INSIGHTS

17 Tattooed my Soul:

Waseem said...

I agree with you on the strike issue but what i dont get is why the striking people have to force their strike on people who dont want to strike. It should be your choice if you want to strike or not, you shouldnt be pulling people out of their jobs and inciting violence because they dont want to strike

10:59 AM  

Muhammad said...

Durban support for marches ,etrc. have always been abysmal. It did dishearten me when i got here seeing only the same faces all the damn time at marches ,rallies ,etc. and now i think i've become one of them. I don't get involved like I used to although I have huge ideas, maybe i should just action them and , eh? that's what's missing isnt it? Anyway, the strikers, your point is correct, but shouldnt there be a compromise somewhere.. I mean 12% is a huge jump, but the nagain ministers are getting bigger increases and tehre's mbeki's jet, etc. although i do think the larger issue is that we treat, or the government treats its civil servants with more respect, more dignity and more money... if they're not happy, they're spreading their depression to our kids, who are not being educated becuase of their current frustration, that leads to other shit like crime, and you can see the spiral forming from there.

Durban town is beautiful, no doubt... jsut wish the "inside" of the people who live there was just as beautiful, we are too torn apart by caste systems and small petty fucking issues like people who wear kurtah's and topis don't mix with ppl who don't and other retarded shit.

I wonder when people will open their minds, not blindly follow, learn and grow up.

maybe it is our job to ask them the questions and challenge them... otherwise everything remains the same right? in the end it is up to us.. individually and the change we make in our own little circles.

Peace,

M.

12:13 PM  

Anonymous said...

It’s the return of anon :).
I think that you have raised some interesting issues.
Let me start off by commenting on the Palestinian rally. I can understand your disappointment at the low turn out in Dbn. I also understand the reason for people wanting to rally. To show support, to show the world leaders that actions they take are of interest to people all around d world, that leaders decisions affect millions of people.

But here’s the question. Do these support rallies and marches work? Do they influence the decisions of the leaders? By thousands of people gathering in 'solidarity' make a difference. Did it make a difference for Afghanistan, did it make a difference for Iraq?
Think about it, world wide people gather 2 scream and curse the western governments, to condemn their actions...but after all this, the fight still goes on.

In south Africa, there have been many marches and rallies in the past, but honestly, did they have a huge or major impact?..i wud have to say no! we turned up in numbers, screamed and shouted, and then went back to our cozy homes in our ‘mader’ cars and probably went 4 a movie after..its d honest truth. I know i may be sounding like a real ass, but lets face up 2 reality.
dont get me wrong, im not saying that we should not march and rally (a Muslim who feels for another Muslims’ well being is a sign of Imaan)...

So then, what may the solution be? What can we do that will have impact? its a return to Islam. Its showing the world who Muslims really are. Its changing our ways. Its changing the way we portray ourselves as muslims. its standing 2gether as brothers and sisters.
As [Muhammad] pointed out, we are too busy with our own personal petty issues. when we stand together, then the powers of influence will take us seriously. Yes, some of u may think that this is preach talk, myself included, but we all know it’s the honest truth. There will be real fear of Muslims when we outwardly portray Islam.

Moving on to the striking action in South Africa. It’s a real sad state of affairs. The South African public service sector needs to be rewarded. Our health care system and education system is one of the best in the world. In fact, we have better PUBLIC health service than many of the first world countries, including our education system. It may be hard to believe, but only when u c it 4 yourself, will we realize. So I hope the government stops being so stubborn, and just give in to the demands before it cripples the country. ‘VIVA PAY INCREASE…VIVA!!’

4:06 PM  

irshaad said...

yoh soo many issues! lol k. about the strikes, been going to them since little me could walk. and still seeing the same people there! the only changes time has brought is the increase in the white hairs on the protesters heads. sad. but true. the scariest thing is that our generation happens to be the worst in many, and is in danger of being documented as the perpetrators of shallowness. Apathy is our big enemy. Allah change the hearts of those 'who do not see...'
to anon: Muhammed SAW once said in a long hadith narrated in Bukhari and muslim, 'if you see an evil, change it with your hand, if you cannot then with your mouth, and if not then with your heart, and that is the weakest form of imaan.' This gem of an Hadith(like all others) proves that the protests and pickets and whatever else are part of the development of our iman and hence an improvement in our character. Being part of these of these solidarity actions is great manifestation of faith, but i agree, by no means enough....

on the strike action, it is by no means as simple as many see it. both government and unions have important points, but i do not have time to delve into those nitty grittys. I do think though, that its great government is being made to squirm for a change:D

lots more i could say, but dont have time...

slm

6:04 PM  

Mohamed Karolia said...

