2010 Host Nation Unite against crime

South African citizens took a stand against crime when they picketed in Johannesburg, following the recent retraction of banking giant FNB’s anti-crime campaign.

The urban jungle became the battle field for ordinary South African’s who’ve had enough of crime and held a picket this week on one of Gauteng’s heavy-volume traffic intersections between Corlett Drive and Melrose Boulevard. While the picketers carried posters and flags to draw attention, motorists on Corlett Drive showed their support by hooting and giving the protesters the thumbs-up.

Ahead of President Thabo Mbeki’s State of the Nation address on Friday, the picket spear-headed by Bashier Omar and his fellow colleagues and residents of Melrose Arch, decided to break the silence and voice their concerns about South Africa’s ever-rising crime rate.

First National Bank dropped its multi-million Rand anti-crime campaign where they were going to prod South Africans to fight the crime scourge. Their plan was put inserts into various newspapers where citizens could write letters to President Mbeki, urging him to publicly put crime at the top of South Africa’s agenda.

“If a huge corporation like FNB can run scared, who will stand up for us?” says Omar who has been holding the protest during noon and 1 since Monday, 5 February, 2007. “We hope that the exposure will inspire others to do the same and to send a message to our beloved President to please address our concerns that crime levels are unacceptably high”, says Omar who clutches a South African flag and anti-crime posters. “We pledge our allegiance to the President and South Africa, and are pleading with him to heed the call of all South Africans, Black, Coloured, Asian and White to listen to our concerns.”
Xolani Cele, who also works in an office in Melrose Arch, expressed his concern: “We represent the majority of South Africans who are sick and tired of crime. “It’s time our government faced the fact that crime has got out of control and that something needs to be done. We don’t even feel safe in our homes anymore,” “I am not anti-government or anti-Mbeki, I am just anti-crime. In fact, I am very patriotic and this is why I have decided to take a stand,” he says.

The organization VIRSA are organizing a National March on the 10 of March, that will allow South Africans to forward their grievances to Government by way of petitions and by marching in an appropriate and law abiding way.