I didn’t want it to be true. But I had that sinking feeling when the WhatsApp message on my mom’s community chat group arrived. A young veterinarian doctor had been stabbed to death by thieves. No, not thieves, murderers! Writes Gasant Abarder in a new #SliceofGasant.
Abarder, who recently launched his book, Hack with a Grenade, is among the country’s most influential media voices. Catch his weekly column here, exclusive to Cape {town} Etc.
It happened under the cover of the darkness of loadshedding – brought to us by Eskom and our government – when Dr Natheem Jacobs happened on the scene of the scum trying to steal his wife’s car wheels. That evening I was even more restless as the power went out at midnight. We live a few kilometres from where Dr Jacobs was murdered.
What happens if our burglar alarm is activated? Or the dogs are barking? Or I hear a strange sound? Shall I risk going outside and being the next headline or statistic?
This is no way to live.
The following night, I sped to Groote Schuur Hospital with my mom and dad. My dad hadn’t been eating for two days and was feeling weak. This is a very dangerous situation for a diabetic.
I dreaded going to this hospital on a Saturday night. Given our crime stats and number of collisions involving vehicles, South Africa is in a league of its own when it comes to trauma doctors getting hands-on experience and training. I wasn’t wrong.
We arrived at 9pm on Saturday and left at 6am the following morning. Each time it was my dad’s turn to see a doctor there was a more pressing emergency: a gunshot victim, a victim of abuse, a knife stabbing victim.
Doctors and nurses at a hospital like Groote Schuur have to make both important and impossible decisions. There is a fine margin between life and death. The rate of violent crime in our city makes it even more challenging.
We need to be kind to the porters, security and medical staff. This is the same cast who had just seen off a pandemic, risking their own lives in the process. They don’t need the kind of abuse members of the public dished out while I was there.
All the while, the thought that my dad could slip into a diabetic coma was always present. Selfishly, I hoped the violent criminals of Cape Town would behave for just a few hours. It ended up not being as serious. A tummy bug had taken away his appetite. But who was to know as I nervously waited outside this grand old lady that is home to the world’s first heart transplant? Where premature babies are given a real shot at survival. Where lives are saved every day, courtesy of the best medical practitioners around.
Life is so cheap. In a matter of seconds, killers robbed a family of a son, husband and brother, and a community member of a much-needed vet. Dr Jacobs was a passionate man by all accounts who had just completed his compulsory community service and was taking a permanent job at the SPCA. His dedication and commitment to healing animals have been hailed by all who worked with him.
We need to raise awareness of violent crimes against health practitioners. We need to be their protectors and guardians when they enter high crime rate areas and are attacked for treating rival gang members or for their phones.
We need to safeguard the staff at Groote Schuur Hospital and other state facilities who are themselves at risk of attack when they treat the victim of a stabbing or a shooting as they go about the important job of saving lives.
My father is doing much better thanks to everyone at Groote Schuur Hospital. Sadly, the family of Dr Jacobs can’t say the same. I hope to never read another WhatsApp like the one bearing the terrible news of his murder. I fear never will come too soon.
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Picture: Cape of Good Hope SPCA / Facebook