tisdag 23 april 2013

Sydafrikas nya krig

Läste ett fruktansvärt vittnesmål av den sydafrikanska författaren Marlene van Niekerk i söndagens DN.
Sorgligt svar kom sedan till mig från en vän i Sydafrika söndag kväll: "Vi är i krig här. Det är förskräckligt och sorgligt." Enda hjälpen är nog omvärldens reaktion och fördömanden. Det sorgliga är alla förlorade generationer pga hat och våld. Än en gång är det majoriteten som drabbas hårdast i Sydafrika...
hela artikeln ur söndagens DN
Alla bör läsa om det vidriga kriget mot kvinnorna i Sydafrika. Jag upplevde det hotet redan 2000 när jag pluggade i Johannesburg fast jag är vit och bodde i ett "fint" villaområde + gick på ett fint universitet. Tänker på systrarna på landet o förfasas över grymheten. En anledning till våldtäkterna som van Niekerk inte tar upp är att enligt Muti (afrikansk folkmedicin) botas man från HIV om man har sex med en oskuld. När jag pluggade i Johannesburg våren 2000 tyckte jag att en våldtäkts-statistik på 20 % av kvinnorna var så illa det kunde bli. Jag hade fel. "Det anmäls [nu] 65 000 våldtäkter om året [Sydafrika]. Experter säger att man kan multiplicera den siffran med 36, dels för att de flesta våldtäkter antingen aldrig rapporteras, dels för att många drabbade kvinnor drar tillbaka sina anmälningar. Man uppskattar att det våldtas en kvinna var fjortonde sekund. I en studie som nyligen gjordes inom Medical Research Council erkände en man av fyra att de hade våldtagit någon, och hälften av dem i sin tur att de gjort det mer än en gång. De flesta våldtäkter hade utförts av män mellan 19 och 25. De flesta ser inget fel i det och många tror att kvinnor faktiskt njuter av det eller 'ber om det'."

van Niekerk vänder sig direkt till Sverige med den här artikeln. Troligen eftersom Sveriges stöd i kampen mot apartheid ses som oerhört viktig i Sydafrika och att en del sydafrikaner t o m har svårt att föreställa sig att vi svenskar kan bråka. Här är valda delar av hennes långa artikel, men läs hela, snälla!
faktaruta ur söndagens DN
"Trots att brottsstatistiken enligt polisen förbättrats är antalet mord fortfarande 15000 om året. Ungefär  hälften av offren är barn. Årligen äger hundratusentals inbrott, väpnade rån och överfall rum.
Våldet har normaliserats. --- En hänsynslös kriminalitet har blivit en accepterad del av livet i vårt land, och den skär tvärs igenom alla klasser och ämbetsverk ända upp till de allra högsta nivåerna[Min kursivering] Allt fler lever i ömsesidig misstänksamhet, för att inte säga skräck och vrede. Mest utsatta för våldsam kriminalitet är de svarta, inte bara på grund av bristande polisövervakning i förstäderna utan även till följd av ökande polisbrutalitet.
---Allmänt sett lever kvinnor särskilt farligt. Av Interpol betraktas Sydafrika som våldtäkternas huvudstad i världen. Utan tvivel lever kvinnan i Sydafrika 2013 hotad som ett jagat djur. Våldtäktens samhällssmitta som på den koloniala tiden underrapporterades, maskerades av krig eller sminkades över i spektakulära uppvisningar av imperialistisk eller nationalistisk storhet har i dag nått oerhörda proportioner och kan inte längre ignoreras eller gömmas undan.
En miljon arbetslösa män har i dag värvats till den moderna kapitalismens armé av överflödiga och är permanent uteslutna från ekonomin. ---I dag har [kvinnor] blivit villebråd för dessa män som efter decennier av rasistiskt förtryck av sina nya svarta härskare utlovades arbeten, möjligheter, ett integrerat och mer jämlikt samhälle och en värdig tillvaro.
---Så har den människa vars namn är kvinna blivit till byte, offer, avskräde. Det finns inget bättre ord. Kvinnor har dragit den verkliga nitlotten i Sydafrika. De har större chans att bli våldtagna än att få utbildning. Det gäller för alla klasser, färger och åldrar. 
Ett chockerande faktum är att inte ens de mest värnlösa slipper undan. Späda flickor på bara några månader såväl som mormödrar befinner sig under ständig våldtäktsbelägring, särskilt i de fattiga förorterna. Mentalt handikappade flickor  och lesbiska kvinnor löper stor risk att bli våldtagna, de senare väljs särskilt gärna ut för vad som benämnts ”tillrättavisande våldtäkt”. Inte ens sjuka, handikappade eller döda är förskonade. [Min kursivering]
---I de lummiga villaförorterna finner sig de rikas hustrur och döttrar inlåsta i sina stora hus. De är utrustade med inbrottsalarm, pepparsprej, hundar, vaktbolag, väktare, säkerhetspatruller, elstängsel, övervakningskameror och larmknappar. Det har blivit en livsstil som få tänker på som något onormalt.
De män som kastar sig över kvinnors kroppar är i de flesta fall någon som offret känner på nära håll. Flickor från fattiga familjer kan ofta inte lita på sina fäder, bröder, farbröder eller kusiner. Andra skyldiga visar sig ofta vara bekanta till offret: lärare, själasörjare, doktorer, poliser, sjukvårdare, politiker, idrottare, skolkamrater.
Ofta kan man läsa om drogade förortsungdomar som jagar i flock och kastar sig över de flickor de får syn på. Det kallas jackrolling. Det har blivit vanligt att vilda pojkgrupper i lägre tonåren filmar sina egna gängvåldtäkter på kvinnliga klasskamrater på skolgården med sina mobiltelefoner.
Protesterna fortsätter Delhi efter den grymma våldtäkten på en femårig fllicka.
bild av protester mot grymma våldtäkter i  Delhi, Indien
foto: Scanpix lånad från SVT
---Precis som nyligen i Indien nådde allmänhetens indignation över sakernas tillstånd bristningspunkten efter ett särskilt fasansfullt våldtäktsfall. På landsbygden i området Bredasdorp påträffades kroppen av en ung flicka med alla tio fingrarna och båda benen brutna, vaginan uppriven av ett vasst föremål, magen uppsprättad och inälvorna utströdda på marken. Fallet väckte uppmärksamhet på grund av det uppseendeväckande våldet och landets ledare uttryckte vederbörlig chock och bestörtning."
Indien protesterar främst kvinnor dagligen mot de brutala våldtäkterna i Delhi. Tänk om ändå även sydafrikanerna kunde följa deras exempel så att omvärlden inte glömmer än en gång! En specialskriven text för DN Kultur ger uppmärksamhet om ett land som är i krig med sig självt. Dagliga stora protester skulle hålla kvar frågan i omvärldens fokus.

