READER LETTER | Murder rate negates our freedom

Eight people were massacred in Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal, in a mass shooting. Every day, the nation is subjected to utter lawlessness in every vestige of human life. In SA, more than 70 people are murdered every day in an orgy of killing that has forced us to live under siege.

These killings cannot be described in words. The horrific nature of these murders in our country grimly confirms that we have no respect for human life. Lives do not matter.

Sadly, we are enmeshed in a culture of death which now involves killing spouses, raping women and children, killing cops and injuring innocent human beings. These savages have created a wound in our society and the infection continues to weaken us. With each breaking news report of brutal murders, we are again jolted and dismayed. Certainly, all of us who lost loved ones under brutal circumstances deserve our heartfelt compassion.

Human life is sacred. Whoever takes it wantonly thus strikes out against not just his victim, but against every moral foundation of society. Murderers send out destructive waves into society and their amplitude can never be attenuated if the crime is left unpunished or punished inadequately.

– Farouk Araie, Benoni