The life of a child is cheap in South Africa, and in the Western Cape it means almost nothing. This year alone, 79 children have already been shot dead, and the count continues.

Gangsterism and its effects are not new in Cape Town and so you might be thinking, ‘we already know about this’. A conversation that never seems to find a solution. A hot potato that politicians pass on to one another. A war with no end in sight. Death is a reality that we live with.

Cape Town is a place of ancient natural beauty, it is also a place where you can be shot dead for a R2. Apartheid’s racial segregation has been reinforced since 1994, and so when we talk of Cape Town it is important to ask which city you speak of. Is it the Cape Town of beauty, privilege and idyllic beaches? Or is it eKapa, a place of machine guns, drugs and countless suffering?

The news stories are unending. And come out on a daily basis. Two people were shot in Khayelitsha, and a few hours later another body was found in Mannenberg. Eight-year-olds testing positive for mandrax, tik and heroin. Blood baths have become a norm, six people killed in one night, eight people killed over the weekend. School holidays are a time of fear. Which mother is going to lose her child today?

What is most frustrating is that there seems to be no desire or political will to stop the cycle. Politicians implement haphazard anti-gang units, ‘blikseming and donnering’ whoever they come into contact with. There is no attempt to deal with this issue at its root.

Many of these gang members who have become merchants of death, were once young boys. Boys who came from poverty-stricken families groomed by gangs into becoming monsters who now haunt our communities. Boys as young as 10, looking for attention, acceptance and financial relief become the best soldiers. Gangs thrive on our broken communities, they need it to function. The lack of recreational facilities, over-crowded schools, no after school programmes, parents working long hours absent from home create fertile grounds for recruitment.

Many of these young boys do not even have a choice. It’s common to hear reports of boys being beaten up and even killed if they say no to being recruited into gangs. They have no protection, we have failed and continue to fail them.

These boys are then given guns and their futures are written. Jail, death, and drugs are the only options available to most of them. There is an African proverb that says The child not embraced by the village, will burn it down to feel its warmth’. These children were not protected by us and now we need protection from them. We are dying here eKapa.

This cycle of death has been well-known for a long time and yet still we have seen no multi-faceted government intervention at this level. We need functional schools, recreational facilities, sports and arts programmes, we need protection for these boys. So why are the departments of Education, Social Development, Sports & Arts and Culture, and Public Works not a part of the strategic thinking of combating gang violence? Why do they continue to let our children die here eKapa?

If you or anyone you know are affected by anything mentioned above please reach out to a trusted adult such as a teacher, faith leader (such as a priest or imam).