I AM truly mortified, shocked and, at a loss for words that the South African government has sacrificed the lives of 13 soldiers in the Central African Republic for reasons which still remain unclear.
How could we come to this?
How could we send our soldiers to protect the president – unpopular, dictatorial and corrupt – of another country without the invitation of the United Nations or the African Union?
Even had there been such an invitation should it not have been subjected to thorough investigation to assess whether the financial costs and the potential loss of lives would be worth it?
As the president and his defence minister were praising our fallen brothers for their bravery, I could not help but ask: “What purpose has the bravery of these men served?”
As the speeches continued – and we were told that these men had died not only for South Africa, but for the sake of peace – my inner voice was shrieking, “lies, lies, lies!”
The only word I could get to grips with here was “sacrifice”. Yes indeed, the lives of our young men seem to have been sacrificed on the altar of political expediency and private interests due to the growing sense that the people who are at the helm of this government can do whatever they want to do with impunity.
The monster that is apparently our current system – that of no accountability – has swallowed these young men alive, in a conflict which we never should have been part of. Bravery and self sacrifice were never meant for useless, unclear and dubious causes.
Will the president of this country please stand up and come clean. Or will he continue to rebuke the public for questioning “military affairs” and have his aides spin us stories and speak to us in words that nullify the very essence and significance of words.
I am not sure how many incidents need to take place before we wake up to the gross violation of our nationhood.
Why did these men die?
My personal rage is also mixed with great sadness – for the families who are now without breadwinners, for the children who have no fathers and the women who have no husbands and for the aged who have lost their sons. What a shocking, needless waste of life.
It seems there are just too many times when the leaders of this country are having to defend themselves – they claim what they have done was not wrong – but it’s time we had leaders who would do the right thing simply because it is the right thing.
I wasn’t sure whether the president’s determination to stay on in the CAR was a face-saving strategy or a continued effort to protect their interests despite the heavy price already paid.
For a government that was alerted by its soldiers to the inadequacy of their supplies and equipment, it seemed an awfully careless thing that nothing was done until 13 men were dead.
Sorry Mr Zuma, we are not proud that our soldiers were killed in the CAR, we are deeply hurt. These men did not need to die to earn our respect. The president can't ask us to be proud that our soldiers died in a cause as questionable and uncertain as this.
We will fervently hope that the truth will come out – as it must eventually do – and that whoever is responsible for sending our men into a killing field will be held to account.
Bantu Mniki is from Dutywa
We need truth about dead soldiers
How could we come to this?
How could we send our soldiers to protect the president – unpopular, dictatorial and corrupt – of another country without the invitation of the United Nations or the African Union?
Even had there been such an invitation should it not have been subjected to thorough investigation to assess whether the financial costs and the potential loss of lives would be worth it?
As the president and his defence minister were praising our fallen brothers for their bravery, I could not help but ask: “What purpose has the bravery of these men served?”
As the speeches continued – and we were told that these men had died not only for South Africa, but for the sake of peace – my inner voice was shrieking, “lies, lies, lies!”
The only word I could get to grips with here was “sacrifice”. Yes indeed, the lives of our young men seem to have been sacrificed on the altar of political expediency and private interests due to the growing sense that the people who are at the helm of this government can do whatever they want to do with impunity.
The monster that is apparently our current system – that of no accountability – has swallowed these young men alive, in a conflict which we never should have been part of. Bravery and self sacrifice were never meant for useless, unclear and dubious causes.
Will the president of this country please stand up and come clean. Or will he continue to rebuke the public for questioning “military affairs” and have his aides spin us stories and speak to us in words that nullify the very essence and significance of words.
I am not sure how many incidents need to take place before we wake up to the gross violation of our nationhood.
Why did these men die?
My personal rage is also mixed with great sadness – for the families who are now without breadwinners, for the children who have no fathers and the women who have no husbands and for the aged who have lost their sons. What a shocking, needless waste of life.
It seems there are just too many times when the leaders of this country are having to defend themselves – they claim what they have done was not wrong – but it’s time we had leaders who would do the right thing simply because it is the right thing.
I wasn’t sure whether the president’s determination to stay on in the CAR was a face-saving strategy or a continued effort to protect their interests despite the heavy price already paid.
For a government that was alerted by its soldiers to the inadequacy of their supplies and equipment, it seemed an awfully careless thing that nothing was done until 13 men were dead.
Sorry Mr Zuma, we are not proud that our soldiers were killed in the CAR, we are deeply hurt. These men did not need to die to earn our respect. The president can't ask us to be proud that our soldiers died in a cause as questionable and uncertain as this.
We will fervently hope that the truth will come out – as it must eventually do – and that whoever is responsible for sending our men into a killing field will be held to account.
Bantu Mniki is from Dutywa
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