Is Cape Town Fast Becoming The Worlds Most Dangerous City
So I just sat down to watch the Afcon semi final right after doing my lock up rounds, which include making sure all the doors and windows are locked.
That the outside gate is locked, the gate on the doors are locked, the pad locks on the doors are locked and that the outside lights and alarm is switched on.
Just your normal every day South African perimeter check, we think nothing of it, its common home safety practice is it not?
I've been a victim of crime before, so I know the deal
- Twice broken into my car
- Four times attempted robbery/mugging
South African's have somewhat let it slide, accepted it as the norm, sad but true.
Image source - Timeslive
Hot topic
A lot of this weekend has seen friends and family discuss the recent deployment of the army into areas of Cape Town that has seen gang violence escalate into war like proportions.
According to Wikipedia Cape Town is listed as the 15th most dangerous city in the world with the third highest number of Murders in 2017 by sheer numbers, a total of 2,493.
I personally know 3 people who have been murdered, I don't think that's a normal thing for anyone, even those in war torn countries.
The rate of murders has skyrocketed in the urban poor areas of the city and if we carry on at the current rate we will hit 3900 deaths for the year and officially be declared a worlds most dangerous city.
A statistic I don't think any city would want to claim as their own.
A tale of two cities
I am a born and bred Cape Townian, I love the city and its a beautiful place to live but it is for sure a tale of two cities.
One of amazing affluence, decadence and a holiday destination that attracts tourists the world over.
The another is located in the outskirts, a forgotten land that is now a domestic war zone.
It's a real shame and It's like we literally get no time to breathe up in this place. If the electricity is not going out, we're running out of water, if that's not happening we're killing each other.
Seriously can't we all just like chill for a second and just you know give us time to process all of this?
Where do we go from here?
I think the problem is caused the large scale unemployment and poverty that has seen crime thrive and desperation drive people to measures they would not normally take, however it has now become the norm.
- First I think we need to do is remove these weapons from circulation
- Second, I think it needs to be compulsory for kids under the age of 18 to attend school
- Third I think that kids who don't find a job or study after school should attend some military training for at least two years and serve their country
While these steps wont completely solve the situation it may help and save a few lives in the process. This won't be fixed over night but we need to take drastic steps if we are to make this city a safer place to live for all its inhabitants.
Have your say
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Well, I've never been to Cape Town nor anywhere close, but I've heard and read some news related to this. Your suggestions might work, though, but the kids shouldn't be the only ones getting the whole blame and focus; the parents/adults have a lot of things to do too.
Hmmnn.. I think more job opportunities should be created. Forcing them to military schools might not work. Anyway, it's great to hear you guys speaking up and finding ways to fix these issues.
Nice post by the way.
I agree, my dad said the same thing about the adults not taking responsibility for their kids and it’s true, it’s not like the people doing the crimes are coming from Mars it’s all people they know!
They’re not reporting the crimes out of fear or for the fact that they benefit from it financially and breaking that cycle is hard
As for the military it really isn’t the first choice it’s just that jobs are well not readily available around here! Especially low high school graduates and lower!
There is work for them but there isn’t also a culture of working in those communities! It’s all about getting things from the state for free
I know the army sounds like an extreme situation but it’s kinda extreme measures time here!
Our best and brightest also don’t stay here they often leave to other counties and take their skills and ability to create jobs with them!
It really isn’t a an easy or simple fix and I’m not sure how we going to jump start this whole thing into a positive direction!
I just know I don’t want to live in a place where I need to worry about being murdered
Posted using Partiko iOS
As a hardcore anarchist and convinced unschooler dad I'm really shocked by your statement of compulsory kids jail and forced slavery as a murder for a gang of criminals (government). All I read till today from you made me feel to resonate with you a lot. I can understand your fear to be murdered and living in an unpleasant environment. But you seem for me intelligent, so think about, do you really think force people will make your environment better?
Of course, I'm not in your situation neither in your shoes. But the funny thing is, after having so many dangerous situations in my life, making so much crazy stuff. I'm 100% sure that the worst thing on this fucking planet is fear, and fear is the thing which fucks all this world up.
