Don't fence me in
posted by Kerry-Anne
This is the view from one part of the Goudini Spa resort. We have other pictures without the barbed wire, but we both kind of liked the contrast of the harsh wire against the beautiful rolling landscape.We live in a very security-conscious society - unfortunately, the reality is that we have a really high crime rate. So for us, it's not unusual to see security measures like this (though quite honestly, I think they're trying to keep out scavenging baboons rather than criminals here). I've seen a few pictures on other city blogs of spikes or broken glass on top of walls - how common are things like this where you live? Do you lock your doors at night? Do you have a burglar alarm system in your home?
4 Comments:
I hate to see barbed wire anywhere and it is too bad, really, that human beings cannot get along.
That is all well and good for me to say since I am on this side of poverty. However, I came from total poverty and worked my way here. I made lots of mistakes along the way but ended up doing everything I ever wanted to do and I really think most people can do that too. I don't know how it is all over the world but there is no way to go but up if you are all the way down.
When I see barbed wire or broken glass or razor wire on walls to keep nature out I am dumbfounded.
Everything we own we took over from Nature and left the wildlife prescious little to exist on and in desperation they come over walls looking for water or food and get cut up. I am not for that kind of life—there is something sick about a society afraid of wildlife getting a drink of water or looking for a spot of shade to lay down, or trying to find a spot where they can give birth. Safe from dogs, cats and children and some adults trying out guns.
No, we don't have barbed wire here in Ohio and no broken glass or razor wire. My mother never locked her house. THe next stranger might be Jesus, she thought.
My mother and I lived along a railroad and during the war when the railroad was filled with tramps and hobos going or coming from somewhere. They walked the lines and stopped at our house for a drink of water or a bite to eat.
Mother shared what we had.
In those days, people were not sick and I think that is why we were able to live the way we did.
I am really sad for wildife and nature. Now we have glaciers melting and weather killing life in the oceans and our president doesn't think Global warming is real.
Sorry for the long post. You can delete it if you wish. I just get carried away when I see things all around me that are not right.
I didn't do much today but...
I did write about how people used to wear long underwear over winter or until we began to stink. You can find the link at the bottom of the post today.
Brookville Daily Photo
Abraham, of course I wouldn't delete your post! That would be censorship, which is a concept I don't like at all. :)
Thanks for your thoughts. You are right in many respects, of course. As far as crime is concerned though, we have a long and complicated history in our country - a history of theft really, which started when the land was stolen from the original inhabitants, and continued when the rights of a huge group of people were stolen from them during the apartheid years. There is a lot of work to be done to repair all that damage, and unfortunately it isn't as simple as just telling people to pull themselves up and work harder.
Remember that while you were feeling safe in your home in years gone by, other people were being humiliated by being told to go and sit at the back of the bus. It was the same here. While our parents felt safe in their homes and thought the world was wonderful, others were living in enforced poverty and being humiliated day after day (and killed, in far too many cases) in the townships.
I can't say for sure what the point of the barbed wire here is (I was speculating re the baboons). The thing with baboons though is that they're certainly not looking for a drink of water or a quiet place to have their babies (they have the whole mountain and many many untouched rivers for that), but they can be quite vicious (often due to tourists, unfortunately, who ignore the signs and feed them) and they do scavenge something terrible. They're lovely to watch (and we'll show you some pictures of some in the next day or two), but I wouldn't want to get too close to one. I promise you there would be a HUGE outcry if one was injured on this fence - we have a strong anti-cruelty culture.
I live in a country also ravaged by poverty, unemployment, drift to the cities and the inevitable violence that goes with this disassociation. In our area businesses have high fences, barbed wire, alarms, guards, dogs etc to stop the constant threat of break-and-entering often accompanied with violence.
It is worse in the cities and like SA people have murders, gang wars, car-jackings, kidnappings, rapes and other attrocities to deal with.
Without security they would be totally vunerable and
We are luckier here as we are off the coast on an island that is more economically viable with cash crops to help boost people's incomes.
Our house is in a compound but with just a normal fence. We do have a guard at night but he is about 12 and doesn't even have a radio let alone a weapon.
I understand how terrible it looks but people have to protect their families and even though we would love to leave the door open it would be totally stupid to do so. If your child was taken, your wife raped and murdered you would never forgive yourself. People in the cities live with this fear on a day to day basis.
There are many historical reasons(recent ones in the case of this young nation) for this,including colonization, reliance on aid etc, but more than anything it is caused by corruption; public officials stealing funds and resources that should be going towards education, health and employment - things that would ease the threat of social break-down and violence.
I work with local teachers helping them to improve their English and their teaching skills. It is not much but I guess it is a small drop in the ocean of what is needed here to fix the problem!!
Sydney here...
To answer your questions: There are some houses which have bars on their windows, but not many. I always suspect that the people in those houses have more to hide!
During summer our front door is open all the time, day and eveneing...we shut it when we go to bed, but not lock it. We deadlock it when we go out, and locak all the windows.
I don't lock our front or back door at night - in case of fire I'd want to be able to get out, so they are just closed, not locked.
Barbed wire - not really; only around prisons, and the immigration detention centre. A lot of schools have high fences around them, but they are rather attractive looking powder coated ones a bit reminiscent of old fashioned fences. That's beacuse a lot of computers were getting stolen from schools (usually inside jobs, bu the way...either suppliers or contractors).
We have been robbed once in 25 yrs in my house - and the cops caught them after a neighbour reported someone stashing stuff under a church around the corner. It was kids from 2 doiors up - probably operating under instructions from older crims...usual stuff - video player, some jewellery, stuff easily sold.
I sincerely hope South Africa finds a way forward where people can live in more dignity and respect and without crime....
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home