Who says that women are not resilient, inventive, creative and heroic? Such ignorant folk need to wake up and smell the sweet perfume! I don’t know about you, but these last few days in our beautiful and diverse country had me gob-smacked! I watched in horror as hatred, laziness and jealousy fuelled by some politicians ran rampant to steal, kill and destroy. Those who work and those who choose to build our nation watched as lawless looters smashed and grabbed, as only gutless and backboneless individuals would do. Feeling proud and entitled they stole whatever they could and ran like cowards.
I’m sure that most of you watched many such episodes and became angry and lost heart at the sight of such injustice.
Now and again there were stories of bravery and acts of courage and communities praying together and eventually cleaning up.
What went through my mind was this : Imagine where our country would be if all those same thugs used so much energy to destroy towards doing good. These ones volunteered their very souls to cause harm to others, simply because they wanted to and never stopped first to think : What am I doing? I also wondered what is being taught in schools today? That it’s your ‘right’ to do harm? Protestors don’t protest with stones, bricks and fires. They don’t smash windows and steal and ransack and plunder. I also wondered why they are too lazy to grow their own food? Then they will never be hungry. More questions than answers.
In it all there is one event that stands head and shoulders above the rest. I was on my feet cheering them on! I displayed way more enthusiasm from my side than even for a game of tennis at Wimbledon. If you missed it, I can only re-tell it here the best way I know how. A store owner watched in horror – or so he thought – how a small group of women ran for the bottles of cooking oil! As many as they could carry. His thoughts were : are my own people going to loot our store? These heroes ran towards the front entrance, the looters were coming fast and furious, But these innovative women opened the cooking oil and spilled it on the tiled floor just in front of the store. Lots of it. As far and as wide as they could ahead of themselves. Then they retreated into the store, closed the front door and with delighted faces the shop owner and staff watched as the looters had a slip and slide event as entertainment. If the looting was not so sad this could have been the funniest moment in South Africa. The store was saved. Why? Because a group of women said NO! And thought outside the box and did what they could.
These women are my heroes for the month. Well done ladies. You want a better life and peace and prosperity for your families. May it be so for you. I salute you!