So many issues so little time. I have an issue i want to discuss but i not qualified.

10:59 PM  

Anonymous said...

Im for the strike but read below. and understand why the government couldnt do anything and the government really does have to think about all these issues. as because it will EFFECT YOU AND ME : I wrote this and i put it on my website http://mojoosub.blogspot.com

"We see it daily on e-tv news, sabc news, and local newspapers and even on some international news channels. The public service crisis that hit South Africa, the question I put to you is why they doing it? What will it achieve? If you really think about it, it’s doing more damage to them and the country’s population as a whole than benefiting. Why I say this?

Well firstly lets just say the Government “gives in” to their demands and increase their wages. And yes sure the government does have a lot of money coming into its coffers annually through tax and various other means and can afford to submit to their demands. But the consequences for this decision can be disastrous to the South African Economy. Firstly if the government “gives in” basically you looking at hundreds and thousands of people with higher salaries thus larger spending power. To some this may seem to be a good thing as people with more money results in a richer and grander economy and to an extent higher income per capita (Net National Income divided by the population) and to some this may mean there is economic growth. Its true there is slight economic growth but realistically we are just fooling ourselves. This is because of inflation rising & interest rates rising which will be caused if the Government does give in to their demands which is most likely what could happen. Inflation will rise, as the wage increase will mean there will be more money circulating in the Economy, which in most cases is bad. As firstly we are not a “savings” population but rather a “spenders” population, i.e. we spend most of our disposable income as possible and to the extent of even buying on credit. Thus because of the increase in spending as people will want to fulfill their desires, through supply & demand prices will go up as there will be excess demand for various goods and services thus there will be an increase in prices. Secondly because we spending beyond our means and not saving our money in banks there wont be enough money for banks to finance essential capital investments for businesses, with the result that businesses will not be able to expand their production resulting in demand not been met which will in turn increase prices for products as there will be a low supply of goods & services. You may also say that the Government has a lot of money but this is actually not true as a lot of the money that the government gets is used to Fund various projects and used to pay for public services that the population requires and the countries requires in order for stability, so where will it find money to pay for the increase? Therefore to pay for the wage increase the Government may even have to increase the tax rate (Direct or Indirect) for businesses and normal residents thus for businesses to continue running efficiently and profitably the increase tax is simply included in the increased price of the product. Therefore there will be an increase in the price of products and services. Also for citizens, their disposable income will be further reduced as already a substantial part of their salary is gone for tax and now because of tax increase this substantial amount will be much higher.

Also SARB to curve inflation caused by the this wage increase SARB will be forced into increasing interest rates to tempt people to save more and spend less, but there is also a negative side to this. Loans and Bonds will be more expensive to pay and people will not be able to afford to even live comfortably as most of their money will be going towards repaying the loan or bond. Resulting in more empty pockets for even the workers that are currently striking as many of them have Home Loans, Bonds etc.

The above is just one aspect. We cannot forget the fact that there is continuous oil/petrol price hikes. This compounded with the weakening Rand (as most goods that we use are imported). Will result in increases in prices for goods & services, thus inflation being higher. Taking these 2 very major factors into account, and the fact that this wage increase could lead to an increase on the tax rate, as the government will need to find a way to pay for the increase. With inclusion of the wage increase and the above factors we can assume that it will lead to a much higher inflation rate and in turn will affect not only the normal people but also the workers that are currently striking. As maybe not immediately but eventually they will still not be able to afford the things that they desire and will see their pockets getting empty again. Thus bringing them back to the same position they in now.

So what as South Africans do we do? As at the moment the country is literally at a halt. As public services are essential to any country’s success and without it there is chaos we are currently seeing it on the news, Schools been closed, hospitals not working efficiently etc. There is a way out of it though its what SARB also tries to tell people continuously “SAVE” and spend wisely. Do not spend beyond our means. Appreciate for what we got as clearly if we demand for more like how people are now the consequences of it can be disastrous. As if there is a salaries increase without simultaneous production increase then there will be inflation. It’s for these reasons that the Government is not giving in to the demands, as they know what will happen. Now the workers need to also understand this. The above also holds for any other workers in any industry in this country. But businesses must also realize they cant exploit and pay “peanuts” to its workers. And Workers must realize that they must appreciate. The South African people must look at other countries and how they operate and the people that live there, China, Vietnam, Thailand, India sure there is a bit of unfairness but what we must learn from them is the fact that they appreciate and they happy for even earning $7 a day because they know at least they will be able to put food on their table as because labour is cheap resulting in prices of goods been cheap therefore people can survive on their current wages. You may say they are been exploited well to an extent in these countries they are, and there should be given higher salaries but not to the extent that it could kill businesses. And we must realize in their view the workers are expendable as they have a large population. This is very similar to South Africa’s unemployment situation as there is a large group of people unemployed thus current workers are to an extent expendable as they can easily be replaced especially for unskilled work. Therefore workers cannot be too demanding either.

