I normally post a lot more on noise.cash than on read.cash - it's an outlet for me to share my day and life with everyone and enjoy the beauty that everyone else posts and shares from around the world. I write (mostly) positive things, photos of flowers, landscapes and the beauty of my country. Sometimes I have the odd rant, but I'm mostly an upbeat kind of person. Not today.

I am sad today

I don't want to live here anymore - I haven't wanted to live here for a long time. Yet there will always be a part of me that is rooted into this soil, after all I was born here. This is supposed to be home. This hasn't been my home for many years now. Each time I have come through the border I have lost a little more of myself to the UK.

This afternoon I took photos. I took beautiful photos, but I don't feel it is right to be sharing them during the turmoil that has caused devastation across my country today. People have lost their lives due to a claim that they are "protesting" to free Jacob Zuma. Jacob Zuma is our ex-president who was imprisoned for being in contempt of court (he's got a library full of corruption allegations against him).

The "protests" started when he was taken to prison a couple of days ago, and now, today? This is us today...

This is the state of my country today

Above source: https://www.facebook.com/LocalsSA

Above image and lead image source: https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/505316/anarchy-and-civil-war-business-leaders-and-economists-raise-alarms-as-state-of-emergency-in-south-africa-expected/?fbclid=IwAR3-cbI486wgPzAWY3NDBfdIe89Z1MTdx7wnAz33HUcR2E1hJ8Z6n9Xhsq8

I call it "my" country because I feel so protective over it, whilst at the same time being torn with rage of never wanting to be here again - when I leave, I am never coming back. The desire to get on a plane and never come back, you have no idea how it breaks me to write those words. Yet at the same time, the willingness to defend my fellow South Africans with my life should the need arise.

There has been millions of dollars worth of damage today - yes, DOLLARS, not our stupid little rands. Shopping centres have been torched to the ground, buses, taxis, trucks. Livelihoods. Livelihoods are gone. The livelihoods that are gone will never be recovered, not when the nation is in the state that it is in.

The saddest part? I don't even fully blame the people for what they have done and are doing - I blame this useless government. You don't see people in first world countries where most of the population has jobs behaving like the people are in my country. Then of course there are the racial flare ups of people categorizing those who do it as a certain race. Well - NEWSFLASH you idiots. It's not because they are Black that they are rioting - it is because the Black people of our country make up the poorest group of people. They have nothing to lose because the government has taken every opportunity they may have had from them.

Yes, the people who are causing this anarchy deserve the harshest type of punishment available that the law can dish out. They don't care though, because they have nothing to lose. The citizens who were once "middle class" now no longer have anything to lose either. Due to the government's failings, the citizens are now turning on each other and we are on the verge of a civil war.

Those fighting to save what is left of their livelihoods vs. Those who have not got a chance of a livelihood.

The Civilians Have Had Enough

Image source: https://www.facebook.com/LocalsSA

In the above video (you can search for it on the above link, I didn't provide the exact link because it is horrifically graphic), the camera pans to the left and it shows a man who has been killed lying on the road. He was (apparently) part of the horrendous looting and destruction that went on today. Is it right that he is dead? No. Death and loss of life is one of the worst things possible in this world. Does it send a message? You damn right it does. It sends the message that the business owners are no longer sitting ducks and targets, they are not weak, they are prepared to fight - to the death.

There was another video that surfaced where these lawless thugs tried to loot from houses as well, the people in the town caught them and were beating them with whips. The wrath that people have inside them for all the wrongs committed against them by those in power is coming out.

Our People are Taking Back Power

Above source: https://www.facebook.com/LocalsSA

According to the post, the people beating the car up are citizens who have had enough of the looting, stealing and damage to their areas. One of the best things I've seen throughout this day was that the Police were standing shoulder to shoulder with civilians who were helping them. I don't think I've seen that anywhere in my life. The Police were thankful to have random members of the community backing them up, helping them, standing with them. The Police who are there to protect us, were so outnumbered that citizens joined to help them.

The government wants to disarm the citizens - no more weapons for self defence. I think the Police have seen how useful having the back up of responsible firearm owners really is now. The government failed our Police as well.

Our "army"...

Our army was deployed last year and killed a man who did nothing wrong (I don't care what the government says - he died because they murdered him, go and look for Collins Khosa - in fact, here's a link https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-06-10-eight-witnesses-saw-soldiers-assault-collins-khosa-ipid-report/). Our army last year was deployed to keep people off beaches, deployed to make people do push ups because they were walking to get groceries during level 5 lockdown. They beat innocent people, murdered Collins Khosa, and arrested innocent people who posed no threat to society.

Today? It took millions of dollars of destruction for this useless fat cat government to activate the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

Image source: https://www.facebook.com/LocalsSA

Better late than never, I guess...

Image Source: https://www.facebook.com/eNCAnews

Image Source: https://www.facebook.com/news24

Is a State of Emergency on the Cards?

According to this link, it is: https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/505316/anarchy-and-civil-war-business-leaders-and-economists-raise-alarms-as-state-of-emergency-in-south-africa-expected/

“Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal are going into a state of emergency as of tonight [Monday] after [President Cyril] Ramaphosa address,” a source in the security cluster told City Press.

Image source: https://www.facebook.com/PresidencyZA

When he speaks tonight, I can already predict the utter waffle that will come out of his privileged mouth. He will blame South Africans for spreading the virus and being irresponsible by protesting. He will scold us like little children when him and his cabinet of thieves are to blame. He supposedly needs parliament to enforce a state of emergency, however, it's easy enough for him to turn around and use level 5 lockdown to fulfil something similar and enforce a stay-at-home order in the provinces. Whether he will blanket the whole of SA tonight with those regulations, I doubt it. It's still possible though.

I am angry, sad and bitter

If those thugs come at me and my family in our home, or while I am in a shop - one or both of us are going to die. I have had it with the lawlessness of this hell-hole that I call "home". I don't know how much longer I am going to be stuck in this country before I can finally leave. Yet tonight I sit here with tears streaming down my face as I write this, and I know if the thuggery comes to the Cape, I will be right at the front of defending what is left of the livelihoods of the people around me. I'll be standing arm in arm with the Police. I'll be there with all the others who have a burning rage for what this government has done to us.

Instead of these "protestors" (who are actually just terrorists) taking to the streets and destroying the lives and livelihoods of the innocent - I wish they would go to the government buildings and the homes of the politicians. Then who knows which side I will be fighting for.