"Åter ser man miljarder rand kastas ut på högst tvivelaktiga och bedrägliga affärer med mängder av vapen lika svindlande dyra som överflödiga i vår del av världen. ---
Det är nu verkligen hög tid för de länder som i större eller mindre utsträckning stödde kampen mot apartheid att börja utöva påtryckningar mot den tidigare frihetsrörelse som i sin nuvarande hänsynslösa form trampar på sina egna ideal att stärka de fattiga och lyfta upp de förtrampade, ideal som skulle mobilisera världens moraliska och finansiella stöd.
Efter Kampen fortsätter kampen. Till den behöver vi ryggrad, men inga Jas Gripen. Vi har ändå förmodligen varken piloter eller pengar nog för att hålla dem i flygbart skick, än mindre att utkämpa något osannolikt konventionellt krig." 

11 kommentarer:

Anonym sa...

I am South African living in Swede. This is B/S & over-driven! Yes violence against women is still a problem in South Africa but not at the scale the Swedish Daily News is portraying! Besides, South Africa is no exception. Before they point a finger on South Africa, they should start at their own home (Sweden). There is lots of violence against women here in Sweden who also are hunted like elks! Women earn less than men despite their high level of democracy & economic growth. I don't agree with the article on many aspects. For example the notion that; 1) The South African society has accepted as right to be violent towards women 2) That men 'hunt' women like animals in order to commit acts of violence on them. Journalists need to be 'factual' other than generalizing sensitive issues like this. Another ploy to paint the 'African' 'Home Sapien' as a violent creature...

Lyckans Smed sa...

Dear, Southafrican,
thank tou for you resopnse!
I don't know wher in Southafrica you're from, but when I lived in Johannesburg 2000 I was very aware of the violence, not only to women, though. During my semester at Wits three of my class-mates where victims being held up with a gun, car-jacking and robbery, and two of them where men.
It is also important to note that this article is wtitten, not by Swedish journalist, but by the Southafrican author Marlene van Niekerk.
Of cpurse ther is way too uch violence against women in Sweden as well. There are however no reports at all of "jackrolling" here, and the kind of violence to the raped and killed women happens maybe a few times every year here. Not like in Southafrica that they are found "every day" according to van Niekerk, but at least every week. If I'm being criticak to her report. You also write that Swedish news report at a higt scale. I read at least four Swedih news-papers every day +listen to and watch the TV-news and I am astonished that there is so LITTLE report. van Niekerk's article has hardly got any attention at all, even though it was published in Swerden's largest newspaper.
I may be wrong about a lot of things, but I have lived in Johannesburg, still have friends there and my heart beats almost as much for Southafrica and India as it does for Sweden and I feel dismayed by the reports of violence in both of my "extra home-countries". I also make certain to really make research before I write in my blogg.
I am sorry, but I am afraud that you, sir/mam, are the one who is wrong /over-sensitive in this case!