In conclusion there must be balance, fairness and compromise from both sides in order to find the optimum point that will benefit all in the short term and long term. As if it to one sided it can lead to disastrous effect to the Economy, which in turn will indirectly or directly effect you and me."

And bout the march well i agree with anonymous to what he said, we should correct ourselves first. and we should also know that the zionists and non muslims KNOW OUR WEAKNESES KNOW OUR STRENGTHS AND THEY are attacking our strengths just we dont realize it. This issue dates back to the crusades. and we mus look at history and see everything is there. The whole world is beign conditioned to accep t a huge conflict between muslims and non-muslims east vs west. and are being conditioned to believe muslims are all terrorists, This march or rally you go to a non-muslim he'll just tinkg its a bunch of terrorists supporting other terrorists, we mus also realize the arab governments are all puppets. and we the common man are nothing and have no say its all a facade, they dont listen to us. so we must do one better we must attack them financially, by BOYCOTS, by sorting out lives out n turning back to islam and by telling people about the atrocities . That is how u make change. no other way. the only reason apartheid collapsed was because the CIA forced them to. and isreal n SA has big ties with each other now and before. SA was used as a testing ground for something big. and to mAKE US into the America of Africa. why i say this because the Ameircan and British Government supported apartheid. n even thought they put sancitons they still gave us money. WHY? WHY? WHY? the Muslim world must realize that we must unite as one block. and the governments must be allc hanged. for e.g HAMAS, Hezbullah , Muslim Brotherhood if you read about these organizations they actually and prinicples are what all MUSLIMS WANT. All these marches we are beign watched and recorded by cia, nia and other agencies especially if you heavily involved in it. In this day and age they can access anything your pc, your fone, your credit card and you can ruin your whole life. as its dangerous and proof about it people in america, britain, SA are getting locked up because of it. Change peoples perceptions thats the only way. become unified, change the puppet governments in middle east, boycott, financially support people in middle east, and change ourselves and make duaa. That is the only way we can overcome the fitna thats happening in this world:)
Thank you

8:32 PM  

mazozo said...

Wow intersting points

In the above comment u delved alot into the theory of economics yet you failed to take one thing into account it could be argued conversely that the amount of inflation and the rising cost of living has forced the public workers to strike in order so that they may receive a salary which is in line with inflation etc etc etc. The public servants sector is one of the most under paid sectors in this country with the last substantial pay rise only occuring aproximattley five years ago. I think therfore its flawed to argue that the increase of 10 percent is unfair.

Alot of you have asked why strike if you don't want too? The simple answer is that by only some of the people striking and others continuing service delivery it undermines the strike and destroys the collective bargaining power of the strikers who are striking this in turn weakens the position of the strikers in front of government. The point of collective bargaing power is to sow that the particular services the strkers render are required.

I'm all for the strike i just don't believe that the way it's being conducted is correct. That is the violence there is no need to strike violently the same objectives can be achieved peacefully

on the issue of the palestine marches and support hmm march all you want i think that that is a situation which can not be solved peacefully the nature of the conflict is such that it requires a winning side and a losing side. The battle for the middle east has always been a bloody one. The only way it will end is when one side lies uttery crushed and defeated by the other so that the winning side can assert its power and authority. Its just not a conflict that can be ended by rallies and peaceful marches and showing of solidarity. The only way it will work is if both countaries are willing to sit down and compromise peacefully this means no retaliations and a will for things to be solved amicably. May i remind you'll that the only reason SA trnsitioned peacefully was the fear that the country would burn to the ground if the apartheid goverment did not sit down and aim for e peaceful settlement.

2:56 AM  

ZK said...

Hmmm i think i let this smolder awhile :D
wasnt gonna comment really coz i knw the points put above are all valid and no1 will ever see eye to eye on issues you will have to just make up your own mind in the end.
Waseem -> i think that your q was answered by the others so no need for me to divulge further into that sure we need to mass protest but violence and force are not needed...
M -> you'll be surprised we have a lot of closet beauties...and i was honestly hoping you would show at the 'rally'. lol
Anon -> makes me wonder what type of person you are...if everyone thought the way you did hmmm the world would indeed be a sad one to live in...and no i think that every person who marches makes a statement even if that statement is not considered by higher powers it will show that people dnt live in the back toilets (i am tryin not to be uncouth as per M's suggestions)
Irsh very nicely put it as quoted in the hadith...change it change it change it in any means you have.
Mo Joosub -> it has now officially turned into a power struggle and my heart is in sorrow knowing that this will not be resolved soon for our peeps in school lose out on what they will only relise they needed later in life...i pray somthing good happens soon....
Joosub...the tides have turned to supporting of Fatah but this is to the downfall of the people of Palestine suffer they will...i will be posting on this topic soon
Mazoz -> you sum it up bril...but as i said before we shall all differ in thought
PEACE

10:30 AM  

Anonymous said...

wow, it will take a bigger sheet than this post to reply!

