A Few Things

Every few days I find myself saying ‘theresalotgoingon’ and sighing deeply, because truthfully, when I look around at everything happening in the world, it’s far too chaotic for me to even focus on any one thing at a time.

It’s actually very absurd that life is just meant to continue while wars rage on and humans are trafficked, kidnapped, hacked to pieces and bombed.

The worse things get, the higher my anxiety gets and the more stressed I become in my daily life.

I understand why so many of us on this earth turn to an assortment of coping mechanisms and self-soothing techniques.

I personally am so very close to unplugging completely and retreating to the life my sisters and I knew before we got our first dial -up connection.

A few things in particular that have stood out to me over the last couple of weeks have left me quite flummoxed, and to be honest, I actually can’t remember a time when it didn’t feel like the world was burning.

The Olympics and its sex issue

Let’s start with the recently concluded Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

Questions surrounding a boxer named Imane Khelif nearly overshadowed the major sporting event. Half of the internet is certain she is a biological male who should not be allowed to fight in the female division, while the other half thinks this is entirely untrue and/or irrelevant.

What I think is that how everyone has behaved over this topic has been quite disgusting. It is rather shameful that everybody thinks it is completely reasonable to demand to see someone’s medical information or to know exactly what sits between their legs and in their DNA.

If the sporting boards allowed her to compete and even awarded her gold, one must assume they have their reasons for doing so.

If anything, this should be a lesson to everyone who thinks gender and sex are black and white. Perhaps this is a chance to understand that human beings are quite diverse. Whatever the truth is, this particular human being does not deserve to be harrassed.

SA v Nigeria

I swear the last few weeks have been the most jaw-dropping in a while.

Thanks to the drama surrounding the former Miss South Africa contestant Chidimma Adetshina and the revelation that her mother possibly committed fraud and identity theft to register her birth, I have seen and heard the most shocking and demeaning things fired from both camps.

The two nations have always had major beef, fuelled by the likes of Burna Boy and the late AKA publicly feuding, but something about this just feels a lot worse and the insults become more inhumane with each day.

I followed this story day after day and I honestly could never have predicted where it would end up. I’m staying out of it and not taking sides.

I know it’s easy to say South Africans are Afrophobic, but in this instance they were so absolutely correct.

On top of that, I live in a country that does not have a high influx of foreigners (legally and illegally), so I can’t say I’ve ever been in their shoes.

I personally think Nigeria should just accept they lost this one, before things get out of hand. I hope Chidimma finds peace, and I hope South Africans actually do have their concerns heard.

More unnecessary bloodshed

Sjoe! I don’t know where to begin with this one. It’s been weighing quite heavily on my heart since I first read the story of the 24-year-old man who went ‘missing’ after being assaulted at a party he went to with his girlfriend, and five people later being arrested.

The first thing I wondered was how people could be arrested for assault when the victim isn’t there to provide evidence of such.

Secondly, I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

It was like I was reading about Shanon Wasserfall all over again. I thought to myself he’s definitely dead, they definitely killed him.I was not surprised when his body washed ashore, and with each day that brings more information and arrests, I feel sadder and sadder for his life being cut short in such a gruesome way.

I’m embarrassed for all involved, and I hope justice is served.

Bad omens

I actually wrote a column a while back and I said it felt like there was a dark cloud hanging over Namibia with regard to the rampant child and sexual abuse, but overall I think we need some form of spiritual intervention.

Cars, trucks and planes are crashing into homes, buses are catching fire and crashing, men are killing themselves at a shocking rate, people are worshipping false prophets, the economy has never been worse, drugs and alcohol have a tight grip on us, and intimate partner violence is still everyone’s favourite activity.

Like I said, there’s a lot going on.