Zombie
When the violence causes silence
We must be mistaken – Dolores O’Riordan
Jy’t gedink sy sal gil
En dís wat jou kul
Na geweld is dit stil
en dit zoem
in jou kop in jou kop in jou kop
in jou kop in jou kop in jou kop in jou kop
In sy huis
Met sy kruis
Met sy vuis
Met sy kruis
en dit zoem
in jou kop in jou kop in jou kop
in jou kop in jou kop in jou kop in jou kop
Nog ‘n kop is omlaag
Nog ontwykings van vrae
Bolle vrees in haar maag
en dit zoem
in haar kop in haar kop in haar kop
in haar kop in haar kop in haar kop in haar kop
‘n Vrou stadig onthoof,
In haar eie kop doof,
‘n Verwronge geloof
en dit zoem
in haar kop in haar kop in haar kop
in haar kop in haar kop in haar kop in haar kop
Elke jaar sestien dae
Van ver af slaan ons gade
Vir haar die laaste slae
en dit zoem
in haar kop in haar kop in haar kop
in haar kop in haar kop in haar kop in haar kop
Dis dieselfde ou storie
Ons wil dit nie meer hoor ‘ie
Die verkeerdes kry die glorie
en dit zoem
in jou kop in jou kop in jou kop
in jou kop in jou kop in jou kop in jou kop
In sy huis
Met sy kruis
Met sy vuis
Met sy kruis
In sy huis
Met sy kruis
Met sy vuis
Met sy kruis
en dit zoem
in haar kop in haar kop in haar kop
in jou kop in jou kop in jou kop in jou kop
Na geweld is dit stil.
© Marieta McGrath, 2023
The ongoing violence and murder against women and children in South Africa is disgusting as it is tragic. Disgusting in that not only do the words of the ANC government not match their dismissively inert approach to gender-based violence, but because they are tolerant of the myriad of women abusers hiding safely within their ranks. The indifference to the soaring rates of rape, child-rape, femicide and infanticide in the country is breeding a culture of ‘entitlement’ to do whatever they please in certain South African males, which if not arrested, will soon result in more and more of those most vulnerable to male aggression forced to become housebound for their personal safety, as is already happening on a large scale. Again, one hates to ‘politicize’ the crime of gender and child-based violence, but one can never address the issue properly, if one is not able to hone in on the cause of it. South Africans have heared it all before from their ANC government, yet have only experienced a proliferation of what is now becoming much of a national hobby. It’s time for change, and as with all ills and crises facing South Africans today, the beginning of the solution to GBV lies in the polling booth, and in the polling booth alone.
Thank you for making your voice loud, Marieta McGrath…