Wow, what an entertaing and pondersome post!

:)

12:21 PM  

Bilal said...

zahira- great post, i loved it. it seems like some of the comments are longer than your post!

it was greatly dissappointing at the dbn rally- i was hoping to see everyone i know in dbn (that's a lot of people!) but it was just the 10 of us...

9:51 AM  

ZK said...

hey bilal long tym lol
yah comments are def longer but i guess thats wat i was aiming for ;)
and i have a new post i gotta put up in tym lol

9:56 AM  

Anonymous said...

all> ive heard the hadith time and time before, and so many of us have. but u failed to see my point [zahira]. i did not say do not march in support, what i was saying is that we need to do more than just march. i think too many of us are just happy and content in feeling that marching is the end all.
So, zahira, if everyone was like me in the world, then there would be alot more action. not boring as you so politely put it. But then again, who wants a world where every1 is the same. Some people are leaders and people of action, and some are followers who 'march' sheepishly along with the crowds.

12:25 PM  

Bilal said...

anonymous- you have a point. but too many people are not marching OR doing anything else!
TOO MANY people are sitting on their butts and theorising about what needs to be done- maybe start doing it already...
and if you were more than an arm-chair critic, tell us who you are and what your immediate suggestions are...

12:56 PM  

Anonymous said...

Well i think i shud be giving my name because it seems that people spend more time dwelling on the fact that im remaining anon.
so now that we have that out of the way, u ask for immediate suggestions...
well reading back on this entire comment list from every1, it seems that many of the solutons we all already know..
all im saying is that every1 of us who participate in marches, let us remember that the march is not the solution in itself, its a simple means...
immediate action: ive got a plan in mind, which i would perhaps like for you guys to read through. this is not the place, cause im sure this comment page is becoming a bit 2 long :).
what i wud appreciate is whoever is interested could drop me an email with the subject 'interested'. i could then email it to you guys, and i would love to hear some critism and inputs.
email: ahmedmulla@gmail.com..

3:38 PM  

Anonymous said...

Zahira regarding the economic issue. U JUST MISSED MY POINT:p the STRIKE and if government gives in. will land them up in the same position they in now. and faster that is why government cannot give into their demands. erm read what i said carefully. im not saying they shouldnt be given the raise by all means give. but the implications are disastrous if give more than 7% but if they do we get effected and they get effected and they land up in the same position. no money to buy nothing. which is the reason why they striking. the 6%/7% increase for government due to our economy is strong but not that strong is sufficient. why because inflation is only between 4%-5%. the reason why they cannot afford. is because they dont save. if they save money. and bank it inflation rate yearly will decrease and that is a positive for everyone. Must understand theres very intelligent people who work all these things out. you CANNOT JUST GIVE MONEY AWAY. JUST LIKE THAT reason being the world isnt fair. and theres vast implications and consequences that can happen that will be negative to them. and us. and yeah it will land them up in the same position due to markets supply and demand. so please re read that article from this perspective. Understand why we as people of this country and the government cannot give in to their demands.

O yeah and for this middle east process thing this war this conflict was written and will always exist. no matter what. and it will only stop once Imam Mahdi comes. That is our hope and that is what the muslim world must look for and be positive because we will be victorious in the end. and for now we must learn from this and change our lives into the islamic way. i feel:\

12:04 AM  

Anonymous said...

oh yeah and look at things from an entrepenuers/businessman's point of view for the strike and have your own business and you'll understand more the effect workers and wages have on your business because the government is a BUSINESS but in a much large scale ,if you think like that then you'll understand why they cant and what can happen. im for workers getting paid because they do deserve it. but the world unfortunately is unfair and harsh. and due to circumstances [consquences of inflation etc] beyond the governments and our control, they cannot give in to the demands. its complicated issue. that people must understand. GENERALLY IM ANTI SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT. but now at the moment i can see their side and they trying to protect you and me from making OUR money worthless.

12:08 AM  

Anonymous said...

buy gold.

7:45 PM  

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