As Jewish people in this country we had so much to be proud of, we had built a community to be celebrated throughout the world — even under the shadow of a racist regime. A community that continues to thrive to this day and can look back in awe at the many prominent Jewish figures who fought in the struggle.
The risk which accompanies our success is that it may distract us from how connected to the rest of our country and world we are in reality. Sometimes it takes a crisis to remind us of our shared lot as human beings. Water is a shared resource, one which unites us all on an elemental level. There is no more humbling realisation than knowing that without water even the most remarkable city or community cannot survive.
The most startling part of this crisis is just how much responsibility we are taking together. We are reducing our consumption, we are more conscious and are starting to make a difference. We are seeing more and more innovation. Day Zero has been pushed back, but we need to continue to control our own fate in this crisis by keeping to 50L a day each.
We need to take care of one another. As such we as a community have put into place plans to ensure that our communal institutions are secured and the most vulnerable among us will be taken care of no matter the outcome.
We have an additional responsibility to remember that our ‘nightmare scenario’ of a Day Zero is a reality for millions within our country on a daily basis already. We will make it through this crisis and as we do we must find a way to end the perpetual moral crisis of living in a country where deprivation robs dignity each and every day.
We can do better together as South Africans, and we must do better.