Kids and Violence

Last week, one of the teens took the photo below:

It was the first time I have seen something related violence in Langa. I worried about psychological and emotional damage that violence may be making in these kids and young people.

Last Saturday, just before I was taking the minibus to come back to Town, I saw the scene below:

KIDS + GUNS + TOYS + BIKE

Unfortunately, too loudly and significant photo on the downside of township life.

I stopped in front of the girls to take this photo. They gave me an innocent smiles without knowing what was happening just behind them.

I felt sad, impotence...

This scene put myself to think a lot of things: 

"What is happening now in township? This drawn of guns was made by one human beings that still thinks about playing with toys, riding a bike... The same human beings drawn the guns, toys and bike... Is he a child? A young person?"

I think the answer is: "Yes. He is a kid, a young person", unfortunately...

That finding put myself to think more things: 

"Are kids, young people just expressing what they looks in their environment? or they also started  holding guns?..."

I don't know about social reality of South Africa. I am Brazilian. I came here for learning English, holidays, knowing a bit of Africa and doing a some volunteer job. I have been here for, in totally, almost 6 months in Cape Town. It's a short time to understand deeply south african social reality. Just I can think about and compare with Brazil social reality.

Just I can compare what happening now in "favelas" (slums) in Rio de Janeiro, the city where I live, the sad reality: Brazilian kids and young people holding guns arising from social inequality, poverty, lack of quality public education.

I hope that sad reality doesn't become a common and banal reality here.

The newspaper article "Plenty crime and little trust these days", published in the newspaper "City Vision" from LaGunYa (Langa, Guguleto and Nyanga), on November 4, 2010, mentioned that "the high crime rate in our township is increasing", written by Siphamandla Oupa.

The article written by Siphamandla Oupa tells us a lot.  It's a masterpiece. Tell us simply and directly what happens, its causes and effects on the life of innocent people live in townships. I reproduce bellow the full article:

Plenty crime and little trust these days

by Siphamandla Oupa

"The high crime rate in our township is increasing and you can not trust anyone.

If she/he is not a criminal even in the area where you live, you have to be aware of your products because they hire their friends to rob you.

This high crime rate makes us aggressive. Sometimes it tells your mind: Let me do the same thing the criminals do.

Just because you have anger in your heart because they have done bad things to you, you want revenge, but you won't find the person who did this to you.

The problem is that you have this anger and you are going to take it out on some innocent person. You don't know that you are also becoming a criminal.

You are joining them.

Even if you live in quiet places like Mandalay and think it is safe, you are wrong. There is no safe place, not even there. You are just the target of the criminals.

Then will think you are a rich person. The minute you step out of the yard, it's where the criminals target you. They will take your car and leave you with nothing.

I think the cause of this high crime rate is the lack of jobs and everyone wants to be rich. So it ends up being a competition. None wants to be lesser than his friends. So another robber is born.

Some theories suggest that those who are in poverty got that way merely of their own accord. It is true that drug and gang-infested neighbourhoods of today often do invest in their own downfall through discouraging new growth and an infusion of economic and social relief through unsavoury acts of crime. The most visible results in Mandalay crime rates is the increasing number of gated communities that have been built to protect the residents.

But in the meantime they are usually regarded as the target of criminals. There was recently a case of car hijacking. The suspects have not been found yet. They were travelling in a silver Toyota Yaris with no plates. We also ask you to assist the police to find these thugs. They do not belong in this world.

The high crime rate is the highest challenge that we are facing in South Africa."

I agree with this point of view in different ways.  

Our society based in competition, in which the most important value is to be rich, to be on the "top", even running over people, in which values such as respect have been relaxed, I believe these kind of things may influence young people to rob. Zygmunt Bauman, recognized and well-known sociologist, wrote about that. The young people from lower class wants to be part of "consumer's society" as well, to be rich, to get status, to get money to buy new fancy clothes and, in the case of Brazil, to get girls - as reported for some newspapers/magazines articles in Brazil about reasons led young poor boys to the crime life. 

To combat these things just with a quality public education and also creating work opportunity for these young people.

I don't know about public policies for the development of township areas, I just can say: politics is the only way. The role of government is to develop these areas, providing quality education and creating job opportunities for this low-income youth.

Another thing that made me sad was Siphamandla Oupa have written that the crime rate is increasing the number of gated communities. This for me is, personally, sad, because I grow up in a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro like Langa township, with the same vibe. People on the streets, in front of the gates of theirs houses, kids playing on the streets. Nowadays, due to violence, my neighborhood, where I grow up, become a gated community. It's so sad. Except me and my mother, all my relatives live there. My grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins live there. When I go there I realized the difference in community life between now and my adolescence. We lost our joy, spontaneity and trust in people. We locked ourselves inside the house. This is too sad...

I hope it doesn't happen the same here.