Original Article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2255359/Seven-die-230-collapse-fitness-test-job-South-Africas-traffic-police.html
Excerpt from the article:
15,500 applicants turned out for the South African traffic police fitness test for 90 jobs (file picture of unemployed South Africans).
Seven jobseekers died and 230 collapsed after 15,500 unemployed youths took part in a fitness test in the hope of securing one of 90 jobs with South Africa's traffic police.
The massive crowd of jobseekers took part in the deadly fitness test - which was held in a football stadium - after they each received text messages informing them they had been 'shortlisted' for the precious traffic police jobs.
They were told that they needed to complete a four kilometre (2.4 mile) jog within thirty minutes to meet the force's minimum fitness level requirement.
But by the time they started running late last Thursday afternoon, temperatures inside Pietermaritzburg's Harry Gwala football stadium had reached over 33 degrees Centigrade (91.5 degrees Fahrenheit).
Many of the desperate jobseekers had neither eaten nor drunk anything all day. They all had very limited access to drinking water.A total of 230 people collapsed from heat exhaustion and dehydration during the run. Of these, six died.
A seventh man committed suicide by slitting his throat when he learnt he had not finished the race in time.
Among the dead was Lenny Nxumalo, 28-year-old father of two whose body was only discovered over four hours after he died when the vast crowd finally cleared out of the stadium.
Yesterday his best friend Brian Ngcobo told the local The Witness newspaper: 'My friend was so determined to become a traffic officer that he ran his life out because he was such a dedicated person.'
Another applicant, Lindelani Kubheka told the paper that he collapsed at the 'horribly disorganised' event after he ran on an empty stomach and without water.
The test was held in Pietermaritzburg's Harry Gwala stadium (pictured) where temperatures rose to 91 degrees as dehydrated and underfed applicants were told to run four kilometres in 30 minutes
South Africa's desperate youth face an effective unemployment rate of around 40 per cent and turn up in large numbers, as in this picture taken outside a factory, in search of work (file picture)
'We were starving and needed water, but the venue is isolated from fast food outlets, so it was difficult for many of us to survive the scorching heat without water and food', he said after waking up in hospital on Friday.
The tragedy is just the latest example of the problems that can occur when South Africa's desperate youth - who face an effective unemployment rate of around 40 per cent - struggle to make successes of their lives.
Government positions, such as those with the police force or army, are highly sought after as they are relatively well paid, have low entry criteria and because the application process positively discriminates in favour of blacks.
Previous 'mass job interviews' for jobs such as these have seen tens of thousands of desperately poor and ill-educated young people descend on a location in the hope of securing one of perhaps just a dozen positions.
Pietermaritzburg, the town in which the traffic police test was held, is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
In this latest example, over 150,000 people applied for the 90 jobs within the regional KwaZulu Natal traffic police department.
Of these, 34,000 were sent text messages on Christmas Day telling them to report to the Harry Gwala stadium in two groups on Thursday and Friday.
More than 230 applicants were taken to hospital when they collapsed during the first day's fitness test.
The politician responsible confirmed that 'more than 34,000 applicants qualified for the 90 trainee posts which were advertised', but that 'scores of them could not cope with the hot weather condition and collapsed.'
South Africa's Communist Party - which is in political alliance with the ruling African National Congress - demanded a full enquiry into the traffic police fitness test tragedy.
And the opposition Inkatha Freedom Party has called on Willies Mchunu, the politician with ultimate responsibility for the debacle, to step down.
'What happened in Pietermaritzburg was a classic display of being power-drunk, to an extent treating ordinary suffering people as subhuman.
'No one in their right mind could in the first place short-list about 35,000 people for just 90 jobs,'IFP politician Blessed Gwala said."
If one observe the last two comments of 'classic display of being power-drunk' and 'no one in their right mind' - once could extend that by stating - you have to be 'power drunk' and 'out of your mind' to continue supporting Capitalism - as it clearly shows - according to the example above - that the principle of Capitalism - firstly allowed for corporations and companies to take control of the Resources which are provided by the earth for all of the Physical, equal and one to the Earth; then through agreement between the people, as the founding principles of capitalism were established it was decided that if you do not have money you cannot gain access to Resources. Then we end up aproximately 500 years later having job shortages where in most countries you see a vast number of unemployed and minimum wage workers - who are unable at the best of times to obtain the financial means to be able to have access to these Resources.
In the example above, we see yet again the outflow and consequences of a system that might have sounded viable 500 years ago as a means to control conflicts and the development of economic wealth - but is now only about serving the rich at whatever means possible - and the extent of abuse to Life on this planet is unsurmountable. Nobody asks the question 'well if it does not work anymore why not change it?', because the human has become addicted to this game of life, where we accept ourselves as born into lives where we struggle to survive, while desiring personal wealth which comes from having what others do not have - which is all a game of the Ego. The fact of the matter is - that every day - just like in the example above, millions of people and animals are abused extensively and lead to their painful deaths - all for capitalism -all so that the average family does not have to bother asking these questions such as 'well of it aint working anymore, why not change it?'. Everybody is firstly too accepting of the abuse that exists due to capitalism, because as discussed above we have become extensively addicted to energy and the exchange of values between consumer (ourselves as the Mind) and the product (energy) and that is why no human will speak up and suggest changes to the current capitalistic system. Even in the face of harsh abuse and death to others - we still do not question why this is still a viable system to have. I ask myself the question when I read such articles - 'would I be willing to go and take the place of any one of those people' who had to die for the 'tiny chance that they might get employed' - and the question is no I do not want that for myself - therefore in common sense obviously as I see this happening to my fellow humans, I do not want it happening to any other being - and to conveniently believe that those who died deserved it - while fearing it would happen to me - as I know I do not want to give up my life for money - shows how brainwashed humanity is - because we do not see, realize and understand the principle of oneness and equality - but are merely grateful that it did not happen to us. They speak of evilnes existing as a devil or demon - but is this not the real evil we face in this world? To blatantly in ones thoughts want suffering and death for another, so that Capitalism can exist while not being willing to walk in the shoes of the other and also play the role of victim/abused. We allow such suffering around us all day - and yet every human actually reacts extensively to such stories - thinking 'please let that never be me'. What about the man/woman who died, or the animal that is suffering due to its economic value - do they not also have that same desire to live and have a dignifies life? Who are we to trade the lives of others -so that we can play our games in the Capitalistic System?
Please investigate our proposals and research into Equal Money Capitalism.
Equal Money Capitalism will be the necessary transition step to as a global society towards establishing an Equal Money System as presented at www.equalmoney.org.
We are thus here starting a project of investigating what Capitalism should be like according to its very own principles - and thus, what requires to be adjusted within the current Capitalistic system to make it a system that works for everyone.
EQUAL MONEY CAPITALISM - THE WAY FORWARD
EQUAL MONEY CAPITALISM - REDEFINING PROFIT
EQUAL MONEY CAPITALISM - PREPARING THE ROAD FOR CHANGE
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