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P O Box
1097 u Bromhof u 2154
Tel: 011
792 0375 u Fax: 011 792 4094
Email:
noviolence@stand.co.za
Website:
www.stand.co.za
2005/035806/08
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OFFICIAL STATEMENT BY THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS REGARDING THE “UNITE AGAINST CRIME – BLACK RIBBON INITIATIVE”
LAUNCHED BY MEDIA 24
Almost 3 years
ago, on 11 September 2003, STAND [Standing Together Against Needless Death] was
born. This birthing came as a result of the death of Neil Hewitt, then 25 years
old, who died as the result of a gunshot wound during an armed robbery. Neil,
one of the hundreds of thousands of victims who have lost their lives during
the last 12 years, died in the arms of his friends. He’s murder was never
reported in any newspaper, never received any news coverage on any radio
station; only his loved ones felt the pain of a life taken in its prime. Neil died on the 10 September 2003 – the
next day STAND was founded.
As an emblem of
solidarity, we chose the “Black Ribbon” much like the red ribbon which is used
to show support for victims of HIV/AIDS.
Ten people, all volunteers, some of them Neil’s family, spent many days
and nights cutting rolls and rolls of black ribbon, attaching safety pins and
inserting the finished product into thousands of plastic bags. The ribbon, the
pins and the bags were paid for out of these people’s pockets. In all we “made
“ 10 000 ribbons, endured the blisters and stood in the freezing cold one
October morning and handed them out on street corners.
Although most
people were supportive, we also tolerated the abuse dished out by the
uninformed, by those people whose lives have not been forever changed by the
murder of a loved one.
Over the last 3
years, members of STAND, who all volunteer their time, have helped many victims
of violence who otherwise would have fallen by the wayside. The thousands of
hours spent visiting people in hospital, stopping traffic on main roads,
writing articles, handing out black ribbons, having charity functions to raise
funds for hospital bills, has not even begun to chip the tip of the iceberg.
We’ve approached
Media 24 on several occasions asking them to write articles in their magazine
about our organisation – but to no avail. Unless we’ve given them a sensational
story, our story remains untold.
Now the murder
of one journalist [whose family our hearts go out to] brings about the “launch”
of the “Unite Against Crime” black ribbon.
It has always been a vision of STAND that every law-abiding citizen of
South Africa wears a black ribbon to show support for those who have survived
violent crime – and although we applaud the initiative that Media 24 has
started, we, STAND, somehow got lost in the entire furore. The Black Ribbon
Initiative was started in South Africa by STAND – a civil organisation of
caring South Africans, who gain nothing except the knowledge of having helped a
fellow human being in a time of extreme distress.
The “Black
Ribbon” represents 220 000 murdered South Africans, not one person – and all
STAND asks for, is that we be recognised for the work we do on ground level.
We pose the
following questions to Media 24 –
- Will you send counsellors to visit
victims/survivors?
- Will you raise money to help pay
exorbitant hospital bills and/or funeral costs?
- Do you really care about those
people, whose stories don’t make the front page of the newspapers?
- Will you spend hours of your
precious time trying to change the constitution of South Africa, so that
it incorporates the rights of victims of violence?
- Will you put your money where your
mouth is, and start much needed Trauma/Crisis Centres in South
Africa?
- The ultimate question is really –
do you care, or do you just want to sell more magazines?
When we
approached Media 24 to inform them that STAND was already using the Black
Ribbon, we were told categorically that the ribbons had already been cut, the
T-shirts and caps printed and that the launch of this campaign would proceed no
matter what we did. We’ve also printed T-shirts and caps, cut thousands and
thousands of ribbons, but because we would rather use the money we raise and
the money so kindly donated, to help those in need, we cannot fight for our
right to be the initiators of the Black Ribbon Campaign.
Therefore we ask each and every South African to make a STAND now and support
our initiative. Wear the black ribbon,
choose to STAND with those who’ve lost loved ones, but help us to help them.
Without the support of the good people of South Africa, social organisations
such as STAND will not survive.
Victims of
violent crime and attack have the same rights as victims of HIV/AIDS, yet it is
a sad fact that very little, if any, attention is paid to the plight of the
survivors and the people in their immediate environment.
E-mails may be
sent to noviolence@stand.co.za
Charmaine
Rowlands
Managing
Director
For and on
behalf of the Board of Directors of STAND
082 659 3182
