The way ordinary South Africans deal with suspected food poisoning cases that have led to the deaths of many children has the potential to degenerate and become clumsy. By clumsy I mean the do-it-our-way approach may be accompanied by criminality and devalue the genuine concerns communities have.
On October 6, five school children from Naledi, Soweto – Ida Maama,7, Njabulo Msimango,7, Isago Mabote, 8, Karabo Rampou, 9, and Monica Sebetwana, 6, – died after eating snacks allegedly bought from a spaza shop run by an immigrant.
This allegation was enough to set communities against local spaza shop owners in the area. The ordinary citizen did not care if this was a proven or disputed fact; all they cared to know was that immigrants sold snacks to children which later killed them. And for that, something needed to be done.
In the immediate term, residents wanted to close down the spaza shops, and in the long run, drive the immigrant traders out of their area. The response was to be expected from desperate people seeking to protect their children.
Many other similar incidents have been reported in Bronkhorstspruit, Westonaria and Hammanskraal, albeit with less severe consequences, but headaches, running stomachs, foaming mouths, dizziness and others. There were reported cases in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape.
It would be difficult for anyone not to agree that this is a crisis that requires serious government intervention. The department of health put out a statement and noted the incidents were increasing in black communities. The statement noted the concerns of the affected communities that these sudden deaths among young children were because of food poisoning emanating from foodstuffs, particularly snacks, sold at shops run by immigrants.
If claims about immigrants are not attended to by way of urgent intervention, the possibility exists to wrongly accuse foreign nationals of deliberately poisoning children, which I do not believe is what is happening.
Makhi Feni
www.sowetanlive.co.za