Yours sincerely

Anonym sa...

The Problem with Swedes is that you always want to give the picture that Sweden is better that any place in the world and that you have less of everything or you have nothing bad what so ever. I have lived among Swedes, studied with them and I know their mentality very well. They always talk from that perspective that there are the best, 'Vi' 'vi' i Sverige och 'dom' i andra delen av världen!

To begin with what was the reason for dn to take an article written by an individual and publish it on such a widely published newspaper? of course to continue the war of painting the African home sapien as barbaric and so on! I mean people need to understand the cross-roads South Africa is faced with; they need to understand that South Africa is the home to a hughe number of ever economic immigrant from Africa, Asia and now even you Europeans fleeing the economic recension in Europe!

We also need to look at Apartheid. It's still there, live and kicking! It's still alive! If you look at the write, well a Boer, with roots to German and Holland - Does that surprise us that she can go to that extent of painting the country that gives her bread and butter like that! she should fight just like all South Africans do against women with violence with facts. Well one won't be surprised why she wrote such crap! Her ancestors treated our grand fathers & continue to still treat them like animals, paying them nothing, calling them all sorts of names why don't she write about that? We have people that live in South Africa, enjoy the genorisity extended by Nelson mandela through the rainbow society but still these people want to still paint a bad picture of the Africans in SA! They still want to look hollier than others. Why should Africa continue being portrayed as a place of violence, Aids and so on? I recommend you read Hans rosling's DN article 'Läs på, världen har förändras'. The problem with Swedes is that you don't travel the world. You know the world by reading from the media. Honestly I do not see any difference between Sweden & South Africa! I just google searched article about 'våld och kvinnor' in Sweden - I am shocked at the amount of reports will be posting lots of articles about violence against women in Sweden.

Nobody denies that there is violence in South Africa just there is in Sweden! What we saying is not correct is the generalization, no facts just some bedroom lies!

As for you if its that dangerous please don't visit South Africa! Let us enjoy our nature, wildlife, culture and let us fight the struggle to end rape, violence with those that want to come and work with us from that angle that we are one. What do you gain by blogging or painting such a bad picture that is baseless in Swedish - nothing!

Lyckans Smed sa...

Dear Anonymous,
I am sorry to tell you that the people in Jo'burg who I am still in touch with are all black. When I wrote them after having read the article ("research" I call it) she replied: "We at war here. It's appalling and sad. We hope it will come to an end this carnage"
In other words it can NOT be just Boer-decentants like van Niekerk who are dismayed by what is happening.

I am well aware that Swedes in general think very hightly of Sweden, but I am not onne of them. I have travelled quite a lot and lived in Southafrica, just as well as in the USA, so I do not recognize myself in any desciprion if "typical Swedes".

I know qiuet a lot about most of the problems RSA is facing. Becuse og the heritage from having been colonized, just as well as the massive imigration, the injustieses everywhere in society aso.
Southafrica continues being portrayed as a place of violence, Aids and so on becuse it still IS. That is something that you can not deny. Especially not since you are living here in Sweden now a days!

I read Rosling article the day it was published, but I will do it again now. Don't tell me that I haven't travelled, becuuse I sure have! Australia and Southamerica are the only conntinents where I have never been and that is also why I hardly ever mention them.

I am afraid that my friends in Southafrica think that I am supportive, blogging about their problems. You, sir/mam must be the one who doesn't want to see what is going on. I'm really sorry about that!

I blog in Swedish since I am Swedish, but you can coose to translate it to any language with Google Translate right below the picture in the top left of the blog.

I don't usually reply to anonymous critizism, since I believe that one has to be able to be personal to be able to be sincere.

Yours
/*

Lyckans Smed sa...

I have now reread Hans Rosling's DN-article 'Läs på, världen har förändras', which was published 2012-01-05. I can tell you that he has based it all on the research of Steven Pinker, whom I blogged about in February 2012 on http://lyckans-smed.blogspot.se/2012/02/steven-pinker-varlden-mindre-valdsam.html. If you use the translation-tool that I told you about above you will realize that you are barking at the wrong tree.

I research everything that I write about, which evidently does not go for you, anonymous sir/mam, since you hav not even understood what I have written about.

No, I will not return to RSA and neither to India, until all those violent crimes are reported to have decreased. I feel no urge what so ever to proove anything to anybody.

By the way I regard people who stay anonymous to care less about their opinions than those who dare to stand for what they think. From now on I will delete every anonymous comment instead of replying. Just so that you'll know.

Anonym sa...

