VANESSA SMEETS
“Educating the mind without educating the heart, is no education at all,” Aristotle.
It has taken months to find the energy or a story worth writing, but watching these students burn, destroy and steal has ravished my soul…
Don’t get me wrong, the “born-frees” of South Africa have the right to be angry. They are experiencing high-cost of living like no one before. A loaf of bread is R15, a two-litre bottle of milk is R30, rent on average is R5 000 for a one-bedroom flat near campus, a BA degree is about R20 000 with registration fees soaring at R5 000 – R15 000, depending on you being a citizen or not.
However, is burning the varsities a solution? No.
There will be no education there tomorrow.
Is looting shops nearby a solution? No.
No one will take your cause seriously anymore.
Is using violence, beating policemen with bricks, the answer? No.
They will not protect you at your most vulnerable.
There’s a dark cloud above the youth of today. It disguises itself as honour and pride. They believe it is better to fight, than just survive.
While last year’s “Fees Must Fall” seemed noble, with students gathering around campus in unity, this year’s cause is dampened with innocent blood and soiled ideals. As predicted, the fight last year was quickly “shut up,” only to rise again this year as an angrier, more vicious corpse. The people of South Africa were given, as usual, temporary solutions to a major issue – to satisfy that moment, to kill that immediate need. Meanwhile, the solution infected other areas – varsities are going bankrupt, lecturers are not being paid on time.
“They can afford it!” the students scream, their shields made of mattresses and ironing boards high in the air. Their anger is sadly aimed in the wrong direction – the government’s expenditure that needs to be reprimanded, not the educators…
Varsities have not been able to continue with exam season.
Students are failing, as they are too afraid to come to class or be threatened on campus.
South Africa’s “rainbow nation” has continued to fade, suffocated by smoke, empty promises and an uncertain dawn.
Can we raise our children in a country where the only answer seems to be destruction?You want his car? Shoot him.
You want her to feel your power? Rape her.
You want that baby? Kidnap it.
You want free education? Burn it all.
Cry for our beloved country.
Cry on this thirsty land that craves for manna in all her forms – rain, money or change.
Powerful photographs by Lee-Roy Jason Photography.
Chica Papillon 