Often I find myself dreading the devastating details of family members recalling harrowing moments of their children, brothers, sisters or mothers who were either senselessly murdered, missing or viciously injured in an attack or hijacking.
It’s even worse hearing a father say a court sentence of 100 years could never bring back his 10-year-old-daughter that was killed tragically while she was playing outside with her friends in the street after school.
When these sad accounts are read online or when videos are circulating on social media where citizens are watching robberies unfold helplessly, the cynical amongst us in society would just sigh and say “well that’s just life nowadays in SA” under the governance of the ANC.
This ocean of “content” we witness every minute can quickly drain one of any crumb of optimism in a world where more people prefer to comment and complain instead of contributing and collaborating in a healthy way.
Some might say what’s the use of even voting when it seems our local politicians and parties are like walking through a revolving door where one only encounters corruption and false promises.
The mere act of caring is as precious as an endangered species in a time where conversations and discourse on news stories feel like a mud-slinging match where “narratives” are constantly shifting and arguments are centred on fascist views on religion, race, geopolitics and the list keeps growing.
This week I felt a personal call to action listening to a mother from Ottery tearfully remember what the last telephonic conversation with her daughter aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla sounded like before she was detained by the Israeli navy.
I gasped at the horror of seeing armed officers capturing and detaining someone’s daughter on a livestream video.
The sadness, anger and exhaustion in her voice resonated with me and I felt her pain.
I can only imagine how terrified and upset I would be not knowing if my sister or brother was alive, starving or worse, being tortured.
The irony is, we are more connected than ever with technology and social media that the thought of not being able to message or call our loved ones, is often a blessing we take for granted.
The fact that instant communication is always available with the push of a button can seem like a hellish nightmare when this convenience is robbed from us in a crucial time when we need to know a missing person’s whereabouts.
It’s dreadfully sad, and even more so when these brave souls bringing baby formula, food and toiletries, enduring the mercies of the ocean, are captured, taunted, tortured, scapegoated and painted as “terrorists” and troublemakers.
To hear a mother’s desperate cry to hear any word or confirmation of her daughter’s safety was such a coldblooded reminder of how cruel, violent and unforgiving the world outside can be.
Empathy for our fellow brothers and sisters matters more than ever in an age where bloodshed and the threat of bombs keep clouding us in a darkness that appears invisible, but it is a sickness we need to cure and see before it’s too late.