To begin with I have no problem in identifying myself but is it necessary in this case?Anywhere this will be my last post here.
Again the Swedish mentality, now you trying to say you research your postings & I am just taking my opinions from the blues! nope, one thing you should understand is that I am so outspoken about any violence towards women from any part of the world. I have been following the cases of group violence and rape towards women in India, rape and violence cases in Sweden, the USA & elsewhere. What I am trying to correct is the lack of correct facts in this article. The whole thing does not help anything as it puts into the darkness the hard work, the South African men and women are doing in fighting this war! It's as if South Africa is doing nothing about it.

Of course there is this inferiority complex by many Africans. When someone from the west asks them, is it true that women are being hunted by men like animals, they will just say YES when they actually mean NO, or when they are not sure of what they are saying just to impress the westerner. I am one person who talks from one perspective - I talk from the perspective that I am talking to another human being, what color there are it's secondary to me. I don't need to feel cornered to just lie about the reality of our countries just to impress the western world! Never!

Well just picked a few things that can help you understand my interest in this whole thing.


1. All most all the statistics they use are ESTIMATES not data captured meaning they inflat FIGURES!

2. It's FALSE that violence against women does not get much publicity. That's crazy there - so you think your blog the luckiest girl can spread the issue of violence against women much better than the South African media- Well just don't make me giggle. Better try Facebook.

3. South African has more print media and online media than the whole Scandinavia combined!

4. The publicity and awareness South Africa is doing against the violence against women is wide & government supported. Even the people on the grassroots are involved

I can advise you to read FIRST above South Africa before you come up with your half-baked facts about the real matter on the ground

Just to help ypu understand a bit. South Africa is the economic powerhouse of Africa, well to Europe too because now we have lots of economic immigrants from Europe flooding South Africa. OK, we have lots of economic immigrants coming from war-torn zones, some coming from extreme poverty, all coming with the hope of getting a better life in South Africa. However, most of them get stuck upon realizing that South Africa has her problems too. She just got her independence yesterday. The gaps between the rich and the poor are still a thorn issue. Apartheid is still alive & kicking.
Well, so what alternative do these people have? nothing but to try other means of living. One of them is robbing people of their valuables. The robberies come along rape on the victims. Some women end up engaging in prostitution and along that comes rape! most of the victims are foreigners, and well I don't mean to say there are no South Africans. There are but the problem that is at the heart of South Africa is mainly due to immigrants!

However, the article is wrong because it generalizes the problem. it is written from that apartheid perspective & everything in it is clear! I am not so sure if the South African authorities have seen it.
I will say it again, violence against women is everywhere and the scale is the same. This is the latest for Sweden. Compare with the population size it's shocking! But you will never write that Swedish women are being hunted like elks by men in Sweden! Why - the obvious is true! Check the stats below:

Anonym sa...

Omkring 28 300 fall av misshandel mot kvinnor över 18 år anmäldes under 2012, en ökning med 1 procent jämfört med året innan. Andelen kvinnor som uppger att de utsatts för våld eller hot i arbetslivet har ökat påtagligt.

http://www.bra.se/bra/brott--statistik/kvinnomisshandel.html

Perhaps you could also blog about the high number of violence against women but don't say there are being hunted like elks! This is a struggle that we all should fight but let's not paint black the work of those on the ground doing a great job in fighting the war on violence against women! Let's move from that stone age mentality of always wanting to associate Africa with all the ills. There is AIDS in Sweden, there are mosquitoes here, so where is the difference?

Lyckans Smed sa...

Who has the most prejudices now??? In this case against Swedes... I make no difference between anybody according to anything else than their behaviour no matter what you think about "Swedes in general".

"The one without sin cast the first stone" and if you do at least have the guts to SHOW your bloody face!!!

At least I'm happy that my opinions stir up some emotions. Nothing is as sad as well as dangerous as indifference!!!

Lyckans Smed sa...

Anonym 2;
Tack för inlägg! Jag har inte skrivit direkt om kvinnomisshandel i Sverige, men nämnt det http://lyckans-smed.blogspot.se/2013/03/trygghet-motverkar-hot-och-hat.html, http://lyckans-smed.blogspot.se/2012/11/varldens-basta-land.html, http://lyckans-smed.blogspot.se/2012/10/det-finns-ett-ord.html och http://lyckans-smed.blogspot.se/2012/03/skapande-kvinnor-har-det-bast-i-sverige.html bl a

Anonym sa...

Check the link below. A current posting by one of the most famous Swedish journalist.

I hope you it will shade some my light as to why I went hard on your blog...

Loved the debate anywhere

/Cheers

http://www.sida.se/OmVarlden/Varlden/Briefing/Om-mediebilden-av-Afrika/

Lyckans Smed sa...

Read it already!
If you think that I will not be able to respond to critique you are very wrong, as I guess that you have already gathered.

(ps when you hunt elk you usually just sit still and wait for the elk to come past you, chased by dogs. Most violence to women is a lot more harmful than that, in Sweden as well)