By Mzukona Mantshontsho
“It takes a village to raise a child,” so says an African Proverb. The Enyobeni Tavern fatalities in June 2022, where at least 20 children died at the tavern in Scenery Park in the Eastern Cape who suffocated to death because of overcrowding, sent a message to ALL parents, siblings, communities and the country, about the importance of protecting our children.
Sources close to the investigation believe the children – aged 13 to 17 – were killed by toxic fumes that emanated from a petrol generator that was suspected to have been used inside the tavern. Preliminary results of post-mortem examinations conducted on the victims found traces of carbon monoxide.
In every age group death is never far. All of us are forever at risk. Even so, all of us on a daily basis need to take care to avoid dangers and avoidable risks as much as possible. In many cases discipline in the fields of health and safety; general security; health and fitness and staying at home all reduce risks that are ever present. Risk is real.
Law enforcement agencies must do the necessary, but youth and elders need to scrutinise their own discipline for future purposes. Taverns and boozing cannot be approached neutrally if progress and human safety will be achieved.
Many concerned citizens in South Africa and the rest of the world took a stand against the terrorist group Boko Haram that kidnapped over 276 school girls in Chibok village in Nigeria on Monday 14 April 2014.
Children require a great deal of assistance and guidance in everyday life, much more so than adults do. From the time they are born, children need help with almost everything they do, from basic tasks such as having a bath and getting dressed, to learning how to treat other people. Children are much more vulnerable than adults and therefore require protection from the many dangers that threaten their well-being.
Since 1998, South Africa has commemorated Child Protection Week every year under the direction of the Department of Social Development. This is done to create awareness amongst South African communities about the shared role we each must play in safeguarding children.
Threats that face South African Children:
- Lack of proper nutrition and shelter
- Lack of access to proper healthcare
- Neglect
- Violence
- Sexual abuse
- Child pornography
- Child trafficking
- Accidental drowning, burns, electrocution, poisoning and choking
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Lack of proper education
- Bullying.
For example, more than 10 children die every day from injuries and many more are severely injured and even permanently disabled in accidents – that is more than 3 560 children a year who die in situations that could possibly have been prevented.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), South Africa sees approximately 57 000 deaths annually in children under the age of five due to a variety of causes. The number of South African children suffering from child abuse is much higher – in the millions – while the most recent study conducted by UNICEF indicated that there are an estimated 3 400 000 orphans in the country.
