We’ve been conditioned to wear masks, sanitise, practise social distance and adhere to a curfew. The positive results have been clear and our reward was the recent lifting of curfew.
Now it’s up to us to be responsible so we can imagine a life with a semblance of normality, writes Gasant Abarder in a new #SliceofGasant column.
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’s only a few hours old but 2022 is already showing us flames. Watching Parliament burning was hard for someone who had spent so much time there working as a TV news correspondent.
I have fond memories of the place. But even harder to stomach was seeing people celebrating the fire on social media – one of them being former president Jacob Zuma’s daughter Dudu Zuma.
It felt like the world had gone mad, especially off the back of the Bermuda Triangle of weeks. The last week of the year to be exact. That twilight zone that is the week between Christmas and New Year.
It’s that week of the year when you struggle to keep track of time. What day of the week is it? Let me know when it’s Friday, please.
You’ve just recovered from the Christmas feasts and your diet has gone to the dogs. The training programme has been forgotten.
I’ll go to the gym tomorrow, you tell yourself but it never happens. Personal hygiene, in some cases, suffers. And to top it off, you’re broke after splurging on Christmas day festivities and gifts.
The 27th to the 31st was so confusing that even hardened party animals resolved to stay home in the spirit of keeping safe during the pandemic. Herschelle Gibbs declared on Twitter he would be taking it easy. The guy was even at gym early the next morning.
And then President Cyril Ramaphona announced on the eve of New Year’s Eve that he was doing away with the Covid-19 lockdown curfew. There were whoops of delight although it left us with a sense of discomfort after being conditioned for almost two years to be home by midnight (because if you weren’t going to turn into pumpkin, the authorities were sure to nab you).
The Abarders had been invited to see in the New Year at the Wittens’ awesome new place. Lance and Lisa are good friends and incredible hosts. Earlier in the week they had suggested that we stay over because of the curfew. When the president announced the end of curfew, it was met in the WhatsApp group set up for the occasion with a few murmurs of disbelief rather than outright fist pumps.
As it turned out, the Abarders started withering away shortly after midnight. One of the kids fell asleep before the clock struck 12 and a second was heading there fast. It was time to take our leave and to get home despite an awesome evening had.
Elsewhere, folks took full advantage of the curfew being lifted. As if the president’s declaration about the curfew was some magic potion that made you immune to COVID, there were images of massive raves being shared. Some were partying like there was no tomorrow. For some there would be no tomorrow. The emergency rooms that were empty on New Year’s Day 2021 were full with accident victims and drunk driving as the cause.
But the incidents weren’t as common as a regular New Year’s eves. What has the curfew taught me? That the majority of South Africans can behave responsibly if their lives depended on it. COVID-19 is far from gone and while our freedom of movement is no longer curtailed we now have to be extra vigilant.
We had largely handed over our civil liberties to the government for almost two years. It is what happens during the National State of Emergency. Let’s not forget that the majority of us played our part to get here. By getting vaccinated, wearing masks, sanitising, practising social distancing and playing our part. First world countries, where such practices are optional, have seen fourth waves of infections. Now that life is beginning to return to a semblance of normality we dare not drop our guard, especially since we don’t know what 2022 holds in store.
Part of that restraint is not being tempted to add fuel to a fire. If you’re not going to build up, then don’t break down – especially if you’re the daughter of the former president. In other words, if you have nothing to contribute about the seat of our democracy burning
almost beyond repair then shut the hell up!
We’ve been through a lot. Many have lost everything in this pandemic. If that doesn’t make you a better human, and sees you celebrating the burning of parliament, then you may have
zero redeeming qualities.
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Picture: Pexels