I have said it before, nobody is perfect and we all err, but the Creator is most merciful. However, some people do not care how their behaviour impacts people and continue harming others.
What am I talking about? There are no entirely rich or poor nations, all nations have pockets of wealth and poverty.
For example, Los Angeles, USA, has huge problems with vagrancy and addiction, etc, and LA is a wealthy locale.
Likewise, there is nothing wrong with Mitchells Plain, Hanover Park or Manenberg, etc. The problem is not the locality but a few people there.
For decades, people have blamed apartheid and many continue looking to the past instead of acknowledging the reality that some people are uncivilised.
Acknowledging reality is vital to problem-solving. For example, Mitchells Plain has many civic centres, libraries, sporting facilities, parks and community spaces that cost ratepayers millions to maintain.
In contrast, Walmer and University Estate, where residents pay 10 times more in rates, have no libraries, civic centres, etc. Yet, the little that exists is appreciated as vandalism is minimal when compared to Mitchells Plain, Hanover Park, etc.
Why do I say this? When people are unaware of their bad behaviour, others must step up and say/do something.
For example, a University Estate local rented a granny flat to a brown family from a poorer suburb. The family often had guests who arrived with loud noise, hooting and left late at night with great noise.
After months, a brown neighbour told the landlord that his tenant was noisy. The landlord told the tenant the noise was unacceptable and the tenant had a choice, adjust or leave.
This situation is common as social mobility is required in a capitalistic society, where the majority was oppressed by apartheid.
However, bringing bad behaviour from one locality into another must be understood and corrected within its context to avoid claims of racism or classism.
Another example: decades ago, a brown family moved from Kensington to Maitland. They needed written permission from white neighbours. This was racist and in time most whites left Maitland.
Today, the brown family wants to leave Maitland as the area is a hub for foreign blacks, backyard business and vagrants. The bottle stores and casinos on the main road and tuck shops and fixing cars in side streets are a nuisance.
Can Maitland be saved from chaos? I am unsure but the message is obvious. Each community must protect its own serenity and that effort is not racist or classist.
People cannot call the police for a barking dog or noisy neighbour when 20 000 people are murdered annually in South Africa as the police are busy.
Those guilty of disturbing the genuine serenity of others must be told their behaviour is uncivilised.
* Cllr Yagyah Adams, Cape Muslim Congress.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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