Death is not a choice, everybody will die, and nobody can tell when. So in my personal opinion, it makes no sense at all to fear death. But it makes a lot of sense to fight for liberty, liberty is where everybody can prosper, liberty can bring people voluntary together. Everything else is only mistrust. And for myself, I trust nothing and nobody related to any government. And I have proofs in my own life that government is the enemy of everybody and everything, not the friend. Every day I see things where the government is screwing people over because they are correct and straight, similar to China where they farm and kill people (Falun Gong) who meditate and believe in truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. But it would be to easy to look only at China, or Russia, or the US, or the UK, or Germany, or France... And I have seen with my own eyes while being more than 2000 days in jail in my life. Ironically my first jail time was because of a violent crime caused by the oppression of government and society. I wanted only to fight back, I had no "criminal" contacts before and my intention was neither money nor harm somebody specific at that time. Still today a have so a shitload full of hate in me, and still, it's like schizophrenic, I hate society, hate people support the government, but not really each individual. It is almost impossible for me to explain, while I often help somebody without expecting something in return, without anybody needs to know about, I hate the system and people supporting the system (and if it is only out of fear or stupidity) for doing so.
I don't know what was really the intention of my text, but I think I started really to like you and I'm disappointed about your world view in this case. I'm far from perfect, more probably the contrary, for that, I have probably also no more friends and I'm probably crazy, but I still believe freedom is what matters most. So, please, if you are as inteligent as I believe you are, please think about if force innocent people is really the right thing to do to combat fear because it will not combat violence or crime.
I wish you the best! Have a great day when you get up soon, while I will go no to bed!
@vthor
PS: Since years I think when someday I have enough money I will build open learning houses. Because every kid WANT to learn until it is forced to do so. And I think I was all the years wrong. This had should be my mission.
Thanks for your epic comment I really appreciate it! I wouldn’t say the military would be my first option that I would go for, I just think it’s got to that point of desperation where we need some sort of drastic action to shock the system so to speak
Of course I would love it if you could just talk it out create community outreach programs and provide jobs and we should be doing that regardless
There is a certain lost generation here that is creating a perpetual cycle of havoc and it needs to be disrupted in a way!
We’ve tried to have it work itself out but it simply hasn’t worked! But like I said I don’t know what the right answer is, I’d just like us to live in a safe city
I want to be able to walk around, ride a bike, take an uber without a 50\50 chance of making it home!
I don’t believe in big government, I never did, I lived under apartheid I know what absolute power can do!
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At the moment I'm here in Bolivia, in the meanwhile I hate this place and the people who act so fucked up. I was born in Germany (which I hate also, but out of different reasons). I lived in Brasil, France, Switzerland, and Spain.
I think I really can understand your desperation. Here the murder rate is I think not so high. People think it is very dangerous here, my opinion was before it's not. Today I think, yes it is dangerous, but not because of some "criminals", but of the ignorance and stupidity of the people here. They think because they have now a car they have everywhere preferences and pedestrians need to jump out of the way because the street is theirs now. At the same time, the owners or renters think the sidewalk is their extended property. So they put all kinds of shit on the footway and block it with bags of garbage, vendor table, tents, parking cars, etc.
Really here is everywhere shit, I mean real shit and garbage on the streets, people pee everywhere outside, everywhere free-running starving dogs, street cats, homeless people living next to or even in this all. People preparing, selling and serving food next to shit and garbage. This all is only an excerpt. I don't know, sometimes I'm I will write about these things here, other times, when I'm about to, I think I have already too many open wars in this world. Here is also the chill effect, because people go here because of "offense" to jail because of telling the truth about government criminal organization, about their president/dictator. My wife dislikes to take the risk, and probably she is right.
