South African Quagmire

Interesting statistic. A resident of South Africa is 12 times more likely to be murdered than in the US or 50 times more likely than a resident of Western Europe. In the last year that statistics are available, 2004-2005, "18,793 people were murdered in South Africa, an average of 51 a day in a nation of 47 million. There were 24,516 attempted murders, 55,114 reported rapes and 249,369 assaults with grievous injury".

Robbers kill their victims, bystanders kill criminals, family members kill each other.

Gunbattles erupt on streets and in shopping malls. Passers-by whip out pistols and join in firefights between criminals and police or security guards. A recent flurry in high profile bloodshed even has police suggesting they are losing the fight with violent crime.

Plans for South Africa to host soccer's next World Cup, in 2010, has focused international attention on the crime rate, with organizers having to answer questions not just about whether they'll have enough stadiums and hotel rooms, but whether the 350,000 foreign visitors expected for the monthlong tournament will be safe.

Statistically a South African is 12 times as likely to be murdered than the average American and his chances of being killed are 50 times greater than if he lived in western Europe.

"This is an extraordinarily violent society and nobody understands it," said Peter Gastrow, a crime analyst at the Institute for Security Studies in Cape Town.

There are plenty of theories, many tied to South Africa's unique history and the belief that the struggle against apartheid created a culture of lawlessness, Gastrow said.

"The reasons seem to be unbelievably complex. There is no explanation that makes sense. The million dollar question is, 'Why?' If we could understand that we could start to fix it. But we can't. All we can do now is ask religious people to pray for us," he said.

The government has responded by ceasing to publish statistics any more frequently than annually. Reportedly, John Murtha has called for a pullout of everyone from South Africa. The Okinawans will not be happy.