NoBeating around the Bosch

with

Dear Reader,

As you soak up the blissful serenity of the start of a long weekend, lying in bed with a cup of coffee, idly scrolling through your emails, you see BAB’s email address in your inbox, jump for joy, and open it immediately. As you settle in for a slightly longer read this morning, buckle up because you are going to be taken around the world, your emotions will swing from despair to hope and back to despair again, and you will be left with many things to ponder about the very current issue of human rights.

I am not going to guilt trip you about having a great day off wine tasting and brunching when really, what you should be doing, is sitting at home contemplating all that is wrong with the world, delving into the long history of oppression, war, crime and corruption, and trying to solve the world’s issues (all in one day). No, I am not going to guilt trip you for that. Guilt has never been a constructive emotion and after all, rest is also a human right(… right?).

Instead, let this day be a day for us to open our eyes, to not shy away from the man selling the Big Issue at the robot, for the ugly truths of our world to stare us in the face and for us to stare straight back at them. Let this be a day for us to let down our defences and be sensitive again - to all that is good and bad.

Tell us, what would you make a human right if you could? We would love to hear from you!

The global plight of human rights

The Gambia has voted to reverse the ban on female genital mutilation, allowing the custom to take place again. Parliament voted in an overwhelming majority of 42 to 4.

Haiti has descended into a deepening state of chaos. Prime Minister Ariel Henry remains unable to re-enter the country as gangs destroy police stations and derail any remaining stability in the country.

Famine looms in Gaza, predicted to set in at the end of May. At least 25 people have died from starvation and dehydration.

Alabama, US has ruled that frozen embryos should be considered children. This poses a threat to IVF clinics.

State police in Texas have been mandated to enforce immigration laws, a power usually reserved for federal forces. The law has been deemed a violation of constitutional and federal law by the Whitehouse.

India’s Citizenship Amendment Act favours certain religious groups amongst people applying for citizenship who have escaped to India from religious persecution, reigniting fear amongst the country’s 200 million Muslims of having citizenship revoked.

Greece became the first Orthodox Christian country to legalise same-sex marriage.

Congolese journalist, Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala has been released from jail after pleading not guilty to a charge of spreading false information DRC’s government.

Germany has banned Austrian far-right leader of the Identitarian Movement, Martin Sellner, from entering the country following an AFD meeting with neo-nazis in Potsdam in November 2023 in which the mass deportation of immigrants from Germany was discussed.

Back at home

Joburg Water can point their fingers at global warming all they want, but nothing can explain away the pure fecklessness that led the company to, literally, forget to turn the tap on. Rand Water is currently looking into a valve that was reported as being closed when it should have been open to allow water into the reservoir.

When such a basic human right as water is violated not due to some drastic notion like drought or war, but due to petty mismanagement and carelessness, it becomes very hard to forgive the higher-ups.

Good reads from SMF News this week

Cycling Champions help revive Kayamandi charity biking event

Our journalist Antoinette Steyn visited Songo, an initiative in Kayamandi aimed at empowering youths through sport, for a cycling race in which Olympic medalist Christoph Sauser participated.

A fire Brigade called to rescue kitten from SU residence roof

Rachel Jonker witnessed the grand rescue of a kitten that had been trapped on a residence building roof for four days.

Prof Wim de Villiers took in the Cape Town Cycle Tour [Afrikaans]

Maliza Adendorff interviewed SU’s vice-chancellor about his “vrék warm” experience at the Cape Town Cycle Tour.

Visual of the Week

Some BTS from the photographer

The Cape Town Cycle Tour is one of the most prolific sporting events in SA, and many cyclists participate to raise money for charities. I travelled from Stellenbosch to Cape Town with a friend, and took an Uber to Muizenberg. Shortly after this photo was taken, my phone broke, which left me stranded in Muizenberg. Being new to the Western Cape, I had no one to contact to help me out of my dilemma and had to depend on the kindness of complete strangers to get back to the finish line in Cape Town. After hiking on the M4, I hitchhiked in an ambulance, on the back of a truck and with the Cape Town Cycle Tour sweeper bus, which picked up cyclists who didn’t finish back to Cape Town. On the bus back to Cape Town I realised that my situation was not unique: many South Africans face the perils of public transport on a daily basis. I could, however, never be convinced to become a cyclist. (by Maliza Adendorff)

What we listened to this week:

Worth It. - Sped Up by RAYE

And something to ponder:

“Calling for an end to hate

shouldn't be treated as a punishable offence.”

…by DaShanne Stokes

Hop over to our website to take a look at our full range of articles. We welcome criticism (even if we cry about it), so don’t be shy!

Nicola Amon, newsletter editor