It's time to call a spade a spade.
“Terrorism.”
Helluva word. It conjures up images of Isis. Or sparks a memory of the Twin Towers falling. The car bombs from Pagad. The IRA.
To many, terrorism is a synonym for “bomb”. The dictionary definition of terrorism is much wider:
“The unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.”
Reading these heavy words, one cannot but agree that there’s a strong argument that the current targeting of Eskom and the South African public is terrorism.
“The unlawful use of violence and intimidation.”
It’s hard to think of a more appropriate description for the murders in Mpumalanga and the cyanide poisoning of Eskom CEO André de Ruyter.
“.in the pursuit of political aims.”
The sabotage of our power stations is not akin to cable theft. It is a deliberate act of political and gangster violence against the people of South Africa.
The purpose of terrorism is to spread terror – or fear – among individuals and the collective.
Our country is afraid. We’re afraid of our businesses closing. We’re afraid of a total grid collapse. We’re afraid for our children’s prospects. We’re afraid of having no control over our future.
Uncertainty fuels our fear. There are no guarantees (except, perhaps, that the laughable timeframe given by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana that “load shedding will be a thing of the past in 12 to 18 months” is guaranteed to be extended.)
You might wonder where we’re going with this. and why we’re exploring the word “terrorism”.
Words matter.
If we, as South Africa, redefined the terms and arrested the suspects on charges of “terrorism” as opposed to “sabotage” of our power plants as public property. then words would matter. The Camden Power Station sabotage suspect would not have been released on R6,000 bail but would still be in jail, for example.
The word “terrorism” would matter in their sentencing, too.
Words matter because it’s how we communicate – how we at Daily Maverick are able to tell the truth to the public. We can’t take away the fear (we wish we could, trust us), but we believe that when the public is informed about what is happening daily, they are better equipped to navigate life.
You are armed with the truth so that you can have power over your life’s decisions.
It’s why we do what we do, and the way we do it. It’s also why we have never, and will never, erect a ...