So, let me start off by saying this: I am not usually someone to comment on political or religious issues, as I find it akin to leaping into a tangle of spider's webs.
But I feel that I must say something about the saga of vandalism of statues that we have been seeing in the last month or so. Reading about the myriad of statues and historical symbols that have been defaced (or eventually removed, as in the case of the Rhodes statue at UCT), I can't help but feel incredulous at short-sightedness of these South Africans.
I do understand that there is a symbolism of a stain on South Africa's history in these statues. But shouldn't these statues then be symbols of what has been overcome? Nevertheless, I don't think that the South Africans who are defacing these statues realise the futility of their efforts.
Please tell me how defacing these statues, and eventually having them removed, will improve service delivery in this country? Will our government now be providing better education to our children in the schools and young adults in the universities, better healthcare nationwide to all citizens, better sanitation in rural areas of South Africa, more jobs for the unemployed?
Will YOUR quality of life being improving, now that Cecil John Rhodes has been removed from the facade of UCT? That Queen Victoria has been defaced in Port Elizabeth? That Paul Kruger and his compatriots have a greener view of the world? The answer is quite simply, no. It saddens me to see issues like that concerning the Rhodes statue engulf most of a country, but yet, more urgent issues are shelved.
There are still orphaned children living on our streets, people with no running water, children receiving an inferior education, people dying on hospital floors and corrupt officials left on their pedestals; but, thank goodness, the Rhodes statue has been removed. I struggle to see the positive impact of statue defacement, when I view it in light of these issues. I feel that it is short-sighted of these South Africans to destroy statues, but forget about the real issues that need to be dealt with.
So, my suggestion is this: if these historical statues are really so offensive to the majority of South Africans, remove them. But please, don't get rid of them altogether. Put them in a museum or at another appropriate heritage site, so that those who would like to view them, to learn about the story of South Africa's past, can do so.
Then, more focus can be given to the serious issues that need to be addressed in this country. But don't destroy these historical symbols - because if we carry on this way, South Africa will become a country with no heritage...