospect, perhaps I was being a bit harsh. But it’s really not my fault they’re a bunch of fuggin useless sloths with no brain cells. They reminded me of my ex-boss: a bland brick wall.I am angry, as you can see.

• I have got so much work to do. Sooooo much work to do. I am fucked. Fuck.
• No one has phoned me for a job position next year. I am beyond the point of caring. I don’t even want articles anymore. Right now all I want is a law clark position at the Contitutionl Court (deliberately misspelt so that the search engines don’t pick it up). The working environment looks fantastic, it’s something that i’m really passionate about, and it’ll be an experience that is akin to gold. Either that, or I’m going to go study an MPhil in Justice and Transformation at the University of Cape Town.Study? STUDY?Yes, Study. My foggies turned around to me the other day and suggested that I consider other plans for next year, like studying. I was like (in my head, of course): “HELLO! What have I been saying for the past 3 months?” But I still love them muchly. And I’m quite glad that the pressure to find articles has lifted. Slightly.
• Talking about families, tomorrow I am going away on holiday. I am sooooo excited! I cannot wait to smell the fresh sea air again! And what’s even nicer is that I am going down with my whole family. We haven’t been together on holiday since I was about 12, and so it’s going to be a really nice experience reliving our trips down to the coast as a family. My dad used to scream at my sister for never remembering what an arrestabed was (I know – arb, but it was important to him), and I used to scream at the top of my lungs that my dad needs to find a parking space because “the sea is running away”… ie, the waves.I will be taking my laptop down, so hopefully the blog will be getting regular updates. I’ll be able to show you photos like…

  

  Ja. Nee. Bet you’re jealous, neh?

• Lastly, I cannot tell you how much I am addicted to Facebook. It is simply, scary.

Patriarchy

I have always disliked patriarchy and sexism, and I think my mom has instilled in me a good deal of feminism and an understanding towards how women are perceived in society. Obviously I cannot offer a decisive view from a feminist perspective, but I can offer a decisive view from a homosexual perspective, and my experiences with patriarchy I think are substantially similar to what many feminists/women feel.

As society, we have always categorised people into certain groups and attached to them various traits. But I’ve heard a number of jibes lately that just annoy me, mainly because these occurances have been more than just funny ha ha jokes, but jibes that could very easily offend even the most insensitive of people…

• My friend Tosh is doing her advocate pupilage at the bar in Joburg. She informs me (and it is a well-known fact) that the bar is comprised of 80% males and 20% females. It is thus particularly patriarchal. Some gorgeous women goes into reception, and the men all dash downstairs to have a look because, as one man stated, they could “add her to the Wank Bank.” The Wank Bank – have you ever?
• In a particular lecture today, because the class is small, there were only males in attendance. “Where is the oestrogen in this class?” quips one male.
• In a notetaking session this evening at my new place of employment, one male says “_____ is a moffie’s car.” Yes, dear – one can see the limped wrist a mile away.
• Another male: “An ideal car maintenance plan would be for me to pack my wife into the car when it goes for a service.” Pack yourself in boet!
• An sms Shakti received from this club called Roxy’s in Melville, which said that ladies could get in free if they dressed up in a French maids outfit. Men have to pay, for they do NOT have the option of dressing up as a French.. buttler?
• The way clubs will charge R100 entrance fee for males, and R50 for females. This further stigmatises women as being dependant on men, and paints them as ‘chaperones’ to males who have to pay extra to enter a club that would invariably be more populated with women than men.

  Just imagine this… If women were to pay more than men to enter such a club, the club would simply SIMMER with half-dressed males free for females to oggle at and add them to the ‘Orgasm Bank.’

Some people might say that I simply have a carrot up my bottom, and am getting angry at society for nothing. But I really do not believe I am. There is still way too much abuse towards women for such jibes to be taken lightly, and they simply should not be tolerated. We SHOULD be a society of sensitivity and understanding towards what others might construe as insults or as attacks towards their dignity and self-worth.

Herewith the end of my rant.

Thanks be to the blog.