OPINION | Fathers of initiates cannot be pushed aside

With the advent of the winter season the reports about deaths of initiates in the Eastern Cape were inevitable.

Of course the notion that these deaths, sad as they are, is widespread is not entirely correct. The Eastern Cape is a vast province, second only to the Northern Cape in terms of geographic area, and the deaths mostly occur in the Pondoland area.

Of the 14 initiate deaths in the Eastern Cape since June 2 when the traditional initiation season started, 10 have been in the OR Tambo district, mostly in the Mpondoland in Nyandeni, two were in Mbizana in Alfred Nzo, one in Ngcobo in the Chris Hani district and one in Mdantsane in Buffalo City.

The point is, most of the time initiates in places such as Port Elizabeth, Peddie, Grahamstown, King William’s Town and Butterworth go to initiation school and return home without deaths or amputations being reported. So what is going on?

We all know that the provincial government, the House of Traditional Leaders and the department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs have multipronged initiatives to combat this crisis. Kudos to them.

They have a monitoring team and vehicles that patrol the affected areas.

They have also compiled a register of traditional surgeons and every prospective initiate is expected to visit a clinic and get health clearance before going to an initiation school.

It is also law that an initiate be at least 18 years old before embarking on this rite of passage.

Yet sadly, despite all these well-meaning measures, the problem of initiate deaths continues to spiral.

Easy as it is to blame the authorities for things, I do not believe the fault lies with the government in this case.

The government has shown itself willing to try and prevent the deaths and ensure that what happens at initiation schools is aboveboard.

The ball may lie with the parents, particularly the fathers of initiates who need to take up the cudgels for the sake of their sons.

A number of my friends who hail from Bizana, Flagstaff and other areas that are predominantly aMaMpondo have told me that a big problem is that fathers are being relegated to the backseat by their sons who like to remind them that they are not circumcised and therefore cannot be privy to issues where “circumcised men” are needed.

If this is widespread then it is not only sad but entirely unacceptable behaviour by the boys. One’s father is one’s father whether he is circumcised or not.

In African society a father is a role model for the son and is the one who is supposed to teach him values.

Fathers who may be facing this challenge need to stand up for – and to – their sons and cannot be watching from the sidelines as their sons get mutilated by unscrupulous charlatans.

The boys are their offspring and responsibility for them cannot be abdicated to anyone else, the government included.

The authorities can only do so much.

So I would ask, what is preventing fathers from the Pondoland who have sons in initiation schools from organising themselves into neighbourhood watch groups to prevent charlatans from setting foot into their areas?

The government has established the traditional surgeons register. Fathers should check that every traditional surgeon who is active against the register and report anyone whose name does not appear on it.

Keep in touch with the police and the province’s monitoring team.

Fathers should also visit the initiation schools on a daily basis, in fact, twice a day, to check on the condition of their sons.

They should encourage the youngsters to tell them about anything untoward that might be going on.

I understand that fathers may be wary of being told that they are “boys” and may be reluctant to get involved.

But the fact is, they are anything but boys. To raise a family and take care of its members is a task far beyond the capability of a boy.

Whether they are circumcised or not, I do not think it is prudent for fathers from the Pondoland area to pay any heed to their sons about matters of circumcision.

Their not being circumcised is recorded in their history and is not something untoward.

Let the young boys be taught the history and culture of aMaMpondo properly.

Fathers have always been part of circumcision and have never taken a backseat.

In the places where you hardly hear of initiate deaths it is because the fathers know who the right traditional surgeons are and go out to recruit them for their sons.

During the initiation procedure the fathers of the family are supposed to be present to observe and the traditional surgeon always accounts for anything untoward he may have done.

So, I make an earnest appeal to the fathers of Libode, Flagstaff, Bizana, Ngqeleni, and Lusikisiki to infuse yourselves with that “Thuma mina” spirit of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s. Stand up and ensure you are involved.

I sincerely believe that when fathers begin to rise up for the sake of their sons we will begin to see the deaths drop.