The nescient statements which come from a place of privilege are unfortunate when we were doing so well as country by spreading the spirit of ubuntu and kindness during this trying time, writes Andisiwe Kumbaca.
This marked the first vast government response to the virus. No one anticipated where this pronouncement would lead us towards. It’s almost as if some were in a state of denial for what was to come, and some were in a state of readiness for a nationwide lockdown to follow suit because they saw what was happening around the world.
Privilege is when you think that something is not a problem because it’s not a problem for you personally.However, the government’s prime approach was “people first, the economy later”. The aim was to flatten the curve, reduce the spread of the virus and keep the people of South Africa safe. The Batho Pele concept was shifted onto a different state of affairs and the people of South Africa were literally put first – their health was put first.
Canadian writer David Gaider said: “Privilege is when you think that something is not a problem because it’s not a problem for you personally.” The purpose of the national lockdown is not to maltreat and victimise South Africans, but it is to protect them and others.They were called all sorts of names, some called for their arrest while others portrayed them as oblivious people who undermined the rules of government. However, that was not the case. Firstly, this exposed the asperity of inequality in our nation.
Then there is the ignorant division who seem to think that the lockdown regulations are synonymous to the apartheid-era.
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