I don't want to compare it, because I think it is not comparable. While I lived in 2010 in Bolivia, it was better, while there were almost no faggots (police) and the people disrespected them. Now they are so in their progress trip that they need to respect the faggots and the military and for that, it is everything fine what the common asshole does and when you fight back he will cry and search for a faggot to defend him. My wife is afraid when I go out alone because I do not retread, and I have almost every day some beef in these fucking streets with people who almost kill you by car. I now used to walk with my key in the had, I the pass to close the will scratch their car, and when they stop then and come out of the car they will regret to ever be born in the first place. People so disrespectful and it makes me so angry, often I think in a general genocide, but that is the 95% I think, and it seems to me four things make them be a motherfucker. Fear, belief (doesn't matter if in which religion or church), the belief in government and tradition. And the last but not least the permanent and common abuse on their children (not necessarily sexual, but also very common). And I also have no answer, the answer for me is leaving what I can't stand because it's not worth to fight for people not fighting for themselves. My life goes to the end phase, and my priority is my daughter living better in this fucked up and at the same time a nice world. I'm not bound to any country or place, mostly I get tired of every place within 3 months - and mostly because of the people.
But back to the topic. Let's think about the options. Let's think one second outside my boundaries. I think I don't need to state it here that I hate government, military, and faggots (police). So let's think, like you said, after school, no job then mandatory military. Paid or unpaid?
Paid, who will pay it, the military is not something productive and only profitable while killing or threatening others (this happens already without military in Capetown, right?), so we could let them fight against some neighbor country to get some more resources. Not a nice way but an economic possibility, you can easily employ the tactics of the US, okay, not so easy because of missing resources. You could fight in the own country and seize things, let say the war against drugs or something similar, or declare certain things as illegal and then combat and seize. Okay, no more murder. We could finance it by raising taxes because the military will protect the people. Really? I was 3 months in the military before the expulsed me, and I can tell you nobody cares about that, but anyway, let's think further, and let's think they really want to protect the people. Now we raise taxes, and the have to be paid by the poor and the lower till upper middle class, because no person with money will simply let them get stolen by government. Of course we will say, the rich have to pay it, and the dumb sheeps will scream: yeah the rich should pay it and ending up paying it with the money they have not to eat. Now they get frustrated and desperate. Crime rate will raise and also shift to legal crimes committed by the military, government, and faggots. Bad outcome.
Unpaid. Instead of supporting their family, their family will become the military, and believe me they will have stupid ideas and a lot really don't like to be forced, and some will fight back against the oppression. (Sorry to make it here so short, I should continue to ending my book to change my own disaster here).
Starting an economy, to feed more people, not only with food but also with knowledge and sense for there life. Start to create a "Taxi"-App with a web of trust. But some green outside the house instead more and more of hostile fence and locks and stuff. Investing you live for a change.
Simply let it behind you, go somewhere where you can enjoy your life without fear. But I can assure you, there is no perfect place, at least not in one I lived or was in my life.
Resignation and give up, live life in a flat way.
I'm really sorry to end it now so fast after writing first my testament :/ But I don't want to live anymore in this shithole of place where I
livesurvive at the moment. Have a great day, but I come for me to the conclusion, the only hope that mankind has on this fucking earth, is our children. Listen more to them and supporting them in their voluntary actions. What I see is over and over again that fucked up kids produced by fucked-up parents and surroundings. So it is very heartbreaking for me, that my daughter can notice all my anger and hate, so I MUST go back to the beach life as a tourist, this cools me really down. And for a more global solution open learning houses (I should really start with that instead of procrastinating it even further to when I have some serious money).Have a great evening and a calm night!
@vthor
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Dear @chekohler
I wasn't aware that this place is becoming so dangerous so fast.
It's so insane. I can hardly compare it to Poland where I moved to recently. Even my wife commented that it's the most boring (no crime) place she ever visited.
It must be very hard to live in constant fear?
Yours
Piotr
I think you basically adapt to it, to use its the norm to make sure we're always safe, it's not like we give it a second thought. I would honestly take boring over dangerous any day
Most of it is isolated to certain parts of the city and you do get the "boring" areas but its starting to spread now which is a worrying trend to see
i live in caracas and i think we got the 1st prize on dangerous cities! (yaaai, some colors and artificial fires)
i know what i feels and i think the problems is the decadence of values, i think art can do a lot to help this issues, is mi proposite, what do you think?
I think art and sport and any sort of positive activity can help bring these kids and people out of poverty in some cases and give them something to put their energies into, of course, it would be great but we need to get it into these kids minds that they dont need to turn to crime and there are other options for them